Education and Business
Sep 29th 2010, 4:32 pm
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 4
Education and Business
Hello all
I shall be moving to Barbados next year with my son aged 11 years. I recently read in The Advocate there were over 300 secondary aged children without a school place at the start of term (Sept 2010).
I am a qualified maths teacher and my aim is to get a teaching post within the state maintained sector.
I have heard many times that Barbados needs at least 2 additional Secondary Schools to improve school accessibility and reduce class size.
What are the necessary steps to take to set up a Secondary School in Barbados? Would it be possible to have both public/private funding? Would it be a matter for the Ministry of Education or the Barbados Development Investment Corporation?
Does anyone on this site have a child at a state Secondary School?
Is anyone presently teaching at either a state or private Secondary School?
I'd appreciate a response to any part of this post.
many thanks
I shall be moving to Barbados next year with my son aged 11 years. I recently read in The Advocate there were over 300 secondary aged children without a school place at the start of term (Sept 2010).
I am a qualified maths teacher and my aim is to get a teaching post within the state maintained sector.
I have heard many times that Barbados needs at least 2 additional Secondary Schools to improve school accessibility and reduce class size.
What are the necessary steps to take to set up a Secondary School in Barbados? Would it be possible to have both public/private funding? Would it be a matter for the Ministry of Education or the Barbados Development Investment Corporation?
Does anyone on this site have a child at a state Secondary School?
Is anyone presently teaching at either a state or private Secondary School?
I'd appreciate a response to any part of this post.
many thanks
Oct 5th 2010, 2:49 am
#2
Joined: Nov 2006
Location: Barbados
Posts: 1,384
Re: Education and Business
First thing.. you say you are moving to Barbados with your 11yrs old.. and you AIM to get a job teaching. The first thing to ask is are you Barbadian or seeking Citizenship or just planning on getting a work permit.??
I ask these because you can't just move here and plan to live, just like that.. and also expect your child to be placed in a school, private or government.
If you have the right to live and work here without a work permit.. that's great. You would likely want to go ahead and apply to the ministry of education or to the private schools on the island. But don't expect your child to be place in the school at which you teach.
As your child is 11 or maybe by that time 12, he will be required to take a placement exam that will then put him into a secondary school. (we still have the 11plus exam here that moves children from Primary to Secondary).. While his grades will help, he still has to take the exam (except if you plan to put him into private.. and that option is very limited for boys.
Re the system.. yes, there is a need for more secondary schools. The ministry would like to make all the secondary school even with the number of children in each (that magic number being 900 per school, I believe). It's difficult when some school already have over 1000 and some can't handle (due to size) more than maybe 700 or so.
My daughters are both at the Ursuline Convent School - St. Ursula's Secondary and my son still in a private primary. I do have nieces and nephews and friends of my daughters who are all at government secondary schools.
I'm not a teacher, so can't help you out with the teaching joys or struggles of either public or private.
Back to the original question, if you plan to move here and would require a work permit, you would have to apply to either the government ministry or to the institution and HOPE that you are accepted for a work permit. Many private schools will not pay for you to have a work permit, so this may also prove to be a problem.
also.. I don't recall reading anything about 300 children not being placed in schools. do you buy chance have the article on line that you can share??
I hope I have helped even a little bit (and I'm being honest in my responses, so don't shoot the messenger if it's not what you thought it would be here).
I ask these because you can't just move here and plan to live, just like that.. and also expect your child to be placed in a school, private or government.
If you have the right to live and work here without a work permit.. that's great. You would likely want to go ahead and apply to the ministry of education or to the private schools on the island. But don't expect your child to be place in the school at which you teach.
As your child is 11 or maybe by that time 12, he will be required to take a placement exam that will then put him into a secondary school. (we still have the 11plus exam here that moves children from Primary to Secondary).. While his grades will help, he still has to take the exam (except if you plan to put him into private.. and that option is very limited for boys.
Re the system.. yes, there is a need for more secondary schools. The ministry would like to make all the secondary school even with the number of children in each (that magic number being 900 per school, I believe). It's difficult when some school already have over 1000 and some can't handle (due to size) more than maybe 700 or so.
My daughters are both at the Ursuline Convent School - St. Ursula's Secondary and my son still in a private primary. I do have nieces and nephews and friends of my daughters who are all at government secondary schools.
I'm not a teacher, so can't help you out with the teaching joys or struggles of either public or private.
Back to the original question, if you plan to move here and would require a work permit, you would have to apply to either the government ministry or to the institution and HOPE that you are accepted for a work permit. Many private schools will not pay for you to have a work permit, so this may also prove to be a problem.
also.. I don't recall reading anything about 300 children not being placed in schools. do you buy chance have the article on line that you can share??
I hope I have helped even a little bit (and I'm being honest in my responses, so don't shoot the messenger if it's not what you thought it would be here).
