benj1980

On 04/08/2022 at 06:03, Arcadia53 said:

Brilliant thank you . Love this attitude . My wife did the ielts test yesterday and said it was hell on earth. The lady who ran it was a kiwi who was asking my wife why we would want to move to oz and in particular Perth haha 

Well there's a lot of Kiwi's here! IELTS isn't fun, I don't know anyone who enjoys it, just part of the process I'm afraid!

On 04/08/2022 at 09:10, MARYROSE02 said:

Purple? Is that the West Coast Eagles' shirt colour!?!? Purple sounds suspiciously like the Freemantle Dockers? Not that you have to follow either. You can be "true" to your state or you can choose another team. In my case, despite them playing in "Gooner" red and white, I go for the Sydney Swans.

Of course Dockers, why would you support anyone else? Flagmantle!!

On 04/08/2022 at 19:38, ali said:

British shop in Kardinya has English Crisps

No where near me! But if I'm in the area...

I think age discrimination would only depend on the job sector you are going into. Plus in WA if you get here, there's plenty of work. So we keep getting told anyway by the pollies. Nothing replaces rolling up your sleeves, being flexible and networking. So sport is a good way to meet people.

AFL is king in WA, so you'll need to purchase a purple guernsey (yes not jersey) and embrace it! I coach rugby union but it's hard to compete against AFL. NPL soccer is the highest level of state soccer and it's ok, to be honest it's pretty limited. Don't get me started on Perth Glory! Rugby League has a following but it's mainly kiwis and there's a limited amount of clubs. There was a pro club in WA once upon time, but it struggled and disappeared.

I disagree when people say there's not enough to do here, I like to explore new areas, travel around and we find new places all the time. Been here nearly 7 years. I'm naturally a country boy so big cities like Sydney and Melbourne wouldn't interest me past a vacation.

Anyway age won't be a barrier!

Chips over here are rubbish, only a few places do them freshly cut (I'm in WA). I always request salt and vinegar hula hoops when people go to the UK. You're not coming to WA are you @pob ?!!!!!

We are at the stage where 3 members of staff have left to work out country (temporary promotions) and 2 people who were offered contracts have done the same leaving us short of teachers. So if anyone is keen in working in sunny Mandurah (well it's raining today) let me know!

I definitely paid, I actually paid too much as I got more documents signed than required. The registration takes a bit of time to complete and I didn't want to be wasting time when I could be working. I can't actually remember what I paid now, I'm sure it's gone up! I was living in Wiltshire at the time so a bus took me into Victoria station I believe. I'm a Cornish lad so if I was still living down there I would have stayed overnight somewhere!

3 hours ago, Geography87 said:

Thanks- yeah, they actually emailed back this morning and said that would be the one to go for. Looking into going to the embassy to get the docs certified. Do you remember if you had to pay anything? There is a fee list but it isn't clear exactly what I'd have to pay for what is needed. Would be travelling from Devon so weighing up whether to just pay a Notary Public to do it all here.

Initially I was classed as non practising. After two years I moved to full registration.

On 29/05/2022 at 20:48, Geography87 said:

Hiya, 

I'm a Geography teacher and have had my 491 visa in the pipeline for a while now. Just had communication with Case Officer and submitted my medical and police check last Friday so I am hoping that it won't be long before the grant. I have 90 points so hoping that pops me a little higher up the list (if that's even how it works). I'm on a Family Sponsored visa so am not obliged to work in WA but I have some family ties there and so am intending to head there. All being well I'm hoping that I'll be over around Sept '22. This being said I am trying to get a head start on the registration process but from what I've seen I don't think I can register without a job offer. Does this sound correct? Might make things tricky as I assume it takes a while to do all the form filling etc after being offered a position.

Cheers!

If you mean registering with TRBWA I did it from the UK. There were forms that needed to be signed by an Australian citizen (professional) and so I popped to the embassy for the day and got them to do it. I had my TRB Number before I landed in Oz meaning I was in work within a week.

27 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Of course, teaching in itself is a skill, and some would even say it's a gift.  We've all had great teachers and ordinary teachers in our lives. I just think you're taking it too far.

