littleflower15

I am originally from SA living in the UK. I am considering moving to NZ in 2008. I do not have residency yet. I am here 4 years already. Is child care similar to the UK? I have an excellent childminder here and was wondering if NZ has the same. My children are 8months and 7years old. I pay around £700 a month. Is it also expensive? Would we be able to survive comfortably on teacher's salaries in NZ.

Cheers Margo

Joshlin

there is a variety of childcare available - we use daycare so can only really comment on that - my children are 4 and 2. In general daycare have 3 areas - the nursery for babies up to 18-20mths, the toddler area up to 3 1/2 and then the preschool area up till 5yrs
My two attend 8.00am to 5.30pm Mon - Fri and we pay $135 per week each plus a further $20 per week each for a hot meal at lunchtime so $310 per week in total. We both work full time in reasonably paid jobs and this represents about 1/4 of our total net income.
There are a lot of after school schemes for school age children and there is a higher use of nannies for after school care.
We have a friend who is a high school teacher and she certainly seems to get paid a good wage - certainly more than us, so I think teachers wages are OK over here, but I know there are other teachers on here who will be able to better advise on this one.
Good luck
Vicki

thebears

Where is this Vicki? We pay $310 per week per child. Making up a tenth of our net income.

IainW

That's about the going rate, in Wanganui anyway.

A top of scale primary teacher (say 8 years + experience) is on near enough $60k, which is around $850 a week net. Obviously less experience = less cash, the scale goes down to low 40s I think. Secondary are similar, but with more opportunities for management points etc.

2 teachers at top of scale is a pretty decent income here, with the current exchange rate it's just over 2/3 the equivalent UK salary.

littleflower15

Thanks so much for the info. I am a secondary teacher(maths) and my husband, Science. Will we have to start from rock bottom salary or will our salaries be equated to our years experience- mine 10 years , my husband - 11. When we started in the UK,we did supply for a while and earned good salaries. We then applied to schools and were placed as unqualified teachers earning almost half. We were shocked because no one told us. I know have my QTS(UK teacher qualification). Just wondering what NZ thinks of the UK qualifications that is if they are recognised.
Margo

IainW

If you have either a B Ed or a PGCE you'll be fine, if you don't you may struggle. Either way, you need to get your qualifications assessed by the NZQA and then apply for provisional registration with the Teachers Council. You'll need both of those done before submitting your EOI. It takes perhaps 2-3 months in total for both, and costs a couple of hundred quid each.

NZQA

Teachers Council

Once you have provisional registration, you can contact the agencies over here and with Science & Maths as your subjects you'll get a job offer in no time. Good luck!

IainW

Just to add, your UK experience counts in NZ, providing you can prove where you worked and for how long for.

littleflower15

Thanks so much for all the advise.

Joshlin

we're in christchurch.
so you pay more, but you earn more - sounds like Australia to me!
In the UK we spent about a 1/6th of our net earnings on child care, but then we never did come here for the money!!
The main thing is that our children are happy, well cared for, enjoy the activities / socialising and learning and we can work without worrying about them (although my ideal would be to not work quite so much!)

littleflower15

Thanks for your reply. I just want a better life for my children. I am not chasing money, just looking for a simple life. For example sitting outside at night and seeing the stars, taking walks,etc.

On a another note somebody suggested I try Australia, somehow I think NZ has a better life to offer me. Any suggestions on that.