Secondary school teacher - Physics - looking at Aus. Any advice?
 

I have been reading through the site and am aware there its lots of advice. I was just wondering if there were any teachers who had moved to Aus and what they thought of the schools/education system.

Currently we are in a dilemma of where to move to Aus or NZ. Either is a possibility so I was hoping some of you out there might be able to help by sharing any good/bad experiences. Both me and my wife would be looking to move, along with 2 cats.

Any advice on school/moving/tips on the application process would be gratefully recieved.

Also how long does it take. I've read between 18 months and 2 years to get the visa, is this realistic or is it quicker/slower.

Cheers guys.

Re: Secondary school teacher - Physics - looking at Aus. Any advice?
 

I can't give you any advice from personal experience but following consultation with others I believe that being a physics teacher you would be very much appreciated in either country - science teachers are high in demand, especially in physics.
An old mate of mine is doing particularly well in NZ because he has ICT skills (he can use PP and IWB to a basic standard)! he loves teaching in NZ.
In terms of time. It has taken 4 months so far and I suspect another 12 months for PR, I have family to sponsor me and like you I am a teacher (PE).
BoL:thumbup:

Re: Secondary school teacher - Physics - looking at Aus. Any advice?
 

I have lived in both NZ and Aus and I prefer Australia as you cannot live on pretty countryside.

No experience myself but my son is a science teacher not physics but he had no problems finding a job and find he has to teach maths as well. He is a country school though as he prefers living in the country areas as no commute etc.

If you looked at Seek the job web site you would probably find that your skills are required by some of the private schools and they probably pay a bit more than the education system.

In Victoria you are either an on going teacher or contract teacher. My son is on going with a certain school and he is now on leave from that school and works in another one. He had a one year contract which is being extended and if he works on at this school he will then become ongoing there. He became an ongoing teacher because he went to a remote school when he first graduated. Most teachers are on contract these days.

Re: Secondary school teacher - Physics - looking at Aus. Any advice?
 

My husband and I are both science (biology) teachers just arrived in Melbourne. We both mananged to get jobs with the first places we applied to and within a week of arriving. Science teachers are really in demand here. My jobs is ongoing whereas my husbands is short term sick leave replacement. Short term contracts are more common here. Can't really comment on the educatin system as we don't start work until next week, but I do know there is much more teacher assessment rather than continual exams, and more non contact time, both of which I look forward too.

As with the UK physicists are really in demand. VIC is good IMO as you apply direct to the school, whereas in some states you get placed by them and may have to spend time working in the back of beyond before you can move where you want to.

It took us about a year from putting in the visa application t making the move (though the time from application to grant was only about 6 months, we were lucky) skills assessment will add to this time.

Our too cats found the 30 days of quarantine bearable and have come out the other side happy and are settling in well.

Good luck.

Re: Secondary school teacher - Physics - looking at Aus. Any advice?
 

Firstly, you should check that your qualifications are accepted. You will need either a 4 yr BEd or a 3 yr degree plus 1 yr PGCE. The 3 yr BEd and work based ITT schemes are not accepted.

Then have a look at the relevant teaching bodies for states that you are interested in. Some, like NSW, have very stringent criteria relating to what subjects you studied in your degree. I am a qualified Physics teacher in the UK, but here I would have to do additional tertiary modules to qualify because of the mix of subjects I did during my degree. It may be one thing to get the appropriate visa, but then find that you cannot gain registration as teacher.

The NSW teaching pages of the DET website are pretty comprehensive, but be aware - these people have been struck with the big green banana of bureaucracy - if you don't exactly meet the criteria they have specified, then that's it. They are completely unwilling to bend the rules for unusual circumstances.

Also, post grad courses won't be taken into account - I was one module of additional science (chemistry or biology) short and that was it for me - no registration, despite having a PhD in Applied Physics.

As for teaching here, most states place teachers at state schools according to requirements, and operate a points accruement system to gain access to the more popular city and coastal schools. NSW is about to change that however, and is set to allow headteachers to choose teachers based on merit as opposed to years of service.

Private schools are able to choose on merit, however registration with the state teachers body is still required.

HTH


S

Re: Secondary school teacher - Physics - looking at Aus. Any advice?
 

Physics teachers are in demand, so if your suitably qualified you should get a job easy.

Maybe worth looking at private sector. My son is doing Physics in Year 11 at a fee paying Catholic School. We actually moved to get a school to offer this subject.
Look up Catholic education for the oz state your interested in.

I think you will have several options state or private education if you teach Physics.

Gems

Re: Secondary school teacher - Physics - looking at Aus. Any advice?
 

Lots of valuable advice so far, thank you to all who posted.

Interms of qualification I have a BSC (Hons) Applied Physics with entailed Physics, Maths and Electronics and a PGCE in Science so I think those bases should be covered I will check though.

I wasn't aware the cats needed to go into quaratine. Thought the pet passport would cover that so thats something else for me to look into.

Cheers.

Re: Secondary school teacher - Physics - looking at Aus. Any advice?
 

One thing you may want to think about is what the education systems are like in the various states. I know from working in a Queensland school a lot of the teachers would comment on how NSW education system was quite inflexible compared to Queensland in regards to the curriculum. Just thought it might influence your decision as to which state you would want to look at. I am not too sure about the other states but it may be something you want to find out about.

Again as everyone else has said a Physics teacher would be in demand here.

Re: Secondary school teacher - Physics - looking at Aus. Any advice?
 

I am currently on a one year teacher exchange from the UK to New South Wales through LECT (www.lect.org.uk).

I am a headteacher of science and also a physics teacher. I am in a relatively small secondary school (400 pupils) in a country town (Cootamundra) and loving it!!

Regards finding a job - I would re-iterate the other replies - try for a private school (for instance, in NSW and WA you would need to work for at least 2 years in an 'isolated' location to earn enough points to be able to relocate if you work in a state school.)

Have you thought about WA? They are offering a sponsored visa with expenses (flight / accommodation) paid - you have to work in an 'isolated' location to begin with for a couple of years (I think), but you then get permanent residency.

Regarding the curriculum - physics teaching is physics teaching wherever you go. The curriculum is on a par with the UK - I'm teaching Year 10 and 11 physics here in Australia, which roughly equates to Year 11 and 12 (i.e. GCSE and AS level).

In this school, as in most country town schools, behaviour is good and the kids want to learn. Teaching is more laid back, there is little in the way of inspection / action plans / targets (although they are going that way!) and it has been a joy to return to teaching rather than the form filling in the UK.

PM me for more information.