I think I'm probably a realist as well working in this field. There's a shortage of teachers and yet hundreds of surplus of Phys Ed graduates each year. Many of these will pick up Junior school health studies, Science, amongst others and pick up some Phys Ed as well if we can find a way. Genuine Mathematicians and Scientists are very valuable to a school but we don't get 10, in fact we'd be very lucky to get a couple of them apply for every job role available. However the debate remains, can they teach? The education department have developed a program called LEAP in which you can do a post grad (and shorter courses) in Science or Maths and I believe it is fully funded, the idea is to attract teachers to switch to these subjects. I think this is a great idea, teachers with experience get a solid grounding in what they would teach. It's had some good success...

13 hours ago, Marisawright said:

If it's so easy to swap over to another subject, one wonders why anyone even bothers studying history or science or any other subject at university if one wants to teach. Sounds like all you need to do is stay one textbook ahead of the students, provided you know how to teach.

My point is you can have all the knowledge in the world but can't teach and it is a skill, then it will have no impact to a class. If you have read one textbook but can teach the information in a way that hooks the students in and keeps them engaged in the subject, then I know which I'd prefer of my teachers. You can only do this up to a certain level though, you can't wing it as the topics get more complex it simply isn't sustainable. The optimum of course is a teacher with fantastic subject knowledge through university study, who shows passion and is simply a great teacher as well. As a regular teacher recruiter we are always looking for those!

13 hours ago, Blue Flu said:

I don't work in a school and going by stats released in relation to increased violence against teachers and general disgruntlement with the system. I do know teachers though and they give a mixed report with regards to their industry. Obviously, as I already mentioned it is nothing in comparison to tough inner city schools in the larger English cities. Again I have known (but a long time ago) Aussie and Kiwi teachers that worked in Inner London schools and found the going way more difficult. One even admitted to be scared for their safety. That was back last century. I doubt if things have improved, but the point that is being suggested, is not comparison with English schools, but the decline in standards in WA schools. 

I didn't know there was actual stats based around violence against teachers and disgruntlement, is this through the union? If you have a source I'd be interested in seeing it. I only know of one Aussie who has stuck it out in the UK system but plenty who come back, that could be for a multitude of reasons but they generally say the English system was more challenging in terms of students and expectations. I have only worked in Australia for seven years so I'd suggest that this isn't really long enough to suggest whether there has been a decline in standards, it's a big statement to make but there is certainly more awareness of every incident within a school due to social media. I don't think academic outcomes have changed much in this time and in WA there's been huge investment in things like Special Educational Needs which even ten years ago wasn't really of the same significance.

On 20/05/2022 at 09:24, Jon the Hat said:

Clearly if there were specialist teachers you would expect them to get priority, but I am increasingly convinced that being a great teacher is less about knowledge and more about how you engage and communicate, and also these days control a classroom.  If you had a successful public school teacher with some experience that is probably a better bet that say a specialist subject teacher who only worked in a small private school.

I would suggest you are correct. You can have all the subject knowledge and passion in the world but if you can't communicate to your audience it's a waste of time. Nobody wants to teach a subject that is completely alien to them however, that said some have and thrived. Maths would be difficult as you need to continue to build your knowledge and aptitude in the subject to move on to the next level of difficulty, but history or civics just read up on the subject. Having said this, not at senior school level!

On 20/05/2022 at 07:23, Blue Flu said:

What I can confirm is a lot of disquiet on the teaching front in WA. Many are unhappy with conditions and indeed safety in WA schools. I doubt it is anywhere near the level of some inner city UK schools , but never the less has resulted in a lot of bad publicity of late.  

I don't entirely agree with this. Pay wise yes, the latest offer isn't enough. Safety in some schools is coming under scrutiny perhaps but it is a small amount I would suggest. Although schools aren't full of angels who want to learn. People leave the UK teaching profession in droves and it is not just inner city schools. The work life balance doesn't even compare, there's more flexibility certainly in the public system although I can't comment on the private system. My experience is based on a tough secondary school, followed by a leafy green secondary school in the UK followed by a low socioeconomic high school and of course my teaching network. I left whilst academy structures were in their infancy, I understand this has really stripped schools in the UK as they strive to save money. Public schools here aren't superbly resourced either but has support mechanisms through the department to support with disabilities, mental health and behaviour are active and work well with schools.

