emwatson

Most schools here prefer their teachers to be able to offer more than one subject so you'd be fine I teach secondary Sciences at a large College made up of 5 campuses near Adelaide. I also delve into Digital Technologies and Engineering as STEM has become such a focus area for the upper Junior and lower Middle school years. I promise, you will find that elusive work-life balance here!

@Rick2021 To be honest even when I was applying for state sponsorship, SA looked like the most straightforward. NSW and VIC have plenty of teachers so it wasn't on the skilled list. WA had a weird loophole that meant you could only get state sponsorship if you had a job offer already - a job offer that could only be given if you had registration in Oz but you could only get a rego if you had a visa / already lived here... so virtually impossible. QLD were looking for specific Science subjects (not sure about primary) but SA was like "You can teach??? Science??? Welcome!!!" Things are different here in that getting a permanent teaching position off the bat is quite rare... which I didn't realise until I actually started working here... but it is easier to obtain in the non-Government sector than the state where you're employed by the Education dept and can be directed where to work each year. Quite unsettling every 12 months. I work in the largest R-12 school in SA (5 campuses) and we have regular TRT staff who are kept on our repeat list so are effectively treated as staff across the schools. My experience was as follows: I had been advised (by a colleague from Nottingham that'd emigrated to Brisbane) to apply with my CV and letter of application to every private/independent school in Adelaide (within my criteria) and ask to be put on file. Most job adverts occur about September (for Jan Term 1 starts). I heard back from most with general thanks and 'we'll do that'. But two schools contacted me to give me advance notice of a position they'd got coming up. The first to get in touch set up an informal Skype chat about a basic teaching position in one of their campuses' Middle Schools. They upgraded their offer during the Skype to the role of a Science Coordinator at that campus. I took it, of course! It was actually a step down in responsibility from the UK but far far better pay and conditions. I have a work life balance! 6 years on... I'm now Head of Science across all the campuses. And I still have that work life balance. Teachers from the UK tend to do very well here because of the constant demands, working conditions and expectations set by the state education system, grades, league tables and OFSTED etc. Just in case your ducks are all lined up by then... the school I work for will be opening a new R-10 campus in a couple of years and will need primary teachers (and they very much value UK teaching experience!) Keep with your journey... it is definitely worth it! As @PositivePixie said, Adelaide is an amazing and enviable place to live right now. We are so lucky here and I can't ever imagine going back to teaching (or living) in the UK.

Hi @Tilly H Firstly... no OFSTED. I love teaching again! What subject is your specialism?

Hi @Rick2021 I would second what @PositivePixie has said about skipping an agent. I navigated everything back in 2014 for me and my OH. It saved us several grand, despite the 'hoops' we had to jump through. In regards to registering, I'm fairly sure you must reside in the state you intend to teach in before you can register. That is certainly the case in South Australia. I arrived in the November, undertook compulsory Mandatory Notification training (Child Protection) before registering in December. That came through in a couple of weeks and I was able to teach from the start of Term 1 in January. I'd already accepted a post in September... with the condition I was registered with the Teacher Registration Bureau before term began. Independent and private schools have that flexibility here, but public (state education dept) schools are less so. Good luck with your journey

It depends on the state or territory as each has it's own teacher registration process. Where do you plan on moving to?

Hi, He will be fine. I did the 3 year BSc(Hons) Science with QTS at Sheffield Hallam Uni. This would satisfy the initial teacher training element as the number of days teaching was well in excess of 45 days. Unfortunately because the course was only 3 years, not 4, it would not qualify me for the number of years at Uni. Luckily I had started a Masters in Education the year before applying for a visa and had completed the first year, gaining a PGCert (not the same as a PGCE). This was enough to satisfy AITSL. Your hubby has more than 4 years at uni, the teaching element of training will have exceeded 45 days because the UK expect more than that in the ITT courses. He's all good to go ?

