[Newbe1]

I am a teacher from the U.S. wanting to get a job teaching in New Zealand. I wanted to know if there is anyone who know's how to get started with relief teaching? Is this the best way to start in finding a full-time job? I already have the NZQA paperwork going and am working on the teachers council. My family and I will be moving to the Dunedin area in July in hopes of finding a job within 3 months! Hoping for the best:nice1
Would love to hear from teachers currently teaching in NZ.

[wanderingoregonian]

I don't have any specific information but here are some links that might be helpful if you don't already know about them

http://www.teachnz.govt.nz/default.aspx

http://www.edgazette.govt.nz/

http://www.minedu.govt.nz/

http://www.tki.org.nz/e/schools/

the last one is great for looking up various schools and their contact info/websites.

[willsken]

It was my plan to do relief teaching at first but I managed to find a job from the UK. If a job comes up in the area you want to live in my advice would be to apply for it. I contacted the teaching agencies but they didn't want to know, as I wasn't flexible enough on where I would be happy to work/settle.

[auskiwi]

There is a desperate nation wide shortage of relief teachers in NZ. We arrived in Auckland (from the U.S) last October and from the first week on I worked every single day (at various local primary schools) until the Christmas holidays (I began a fulltime teaching job in January). On many occasions I had two or three schools calling on the same day.

Relieving is an excellent way to get into fulltime teaching as it enables schools to see how you are as a teacher and for you to see if the school is one you would want to work in. You will need to be registered as a teacher in NZ to put your name on relieving lists though.

Feel free to ask me any questions!

Amy.

[mike&stef]

Hi auskiwi,

was wondering when you went to NZ had you already been selected/received PR ?? if so are you a primary teacher ? we are wondering about "just going" because the chances of being picked out of the pool are so low. I spose we wouldnt be able to do relief teaching until we got a job offer and then were applied for PR?!

Regards Mike

[jewelsvani]

hi
This is for secondary only I think and Auckland only but:
I would email Oasis education I think they are called, believe me I hvae found them to be excellent absolutley amazing at what they do, and I know for a fact they sort out relief teaching (I was speaking face to face on sunday) for teachers. Drop them an email. :) Good lUck

[auskiwi]

I'm an Australian so didnt need to apply for PR (hubby is American so that is a whole different story). You need to have a work visa or PR before you can apply for work as a teacher (or relief teacher) in NZ. Once you have a visa you need to apply for NZ teacher registration too- only then can you apply to schools in the area you want to teach in and ask to be put on their relief teacher lists.

NZ is different from other parts of the world as you don't generally contact school districts or agencies (although some agencies, such as OASIS do exist). It is far more common for individual teachers to simply call in to the schools they want to relieve in with their contact details. I have never been asked for any kind of CV or references, only my teacher registration card! I could have worked every day of the school year as a reliever and I was only on the lists of three schools (near my house in West Auckland).

Of course applying for a full time teaching job is quite a bit more complicated (CV required) although again, you apply directly to the school that has the vacancy. I have been in a fulltime job as a primary teacher since January 30.

Happy to answer any specific q's anyone may have...
Amy.

[speckythecky]

Cheers for the info Amy,

Relief is no good for OH as we need to have work permit and can only get work permit if she has perm position.

[Newbe1]

"I'm an Australian so didnt need to apply for PR (hubby is American so that is a whole different story). You need to have a work visa or PR before you can apply for work as a teacher (or relief teacher) in NZ."

What is a PR? Can we apply for a visitors visa and then just go to NZ? Is it worth risking it and just getting there?

Thanks Amy for ALL the helpful info!

[Sam'n'Kelv]

I would definitely recommend Oasis Education (http://www.oasis-edu.co.nz/index.php). They were extremely helpful and got me a job in no time. Rachel Foster (relief@oasis-edu.co.nz) deals with relief teaching. I'm not too sure about the situation in Dunedin though - I've been told that the situation for teachers is a fair bit quieter there and the main demand is in the Auckland area.

Good luck!

[Trigirl]

newbe1 - PR is permanent residency. its a type of visa/permit that allows you to live and work in a country indefinitely.

[ruthyroo]

We're in Dunedin and the OH is currently doing relief (secondary). Last year he worked probably just under half the days he could. This year he's been lucky to get a long term relief, full time for a couple of terms so far.

A problem in Dunedin is that the secondary school population is falling at the moment, so less funding for schools, so less money to spend on relief teachers and more and more relief (both long and short term) positions are being covered internally. Dunedin is generally a tough place to get teaching jobs - many people come here and stay forever, and there is a steady stream of newly qualified (i.e. cheap) teachers from the Uni providing a lot of competition. And compared to a lot of the more challenging locations in the NI, it's pretty popular with teachers. Don't believe stories of 'nationwide shortages of teachers' in NZ - yes there are shortages in the less attractive areas / tougher schools / shortage subjects, but there are plenty of places / subjects where there are little or no shortages.

As above, best way to get supply work is to register with individual schools. Some will respond, some won't. It usually takes a while to get 'in' with a school, and they definitely have lists of 'preferred' relief teachers that they call first, so getting on the list is the first step. BTW you do need to be qualified, registered with the NZTC and have appropriate work permit / PR to do relief teaching in state schools. And as specky notes, relief teaching is not enough to get you a work permit.