I'd be interested in knowing what sort of school you work in Blue Flu?

Times have changed, previously I would have had a few responses by now! People looking for work! Western Australia has only just reopened I guess, as well a higher point score... Can anyone confirm whether they are/or aware of others finding it difficult to emigrate because of points in teaching?

Well yes the points have all changed since I applied you needed 60 I think and I had 65! I haven't kept up to date with visa requirements admittedly in any detail. @Marisawright it seems you have

The Visa asks for Secondary Teachers it doesn't stipulate subjects?

13 minutes ago, ScotErin said:

Brilliant of you to reach out on here with this information! I will be keeping an eye on the forum once I qualify in the UK and am following the advice from Marisawright and others to expand on the subjects I teach to improve my chances. 

Yes, Modern Studies is essentially current affairs, citizenship and politics, but Modern Studies teachers here in Scotland will often teach other Humanities too like History and Geography - so I will get as much under my belt as I can. Thanks for sharing this and I will certainly come back to the forum in the future with more experience and my qualifications gained. 

Thanks for your help on this - I really appreciate it. I am delving into the specific curriculums of several states to understand if/ how my subject might fit into the curriculums. Good to know this kind of outreach can be found here, so thanks again! 

I think what you need to understand is if you enjoy politics, citizenship etc. That obviously what you'd teach over here would be different. We have HASS teachers who are Poms but they are really teaching things that they have little subject knowledge of because you are teaching in a different context. There's more overlap with Geography of course. It's not really an issue you'll just have to do some reading and research!

3 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

That's what I mean.  I'm not at all sure Modern Studies is even recognised as a subject, at least in some states.   

@ScotErin would need to check that out and it could change of course!

2 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Tagging @ScotErin here in case you're able to help.   They are unable to apply for current vacancies as not yet qualified, but you may have useful info on future prospects. 

My concern is that ScotErin is about to embark on training as a Modern Studies teacher in order to migrate, and from my limited experience (as the ex-wife of a Science teacher), I think the chances of migrating with that subject would be very slim.  Your thoughts?

What is it? Is it HASS related? History, Geography, Citizenship& Politics, Business Studies? In terms of migration I think as a High School teacher it would be ok. But it is a HASS role I'm thinking so you would need to be flexible as HASS teachers are pretty common.

Skilled occupation list (homeaffairs.gov.au)

There's plenty of visa options I think?

25 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

What subjects are needed?  

Always Science and Maths. English, Technology seems to be the next priority and then HASS, but not Phys Ed! Unfortunately everyone wants to be a Phys Ed teacher over here, many split their time with their secondary subjects and most of them are awesome in the classroom. 

I'm intrigued whether Rick2021 ever made it?!

I was in the UK and booked an appointment at the Australian embassy in London. It meant my teaching registration came through before I was in the country and therefore able to work almost straight away as a relief teacher. Although I paid to get things signed, working after a week was a stress off my mind having a family including three children! At the time it had to be signed by a professional whom was an Australian citizen I believe, this was 7 years ago so may have changed and it was Western Australia...

Hi Guys

I haven't been on here for a while, but as we start to open up here in WA I thought I'd put a post out. I was wondering if there are any teachers who are looking to make the move soonish, perhaps you already have a visa or close to obtaining it. Many schools in the state have struggled to obtain teachers this year due to retirements, Covid mandates etc. This will pick up but if you are wondering when might be a good time to move, now I'd suggest would be as good as any. I work in the public system in a High School so your typical comprehensive school in the UK. SOR in sunny Mandurah we are looking out for more teachers and good teachers will be picked up pretty quickly into more lengthy contracts, leading to permanency. Two people I have connected with have from this forum have ended up with permanent jobs at my school to date, so if you have any questions please message me or reply on the post and I'll get back to you.

There's always plenty of debate over where you should live when you come to WA. I preferred the more rugged feel of where I live compared to NOR. But then I'm from Cornwall so the more un-spoilt coastline the better for me! The reality is there's jobs NOR too.

1 hour ago, ali said:

Congratulations on your citizenship.

Thank you!