Making the move to teaching in England???

Patches22

NQT here.

I have heard that quite a few teachers have opted to hop the pond and teach in England so am just wondering if there are any general thoughts on this. Does the experience stand to you once you return or is it harder to get back into the Irish system?

If anyone on here has experience in this area I would really appreciate their input. In particular, if any of you have had experience with agencies I'd love to hear how ye got on - have heard stories re money taken out of pay etc.

Thanks!

ICANN

I teach in the UK at the moment. I've worked with a good few agencies in both long term and short term positions.

Are you primary or secondary? Inbox me if you have any questions.

fakearms123

Funny you posted this thread, I am in talks with jobs over in the UK at the moment. I am dealing with Uteach to inform me of positions that are opening up. I am a NQT also and I don't know if I am taking a big risk by jumping ship on Irish schools.

I should be receiving a call from a school in Kent in the next few minutes to come over to them next Wednesday. It feels like a big move as I am moving up to Cork to try and get subbing. But if I can a permanent job straight out the gate with a steady income then it might be worth it. I was told that other Irish teachers are over there too.

I am nervous at the thought of how much a risk I might be taking.

Patches22

fakearms123 wrote: »

Funny you posted this thread, I am in talks with jobs over in the UK at the moment. I am dealing with Uteach to inform me of positions that are opening up. I am a NQT also and I don't know if I am taking a big risk by jumping ship on Irish schools.

I should be receiving a call from a school in Kent in the next few minutes to come over to them next Wednesday. It feels like a big move as I am moving up to Cork to try and get subbing. But if I can a permanent job straight out the gate with a steady income then it might be worth it. I was told that other Irish teachers are over there too.

I am nervous at the thought of how much a risk I might be taking.

Hi fakearms,

Thanks for posting. I know what you mean. It's awful hard to know what to do. Don't want to be sitting around doing nothing either.
Kent seemed to have been a big spot for vacancies over the summer. Let me know how you get on

thefasteriwalk

I know people who have come back from England and walked straight into jobs, not CID of course, but still work. I think principals find people who've worked over there very strong candidates. With regards to Kent, I believe Kent and Essex are always recruiting as that's where the worst discipline issues seem to be. A lot of their schools seem to be fairly low down on the OFSTED list. A friend of mine is in Kent at the minute in the second worst school in the England (according to OFSTED at least) and has compared it to that Michelle Pfeiffer film. Still though, she's coping really well and getting fantastic experience. I wouldn't let it put you off - if you can survive over there then it'll be a doddle when you return. I'm strongly considering going over next year if my current contract isn't renewed. If you haven't watched 'Educating Essex' yet, then do. This website is great too http://www.proteachersvideo.com/Home.aspx

edgecutter

I taught in England last year, and it is something you should def do. It is far tougher over there than here, but it will stand to you. Plus, I managed to secure maternity year in Ireland through building a great cv and having a brilliant reference from the school.

You will enjoy the year, although Kent is expensive for rent.

Heydeldel

I went straight over in June after the PDE for six weeks and am now working in a school very close to me at home - result!

I think it looks great on a CV, plus you might actually like it there!

There are usually a good few young Irish teachers on the staff in the Kent/ Essex schools so there's good craic in the staff-room. Only a hand full of young teachers in the school I'm in now and I miss the banter of England.

The kids are a bit wilder etc. but it's great experience, I felt way more confident going into teach this Sept. after having done a stint over there.


Do research where you are going and try find out a bit about the school before you start and be well prepared for a range of 'interesting' students.

I also went through Uteach so gimme a PM if you want to know anything else.

starfish90

I know an awful lot of people who have made the big move and i don't blame them-you're getting great experience even though it may be a bit tougher, and i think that when (or if) you come back an Irish principal will see that as a good thing and they won't fault you for going abroad considering jobs here are almost like gold dust these days.

seavill

NEVER see getting a post in a tough school as a bad thing. This can be the best thing that will every happen to you.

