lisas

Hi, I am a primary school teacher from the Uk and hve been on the gold coast for a few months. Can anyone help with the process in qld? I understand some of it but am still a bit confused with other parts of the process.

I have applied for my registration with queensland college of teachers and am waiting for this to come through. If anyone can clear up even just one of the following questions for me i would be forever grateful:

- Is there any way I can do supply teaching whilst I wait for my registration with qld college of teachers?

- I know that once I have got my registration I then need to fill in forms again and apply with qld education to teach - and that you can be sent anywhere, unless u just opt for supply - is this paper work just for work in state schools? Or do I still need to do this if I want supply in private schools? In other words, as soon as i get my registration with the college of teachers can i then send my CV to private schools and get supply there whilst waiting for my forms to be processed by education qld in order to get work in state schools?

- Does Tracer (think I've got this right- is this like a supply pool where schools join up to be sent supply teachers as and when?), include private schools or is it just state.

- Do I need to get a blue card and first aid certificate or is this not needed?

- I have been here a few months so my police check from uk is over a year old. qld college of teachers said that would be ok, but will education qld need a more recent one from uk, even though i'm here now. Or can an australian police check be done, because this is where i am now living?

- Also, in order to teach in the uk you normally fill in a medical form for the agency/authority you work for - does this happen here or because they have assessed your english qualification do they just assume you are fit to teach because you taught in the uk?

- In NSW I believe overseas teachers need to do a course for a few weeks to get up to speed on teaching in oz. Is there something similar in qld or is it a case of do the paper work then you can teach. I've looked for something online but there doesn't seem to be anything, am I right?

- Just one more, I promise .... I am qualified in Uk to teach 3-11 yet here am I right in thinking 0-5/6 are taught in childcare centres. I have been told that you need an early childhood degree to teach in these and would have to to a bridging course if I wanted to teach in one of these centres as I have a B.Ed. Could I not try for a job in one of the 3-up classrooms as a teacher because my uk degree has covered these ages.

It all seems a lot more complicated than teaching in the UK and the whole process seems really confusing. I even sent off for a pack from qld college of teachers thinking it would give me all the answers as to how to teach in qld and it basically just promoted teaching as a job. All this jumping through hoops is enough to put people off applying in the first place!

Thanks in advance for info that can clear up any of my questions.
Lisa

Lara_jane

I can answer one of the questions. I worked in childcare centres in Brisbane on my WHV. If your degree says you have early years, then you should be ok. But the pay is pretty poor and some of the centres are terrible. You should get in contact with Select education, they do a lot of recruitment & day to day supply for the Bris area, they may do the Gold Coast or be able to recommend someone.
As to teaching on the GC, I'd be surprised if you manage to find a permanent job in primary. They are so sought after, and generally go to the ozzies 1st. I have only seen 1 advertised in 4 months, and it was for a specialist arts teacher.
Can answer 2 actually - you need a blue card, working with children to work in the childcare centres. They cost $40 and you need to fill in a form, and give 2 passport photos, think someone needs to see a few bits of ID & countersign it. Think this was why i went to see the JP - free over there.

comet555

You can't work as a relief teacher unless you have your registration from the college of teachers. I asked a school directly while I was waiting for my registration to go through.

I have no idea how the private school system works, but I do believe you'd have to apply for jobs separately. It might be worth checking to see if they require you to be registered with the Queensland College of Teachers. If they don't then maybe you could find some relief work. I really have no idea though because I haven't looked into it.

I have no idea if Tracer includes private schools, it might be worth sending an email to them to find out. I don't think all state schools use them either, so you'd be best to talk to your local schools.

Once you've got your registration I don't believe you need a blue card, although I could be wrong about that. The first aid I'm not sure about. If you were working in a child care centre as an assistant or other position then you'd need one. But if you're a registered teacher then I don't think it's required since there is some form of police check involved in getting your registration.

I didn't have to send in a new police check after we moved. I applied 5 months after we arrived and on the form it didn't require a new one. It's possible if you've been here for a lot longer then you might need one.

No idea about the medical form.

I don't think there's any required course here in QLD. We had planned on going to NSW so I know about the course there. But I've done a bit of looking in QLD and haven't seen any meniton of a course. I now have my registration so I'm ok to apply for a job and I haven't taken any courses.

