[Carey]

I am a primary school teacher hoping to come to NZ for 5 to 6 weeks in March /April with my family, for a reccey. Can anyone suggest how to find out about schools, vacancies etc once there? Would it be acceptable to turn up at a school and look around? I'd have 2 motives, firstly to see what the school is like to teach in and secondly to get a feel for the school for our 3 kids to attend if we ended up there.

Another question, where should we look for possible teaching jobs? We think North Island is our preferred island but outside of Auckland there seem to be far less jobs available. I look regulary at the Gazzette, but presume once term starts there are fewer jobs advertised? Does it ever happen that if you are there, on the spot, you might be offered a job unconditionally? And would it be advisable to have started the registation process?

Hope someone can answer,
Carey

[gil]

Hi Carey,

Welcome! Sorry, I can't answer the bit about getting teaching jobs specifically, although from our perspective, we felt there were more jobs available in our line of work in Auckland so that is where we've moved to. If you're not fussed about the area, stick a pin in and see? We did a fair bit of research on the net and chose Howick as it's commutable to the city, lovely area and great schools for our 3 school-age ones. We span Primary, Intermediate and College ages. I had been in touch with the College and Intermediate schools by email as they are hard to get into and very strict about zoning. The primary, we just turned up on the Wedsnesady and asked to see around - they were very helpful and the kids started there on the Friday (could have started on Thurs, but we went to buy uniforms etc first).

I know many people who "end up" where their job is, and equally people who choose an area and then look for work, so no matter which way around, it can work.

I'm sure someone will be able to help more specifically with getting a teaching job, so good luck,

Gil

[Jenny & Mark]

Hi Carrey.

In NZ all job openings for teachers of primary and secondary schools must be advertised through the government, but you are already aware of that as you use the Gazette. Unlike the school system here in Canada, teachers are quite commonly hired throughout the school year.

To find out information about schools, I commonly start at http://www.tki.org.nz/e/schools/ giving basic information about school locations, size, decile, and contact information.

Mark.