It will teach you to come up with strategies that you would never even consider if you were teaching in a "good" school straight off. You will use these everywhere you go afterwards.

It will give you an enormous amout of things to speak about also in interviews. Particularly if you are a tutor and you come up with new ways of positive discipline with your group that work. Again a principal would love to hear this, someone who can think outside the box and help the kids.

Also the obvious one, if you can survive in a tough position you will be fine wherever you go after this.

Do not let a tough school put you off going

needhair

Hi, all have any of you taken the leap and headed over to england I'm planning on moving over next month. Did u go over alone, did u get work easily, really just looking fro any input thanks

allprops

If you are an nqt, then England is a great option. I did it when I qualified back in the last century and I feel I learned a lot about structures and professional development. I came back after a year to a pwt. position. Yes, they existed back then. If you find a Catholic School, then they tend not to be as tough and they also like Irish Teachers. Best of Luck.

aunt aggie

I qualified almost three years ago and I have only had three months work in the last year. I put off going over to England because of family circumstances but now that things have changed I'm applying to jobs on tes.co.uk. This website is a great resource and I had been advised by other teachers to avoid agencies. Dont know why...

Few questions to those of you who have already made the transition,

I am registered with the TC but havent finished my probationary period. Am I classed as a Qualified Teacher in the UK?

Can you give me an idea of the supports offered by English schools to overseas teachers? I just find the gcse and alevel process very confusing and the jargon used in official advertisements is making my head spin. Do they expect teachers to have an indepth understanding of the syllabus and structure of the course going into an interview?

dukedalton

I qualified three years ago and my first teaching job was in Essex, and I got this job through Uteach. I have to be honest, I found it really tough going at times. In my case I went over by myself, not knowing anyone over there, which made it doubly tough. The schools are bigger, classes are bigger, kids are more challenging (both in terms of behaviour and in their demands of you), hours are longer, year is longer, and management demands more from you than in Ireland.

But career wise, working over there is far better than sitting around over here doing nothing, waiting for the phone to ring.When I came back to Ireland at the end of the year I got a job almost straight away, and I think this was largely down to the panel being some way impressed by my going abroad.

I'm currently out of work here and strongly considering going back over to England.

needhair

I applied to various agencies they ate organising my crb check bank account social insurance number and offer induction into teaching over there maybe anyone planning on going over alone should consider joining forces I'm going over alone in October

Zooey

needhair wrote: »

I applied to various agencies they ate organising my crb check bank account social insurance number and offer induction into teaching over there maybe anyone planning on going over alone should consider joining forces I'm going over alone in October

In the process of applying myself. Would def be interested in joining forces!

needhair

great so do u plan on doing supply work first??? the agencies said it is the best way to get to know the good schools, get to know curriculum etc... before committing to a job. when do u plan on heading over, another girl also wants to join forces so we could defo do a house share and be nice to have someone going tjrough same process

Zooey

needhair wrote: »

great so do u plan on doing supply work first??? the agencies said it is the best way to get to know the good schools, get to know curriculum etc... before committing to a job. when do u plan on heading over, another girl also wants to join forces so we could defo do a house share and be nice to have someone going tjrough same process

Oh yes it'll be supply work as I've just received my qualification. Plan on heading early October, am sending all relevant docs to agency tomorrow. Do you know how long it takes the agency to process all your documentation etc.?

needhair

well the crb check can take 2-4 weeks so whenever u have that sorted u can teach straight away

Zooey

needhair wrote: »

well the crb check can take 2-4 weeks so whenever u have that sorted u can teach straight away

Oh wow... that's exciting. Will keep you up to date.

Heydeldel

needhair wrote: »

well the crb check can take 2-4 weeks so whenever u have that sorted u can teach straight away

You'd wonder why it takes 6- 8 weeks for a Garda vetting to be completed here....

needhair

Typical Ireland useless lol are u thinking of heading over to uk???

bdoo

needhair wrote: »

Typical Ireland useless lol are u thinking of heading over to uk???

When I taught there I was told that the CRB check worked like this...

