Dhartery

Hello. I am looking for some advice about returning to the U.K. and how easy it would be to find a teaching job. I moved to the US from Scotland when I was 20 years old after meeting my US wife on a school exchange program. We have lived most of our married life in Massachusetts and now reside in Rhode Island. I attended university in Massachusetts and have been teaching in a US elementary school for the past 6 years. After agonizing over what is best to do (stay in the US or move back to U.K.) we have decided we’d like to move back to the U.K. at some point. My question relates to getting a job when I move back to the U.K. How likely is it that I would get hired as a teacher (PE Teacher) in the U.K. if I have credentials from the US? Would schools in the U.K. look favorably on all the experiences I have had as a U.K. citizen moving abroad and teaching in the US or are they mainly looking for candidates who have been trained in the U.K.? I am also concerned about the differences in salary as teachers in the US are paid well and I’m not sure what type of salary I’d be looking at if I moved back. I appreciate any advice

quiltman

Here's the NASUWT salary listings for 2016-2018
https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/uploads/as...ae64abdba7.pdf
Now, you get appointed on one of the "basic" salary levels, then can get additional pay (or Scales) depending on responsibility.you can at least see min and max "basic" pay. When my wife retired from primary teaching she was on top of the "basic" pay plus had additional responsibilities that gained her 2 scale points.You can google teaching vacancies in UK to get an idea of what's out there.
As to how easy it will be for you to find employment is difficult to say. Depends where the vacancies are and your experience. To teach in the UK you usually need to be registered with the General Teaching Council - except for private schools) - and i suggest you google them and go ask them re your qualifications and experience.

Forgot to add that due to financial constraints most UK schools look to hire the cheapest staff they can , which tends to be newly qualified teachers who start at the bottom of the scale. Yes, they do need some more experienced teachers but these are expensive. I used to be a governor at my wife's school and only replaced senior teachers when we had no choice, due to the aforesaid money restraints!By the time my wife retired, 90% of the staff had less than 5 years experience! We had no choice if we wanted to keep within budget.

scot47

To teach in Scotland you nearly always need registration with the GTC

Qualified Outside Scotland | General Teaching Council for Scotland

There is no "UK System," Education and Teacher Training are devolved matters.I
In Scotland the main teachers' union is the EIS.

HKG3

A number of unrelated points for you to consider -

1) Most teaching jobs in Scotland comes from local authorities. Have a look at the link below for some information -

https://www.myjobscotland.gov.uk/categories/education

2) Are you an US citizen? You may want to apply for US citizenship before returning to the UK if not already done so.

3) Your wife will need an UK spouse visa in order to join you in the UK, unless she has recent European ancestry which would entitle her to an EU passport.

4) You may want to think about paying voluntary National Insurance Contributions in order to get a bigger UK state pension in the future.

https://www.gov.uk/voluntary-nationa...-contributions

morpeth

My understanding is it is a lot harder to get credentials, as a "qualified teacher" or "newly qualified teacher" , but you are in luck-there is a recognition of teaching credentials from the US, Canada and Australia- so having proof of your USA teaching credential, and keeping up to date, is important.

I supposed it depend on part of the country you are in, but in the Northeast there seems always a lot of elementary school jobs advertised, both for regular work and for substitute/supply positions. My recommendation would be to look online for the various easy Level 3 and Level 4 education/teaching courses which cost often under fifty pounds on various aspects of teaching in the UK, will get you familiar with differences and have the right "jargon". If you look at job sites, often many of the substitute/supply jobs advertised by agencies that specialize in teaching positions , probably good place to seek advice from.

Yes teachers are paid and compensated well in USA ( no offense though, the teachers union is on a concerted campaign to influence pubic that is not the case), but I suspect a big factor I UK is where you live- here in Northeast one can live fine on teachers salary, in London can be quite the contrary.

Having considered the same my best advice is take a few online courses to get familiar with the jargon and local rules to have on your CV, and as soon as you arrive register with agencies and do some substitute/supply work to get to know system and idea where you might want to teach.