[greenchilli]

Hi,
I am a qualified Primary teacher (PGCE 1995) with over 10 years UK teaching experience and my husband and I are thinking about moving to the Otago area. My husband is a museum educatior with a Masters Degree.
I have just submitted my EOI (think that we have 150 points) and so I am now starting to think about finding jobs and would welcome comments to do with how other UK teachers have found the move from teaching in the UK to NZ. Advice on the current job market, where to source jobs etc would be most welcome. Is a teacher's standard of living roughly the same, higher or lower than in the UK?
Thanks
Lisa

[Carey]

Hi Lisa,
Welcome to the forum from another primary teacher looking for a job.

The best place is to look at this site :http://www.edgazette.govt.nz/vacancy.php.

You can get daily emails from them according to the areas you are interested in. You will need to get your degree assesses by NZQA and then apply to the Teachers Council; not sure how much you know yet so won't go into details but happy to if needed. Then in theory you just apply.....however I've only had 1 interview so far(not successful), so outside of Auckland don't know how successful UK applicants are, as seem to be enough Kiwi teachers. But go for it and good luck!
Ask anything else you need to know! Or use the search engine for eg salaries.

[greenchilli]

Thanks for the advice Carey- good luck with the job hunting !

[mike&stef]

Hi Lisa,

My wife and I are both primary teachers hoping to go to NZ this September, then job hunting in October. There certainly seemed to be lots of jobs on offer over last autumn in both islands but we didn't apply as had house to sell.
We now seem to be v. lucky as have sold house and were just picked from the pool last November with 120 points. We think we'll hopefully get a Work to Residence Visa which at least will give us parity with NZ teachers on applications (in theory), and 9 months in NZ to get a job with small cash reserve!!!!!:uhoh

Was interested to hear you had an interview John, was that from an application in the UK? Did you fly over? What was it like compared to UK? Good luck with the next one! :nice1

I wonder if there are any other Primary teachers on the forum?

Regards Mike

[marshanite]

Hi Lisa

I signed up with all the recruitment agencies mentioned on the NZ immigration website and only one got back to me. www.oasis-edu.co.nz. I am a secondary teacher but I know that they have a primary dept. They had some good advice for me and even managed to get me a job. Might have been lucky but this is probably the right time to apply as the school term is just starting and schools are eager to get teachers in. I did say that I would start in mid Jan but then looked at flights. I then said that the beginning of March would be more convenient and the school said no problems. If you can't make it this year then this Xmas would be a good time to apply.

[Carol]

Hi guys
I guess I'm one of those teachers....have taught here for 10 years after moving here almost 12 years ago.

My biggest shock if you want to call it that was how I was put on the salary scale - I was given half a year for each year I had worked in the UK - so in effect was well down the salary scale.
Not sure if that still applies or not.
You will find details of salaries etc on here
http://www.nzei.org.nz/teachers_primary_area/pay&conditions.htm


I had been used to teaching in an "integrated day"type of classroom so found NZ classrooms to be much more rigid funnily enough in their expectations of teachers. I got used to it eventually.
And if I'm truly honest - because I am science/maths/ICT skilled - I found teaching Maori really difficult as I found it so hard to learn for myself. lol That said - I've grown to really appreciate the cultural side but leave the expertise for the maori teachers in schools. :-)

Also handwriting.....I still find it weird how they teach it here - and from the state of all my own kids' writing, I'm still not convinced it works.

On the plus side - the kids are generally well behaved and the schools supportive. Of course that really depends on where you teach - but there ARE some fantastic schools out there.
I STILL appreciate the fact that SATS do not exist here (and you don't spend a year teaching primary kids with them in mind....)

But I have to say I found the 10 week terms very very difficult.
It is just too long without a break in the middle for the kids.



I have actually left teaching for a while to pursue another career.

[castleclan]

Another primary teacher here! Just started researching the possibility of emigrating.
Keen to know whether Kiwi teachers need to work the '8.00 till 5.30 and then 2 hours at night and Sunday afternoon planning' kind of hours to get all the paper work done......( if yes, I will look to change career) or can you work together with children to help them be happy and confident in their learning and have children that are keen to learn?

Not sure how qualifications will be worked out. B.Ed degree and 19 years experience. Have had conflicting info on whether primary teaching on list or not for skills shortage. Any advice??