Dear guards, has bdoo got any criminal convictions?

Dear CRB, feck off. We only release that information to the individual.

Dear Bdoo, you have passed your CRB check.

Heydeldel

needhair wrote: »

Typical Ireland useless lol are u thinking of heading over to uk???

Nope. Did was there for 6 weeks teaching and have a bit of work here at home. Hopefully will get some more. I could end up in UK again.... but not just yet.

Best of luck with it.

needhair

Hi everyone still waiting on crb form wish the agencies would get there ass in gear. Anyone decided yet if they defo going to London, Im getting very nervous about the whole thing tbh, moving over alone is scary but more worried about what students will be like?? Anyone any experience with doing supply over there???

dukedalton

needhair wrote: »

Hi everyone still waiting on crb form wish the agencies would get there ass in gear. Anyone decided yet if they defo going to London, Im getting very nervous about the whole thing tbh, moving over alone is scary but more worried about what students will be like?? Anyone any experience with doing supply over there???

I was in a similar position to you a couple of years ago. Students are students, wherever you go. I found students in England to be no different than students here- you will get the same sort of characters no matter where you are.

Before I went over I was worried that my being Irish would be held against me and that I would stick out like a sore thumb, but when you get there you realise there are so many different nationalities that being from Ireland (or anywhere else, for that matter) is largely irrelevant.

You're going to be a lot more worried about this than they are. Just go over and give it your best shot.

needhair

thanks for advice dukedalton i hope by xmas ill be saying how much I love it over there!! with the supply work will I be sent to loads of different school or generally be sent to say 4 or 5 schools on a regular basis

dukedalton

needhair wrote: »

thanks for advice dukedalton i hope by xmas ill be saying how much I love it over there!! with the supply work will I be sent to loads of different school or generally be sent to say 4 or 5 schools on a regular basis

Subbing, or supply teaching as it's called over there, is different from what we think of over here. Because schools in England are generally pretty big (usually 800+ students), there is a fairly regular need for teachers to come in on a short term basis. In fact, there is usually a teacher in the school whose job it is to manage the supply teachers. So if you are in a school and make a good impression, chances are they will ask for you again when the need arises. At first you may be in a lot of schools, but if things go well, after a couple of weeks you should be in a smaller number of schools.

If it was me, I would be looking around for a longer term contract as soon as you start. Subbing is fine, but career-wise I think it looks better to be timetabled in one school rather than going from one to the next on a daily basis. You learn a lot more about the job when you have your own class and you're teaching every day.

needhair

Yeah I hope to get long term position want to do supply maybe till xmas see what schools are like etc... do u think that a long term position is more likely if im over there and doing supply first???

dukedalton

needhair wrote: »

Yeah I hope to get long term position want to do supply maybe till xmas see what schools are like etc... do u think that a long term position is more likely if im over there and doing supply first???

Absolutely. I'm sure there are a lot of people in Ireland applying for jobs in England, but I'm sure there are many who don't go over for the interview or accept the job for one reason or another- this makes English schools reluctant to shortlist candidates based in Ireland. Once you're living over there, that's no longer an issue. And you'll see the jobs market is much more open in England than in Ireland.

Generally speaking, schools in England interview in October for January starts, and interview just after Easter for September starts.

It's natural to be nervous, and this is a big step, but just remember it's far better for your career to be teaching (whether it's as a supply teacher or full time) than sitting at home in Ireland waiting for the phone to ring. The way I'd see it, you've nothing to lose

needhair

Thanks so much for advice really appreciate it

Heydeldel

Fair play for deciding to go. It is daunting but think about living in London and how deadly your weekends will be!

Students are students wherever you go for sure. Have a few tricks and bit of work prepared in case you need to keep classes busy. Practice how you will handle situations and be clear on what you expect.

Any experience is good experience, but I agree that getting longer term work is better. Cut your teeth with supply work and learn the do's and dont's and then get stuck in.


Keep nagging the agencies!

Best of luck with it!