Sleeping Beauty

just wondered if anyone has got any tips and/or advice about obtaining employment as a teachers aide (or even working in the office at a school ). i have tried, very unsuccessfully, to obtain employment, in a school.

i meet the criteria, both desirable and the position criteria, but i am hitting brick wall after brick wall. one day, i had 3 'no thanks' letters in the post, and another day, 2 'no thanks' (one verbal over the phone and the other by post) within a 5 minute period (i know, at least i am getting them!). i know that eventually, if i bang on enough doors, i might get lucky.

i know someone, who has heaps/years of experience as a teaching assistant (i mean double figures), yet she was recently told that she doent have enough experience

am i banging my head against a brick wall? i cannot afford to go down the route of volunteer work for xx amount of years (i have done some in the local school), i need gainful employment to start paying bills. have i to give up the ghost, or can anyone give me any tips or advice?

in the uk, TA posts were advertised in local press from about June/July so that they were in place at the end of the school year. then police checks etc could be done over the school summer hols, ready for the employee to start at the beginning of the new school year. they were also advertised periodically throughout the year. i have only ever seen one advertised in the paper in the 4 and half months since we arrived in Australia.

this is not a post comparing Oz and the UK, i know things are different here. i just want to know if anyone can give me any advice?

NickyC

You will certainly start to see more ads for school staff during January. That's the time of the year when schools start recruiting and gearing up for the new academic year.

Check out the Education section of the Employment pages of the Herald on a Saturday. Most of the ads are for Teachers at independant schools but you also see other school-type jobs advertised there.

Sleeping Beauty

i understand from a TA that i have spoke to that the funding for these posts only come through at the beginning of each school year, and that they themselves neve know whether their jobs are safe from year to year

it makes sense to me to have the funding and staff arranged for the end of each school year, so that schools know where they stand

hopefully the new year might bring something positive then. thanks for your reply.

woogle

I found same as you & have hardly seen any advertised. Seems to me, it's a lot to do with "getting in" with the school & making contacts.
My ideal plan when we came in Feb was to start in a school for when my son goes to prep in Jan 08.
Will deff be on the look out after new year, just to see if there are any positions advertised.
Can't offer any advice though, wish I could.

Sleeping Beauty

hello fellow rochdalian

i do think it is 'who you know' over here in a lot of fields
our daughter is due to start kindy in january, so i will be kicking my heels from then on in.

woogle

our daughter is due to start kindy in january, so i will be kicking my heels from then on in.[/QUOTE]

Lucky you
I'm just doing 3 days at the moment, which is just right. I'm just worried that when kids get to school, I might struggle getting them into holiday clubs, & not having family here, that would be a nightmare :scared:

Sleeping Beauty

Lucky you
I'm just doing 3 days at the moment, which is just right. I'm just worried that when kids get to school, I might struggle getting them into holiday clubs, & not having family here, that would be a nightmare :scared:[/QUOTE]


i went through a stage of going for everything and anything.......i even applied for a funeral directors post .........most i didnt even get a reply. then i decided to concentrate on what i did in the uk. so, at the moment, i am unemployed, but it's not for the want of trying

woogle

I went back to Insurance, same as I did in UK for 20 years ! Was lucky to get part-time though.

Jaycee1

Hi,
My mate in Perth arrived last January and started 'helping' at schools when they reopened in February. She put her name down on the supply list and ended up top of the list for being phoned to work.
She worked with children with Autism.
She also had to have an Australian police check even though she had only been in the country for a month.
She was offered 3 full days at the school and the other 2 she either did supply or took the days off
She starts back at the same school working in a newly set up base for children with Autism full time.
Don't give up SB, it is just finding those 'routes' into school.
Have you tried the local special schools in your area? My other friend in Melbourne has a daughter with learning difficulties and she attends a special school.
There appears to be a vast difference with intergrating in Aus from state to state.
Best of luck to you
J x

Sleeping Beauty

i tried the local Autistic school (about an hour away), as i too worked with austistic children. maybe i will try again in the new year. from what i have gleaned, NSW doesnt have supply lists, as such, as far as i know (or maybe i have been misinformed). also you cant get a police check until a firm job offer is on the table (only just changed). one school, who didnt know the procedure had changed, kindly sent my details off to be checked, only for them to be sent back to the school again because they weren't offering me a job.

think you are right about the vast difference between state to state

thanks for your best wishes.
xx

Jaycee1

God, what a bummer. My friend said that individual schools have the supply lists, maybe you could try each school.
Another idea was could anyone help you write an 'Aussie friendly' CV from your experience? I will ring my friend today and try get some terminology from her
J x

webgum

Similar tale to some of the above - my good friend volunteered at her daughter's primary school (just as a parent helper doing reading etc), got friendly with the headmaster, who basically put in a good word for her and she got on the supply list. She works in special needs and has had regular work as supply, and has now secured a "proper" part-time post at a primary school. Posts come up as children get funding I think.

Initially she was very pessimistic about getting work without the Australian qualification, but now she has got her foot in the door, things have worked out. Good luck!

esperanza

I don't know about TA supply, but they definitely have teaching supply lists - on the NSW teaching registration form there is a whole section in which you tick which areas you would be prepared to teach supply or contract or permanently.

khoardiroy

Actually most job ads for teachers were in December (for the Jan start)

Go to two agencies and sign up

Select and Hays

Sleeping Beauty

thanks for your help and your pm. i did try giving you some karma for it, but apparantely i have given you some b4, and i need to spread it around b4 i give it to you again (cant remember that one?).

my cv is already changed to an aussie style one. i signed up with an agency when we got here (not just for TA jobs), and they confirmed it was okay. i do think however that i havent got enough relevant bits in it, as i am not even getting an interview. so all help in that department would be gratefully accepted

i have been to about 15 schools individually, although i haven't asked to speak to the principal/head. i just handed my resume in to the office staff.