[Carey]

Primary teaching is on immediate skills shortage list. This doesn't help with points towards Skilled Migrant catagory but means that if youa re offered a job your application will be processed more quickly. I understand there are opportunities in Auckland and Oasis recruit primarily for the city.
You will get 50 points for your degree and more for 19 yrs experience - do the quick points check to see your total.

Good luck!

[castleclan]

Thanks, By the way, we are in Suffolk too!

[mike&stef]

With primary teaching being on the ISSL now I think that this means you can apply for jobs in NZ on an equal footing with New Zealanders, whereas before an employer could only offer you the job if there were no suitably qualified NZ teachers applying. [ which seems a bit unlikely unless it's in the worst areas.] They would also have had to complete a form NZ1113 I think , declaring this to the government, which must have put some employers off overseas trained staff.

I do hope that NZ schools truly are more reasonable over workload than here, I do know of a primary teacher who has recently settled in NZ and she had found Part Time in the UK to be practically full time and hated it. Now she has done a year of PT in NZ and enjoyed it so much that she has applied for FT posts!

Regards Mike

[Carol]

For me personally (with 3 kids of my own) - I found full time far too demanding - even here in NZ.
Which is actually why I left and am pursuing other careers now.

Relieving is a breeze though!

[Carey]

Thanks, By the way, we are in Suffolk too!

Whereabouts in Suffolk? PM me if you prefer; I can't do same to you until you've posted a bit more!

[castleclan]

Congrats on the interview. What is the post?

We are in Felixstowe. Somewhere I read you were rural ?!
I've not discovered the ins and outs of the site yet and how to do everything.

Just looking up salary info. Haven't a clue where abouts I'd be.

Oh yes, and Happy Birthday..... May be it will be one of those weeks.

[spid]

I too am a primary teacher (Early Years) but have taught from 3 to 16 and in Special Needs. Not years of experience due to bring up the family (5 and a bit) so not to far up the ladder to fall back down it to the bottom.

My question is for those of you alredy out there that have done the NQA stuff - i am having problems with my college in providing an apppropriate academic transcript. You see they have lost over 1/2 my records. Do i NEED all my assignment results for the full four years? if they proiduce a transcript that gives what it can and states that my specialism was in Early Years and ENglish will that be enough?

Iw ould probably only want to teach p-time to begin with to see how the work load is. My mate teaches part-time at the mo in ENgland (i'm not working) and is inundated and i really get to speak to her she is SO busy.

ANy advice would be great.:cheers

[Carey]

My Polytechnic could not locate my transcripts, said it was too long ago, archives were inacessable etc....I got a covering letter saying as much plus sent copies of the emails showing I had treid to get the transcripts, plus spent £50 getting a copy of the course syallabus which weighed a tonne and was probably unnecessary but I didn't want to risk not trying every avenue. My case worker said I had obviously tried hard to provide the requires itmes so they would go ahead and assess. But be careful with 'Early years' as it is not the same in NZ and no Uk qualification that I know of, equals theirs so despite ECE being on Skills Shortage list, only those with NZ ECE quals. can apply for the jobs.

But good luck!

[Justine+Ben]

Hello

I am yet another primary trained teacher but with less experience than others I think. I've a couple of years teaching experience in the UK and then I taught for a year in the US. I found teaching to be COMPLETELY different in California, though it was a private school and in the UK I had always worked in state schools (inner London). I am keen to know how primary teaching differs in NZ and particularly what it is like in Auckland? Having worked in London I am used to multilingualism and teaching in a multicultural environment etc. but I am intrigued to know how it all works with the Maori language? I am also hoping that teachers in NZ have a better work/life balance as I felt that in England primary teachers were very overworked and stressed (working every week night and on Sundays too etc.). Any opinions/thoughts?

Although I would like to teach in Auckland, I am also considering returning to uni to study some more (especially if teaching in NZ is like it is in England!)

It is a great relief to know that SATS don't exist in NZ :) Do they use a National strategy in NZ (ie: like the literacy/Numeracy/primary strategies)?

Good luck to everyone out there looking for teaching posts!

Cheers,

Justine

[Carey]

I Only know of Carol (who posted above), who has actually taught in NZ plus I have a family friend. But you can look at this: http://www.tki.org.nz/r/governance/nzcf/index_e.php and follow on to each subject. My friend says it's fairly similar in class but after working in London primaries, she now understands why all her Uk cousins are sent to private schools!