Hi Coolbreeze, I am a science teacher, having taught 11 years in the UK, including roles as Lead Teacher, KS3 Coordinator, KS4 Coordinator and HOD at various schools. I moved out to Adelaide in Nov 2014 and already had a job offer from an independent school with the condition that I'd get my registration (including the Mandatory Training) before starting. The school year began at the end of January so this gave me plenty of time, even accounting for Christmas and New Year's. In the public (state) system you need a TRB number before you can even go into a jobs pool. The selection process is very difficult and is unlikely to get you more than a 1 year temporary contract. Many teachers struggle to get a position and permanent positions are VERY rare in the public system in SA. I was advised to go to the following site and filtered for school types I'd prefer then contacted the Principal of each, sending my CV and covering letter and asking if there were any available posts / keep me on file for future. www.privateschoolsdirectory.com.au/adelaide-schools It worked! I had most schools respond to say there were no vacancies at present but they'd keep me on file and two contacted me about positions - the first one I spoke with offered me a permanent job and then offered a responsibility role (Science Coordinator) once we had discussed my experience. You're correct, the one day mandatory training must be done within SA by a registered organisation. If your training is done in another state, I believe you will need to repeat it in SA. Don't worry though, the courses run regularly and are usually in a central, easy to get to location. I booked one before leaving the UK for a week after I arrived. As soon as I sat it I completed the TRB application and went into the city and physically handed it in at the TRB front desk at the start of Dec. I got it back at the start of Jan! Do you know when you're likely to arrive in Oz? Independent and Catholic schools usually advertise jobs a term (10 weeks) in advance so for a job starting in Term 1 January 2018 most job advertising is between late August and early November. I would advise you going the private route because it's the most similar application process to the UK and many are comparable to a suburban comprehensive secondary school. It's also good to be able to apply without yet having a TRB number - that gave me security before arriving and helped me narrow down where to live. Go to the following site for links to see current vacancies: http://www.ceasa.asn.au/early-career-teachers-educators/employment-in-sa/ Good luck with your move and let me know if you need any help with SA based queries ☺

Hi, I'm not sure what the job situation is like in WA but I have managed to get a position in SA pretty easily. I have worked in Secondary science as a teacher and as HoD. I accessed the Australian Schools Directory and selected all the types of schools I would be happy to work in (it's less rigmarole to go with independent rather than state!) and then sent my CV and letter of application (like you would send here in the UK) to all the head teachers/principals to register my interest in future posts. the biggest job was individually finding the contact details for them all since I had to go to each school website to search. Most schools replied just to acknowledge it and to tell me to keep an eye on their website. 2 schools got back to me directly asking me to apply and the first one I applied to, I got the job (via Skype interview!) and was also given some leadership responsibility too. If I had taken notice of the negative remarks on here about how difficult getting ajob was, I'd have really started to worry, however its actually been a fairly easy process! Good luck with the visa application - I hope everything goes quickly and smoothly for you!

Hi @pilotg2 Thanks so much! :jiggy:I've been walking round with a massive grin on my face all day! I've tried 2 numbers and both seem to get through to the same place. We used Skype credit and it worked out only a couple of £'s to call even for very long waits. The numbers are: +61 131 881 and +61 1300 364 613. I really hope you hear something soon! :-)

Hi guys, We called again last night and were told the same young as last week but then this morning.... We got the grant email!!!! I sat in shock for a few seconds before really comprehending what I was reading! ;-) Anyway, I just want to say thank you to everyone on here that has been so supportive and helpful! @Ss190 & @canberra2014 I really do hope you also get yours soon... I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you :-)

Hi @Ss190 We just got through to the general admin team again. This was first thing Tuesday morning Adelaide time. Apparently our case is "being finalised" and we should hear within 5-7 working days about the outcome... although we were advised that this could probably take up to two weeks! My boyfriend also called the high commission in London and they gave us an alternative number as the +61 131881 was just a call centre for general enquiries. He's going to try the new number late sunday night (GMT)/morning Adelaide time, just to check. I feel your frustration... I even had a school contact me from Adelaide last week about a job they are advertising for a science teacher (starting January) but I don't think I can apply since I have no visa yet :-( I'll let you know if we get any luck after calling tomorrow! Good luck!

Hi @canberra2014 I didn't get through to a CO, probably just an admin person, like you did. I have tried again but after an hour I gave up waiting on hold... really frustrated! Thanks for the good wishes, I hope you hear something soon too!

I don't think so @canberra2014. According to the visa tracking sheet I'm one of only two people who have applied with ANZCO code 241411 and SA state has had lots of visas granted recently. I can't understand why it would take so long from CO allocation. I thought that surely they would clear the backlog from the 2013-14 year before clearing the applicants from the 2014-15 year, but unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the case. :sad: I'm going to try calling again later when their offices re-open. Good luck!

Congrats @scotsaway! I'm so chuffed for all of you that are getting your grants through so quickly - I wish we were as lucky! We lodged at the end of April with all docs frontloaded but are still waiting to hear something - there's been no communication at all. I have called and e-mailed but the only thing I've managed to find out is that the application was allocated to Adelaide Team 8 on 31st July. Otherwise... still no update. :sad:

A friend of ours re-sat is test as he didn't get high enough and again got the same result, which he couldn't understand as he is a teacher with good English language skills. He asked for a remark and it went up from 6's to 8's so well worth asking for it to be re-marked!