I'm sure you could apply for jobs teacher little kids but my guess is that they would have a preference for those that were specialized in early childhood. So, I'm not too sure, but if you call a center you could find out.

Lastly.... when did you apply for registration? It does take a while to get so be prepared for that. I applied in September and it took me 4 months to get it. Normally it's only 3 months but there was a backlog or something so it was taking about 4 when mine was granted in January.

In case you were wondering no I'm not working right now. I haven't applied for any jobs yet, and probably won't for another year. I have an 18 month old at home and a 4 year old, so I'm waiting for my oldest to go to prep.

saoghalbeag

As far as I recall you are able to send off those forms for Education Queensland (the department) before your Qld College of Teachers rego arrives - you just mark on the form that you are waiting for it. That might speed up the process a bit.

With the Education Dept you also need to obtain a rating to teach in state schools (especially if you are looking for long term/permanent work). For day to day supply and short term you can get away with having a T4 rating (which is sort of a temp rating). The rating process involves interviews either in a school where you are doing supply work or in front of a dept panel. I've been working day-to-day supply since 2006 and also worked a month long contract last year and still have not obtained a rating as the only interview time the panel could offer me was impossible to make. I could have obtained the rating during the month of supply (the principal could do it) but as I had planned to move away from Qld this year I did not bother - pity as I'm still here

Bit more on state: you don't HAVE to go 'anywhere' but as they state on the forms it will affect your chances of getting work (other than supply) if you elect to stay in the south east corner. There is some sort of points system operating whereby 'country service' points accumulate and 'allow' you to get jobs in the south east (could take years tho!) The other option is to continue to slog away at supply until something more permanent comes up. I know 3 teachers locally (we are west of Ipswich) who have done this - the only one who has a permanent job took nearly 9 years to get it and it ended up being in a private school. The others get long term work before the rest of us johnny come latelys but still nothing permanent. Actually one of those teachers is now working in disabled care etc as she has kids to support and can't afford to risk supply.

It may also be worth looking on the Dept website as they advertise for 'urgent' posts and sometimes they are nearer than you think (such as Gympie, Maryborough).

Private/Independent: these can be Catholic schools (you need to apply through the Brisbane Diocese. Most jobs are asking these days for you to also complete the online registration - worth doing this as soon as you have your Qld College of Tchrs rego as it also operates as a database for schools to find YOU - what a great idea You will need accreditation at some point for teaching in Catholic system - see the website for more info. You can get a job without it but it works in your favour to have it. As does a pastoral reference if that is an option for you. There's also Toowoomba and Rockhampton Dioceses (eek - is that the right pl?)

Independent schools: in my head I divide them into 2 categories: Posh schools and Christian schools . Posh ones are more like your English style Grammar schools and the Christian schools can range from more expensive Lutheran or Anglican schools in inner Brissy or on the Coast (or even in the outskirts these days) to smaller, less expensive, a bit fundamentalist AOG or COC schools. Baptists fall in between (of course!)

As far as working in these goes: majority advertise in the Courier Mail (Saturdays) in the recruitment section (Career One - also online), as well as on teachers.on.net.au

For a comprehensive website with links to all things Aussie & education, try:

http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/aussi...employment.htm

which has links to all the above sites I have mentioned and lots of other info besides.

When your teacher rego comes through AND your department rego, then contact TRACER who organise supply for state schools. Catholic system has their own supply (and will probably involve registering onthe above mentioned website). Private schools may use agencies for longer term supply. Smart Teachers also operate in southeast Queensland and may be worth getting in touch with - although 2 years and they've still not found me a job

ALSO: send your CV and cover letter off to schools anyway - even phone up and let the principal know you are in the area and available for supply if they'd like to meet you in person. Like somebody else mentioned, not all schools use TRACER and even those who do like to know the teachers they are getting in. ONce you are 'known' they may then request you through TRACER or phone you directly.

I know it sounds complicated but trust me, going from Qld to the UK is just as difficult - even WORSE the bloody English gov't have decided to bar OTTs who've previously worked in the UK from returning if they didn't get QTS - I worked a couple of weeks there on day-to-day supply in 2002 and then left the country - nobody mentioned QTS, but too bad - I can never return!! At least you've always got the chance to teach here, even though it might take some paperwork for it to actually happen! Good luck!