Tommyers Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Hello, Just to set the scene... I am a Secondary school teacher working in the UK. I have 10 years of teaching experience, a BSC degree, a PGCE and management experience. I am married to an Australian National and we have three children. We are looking to migrate to Australia within the next six to nine months. Initially I thought that the spouse Visa would be the most suitable, however, after contacting the immigration offices it appears that they are currently taking 10-14 months to process, which is simply too long. So I am now looking into the skilled independent working Visa (189). I am aware that before I can submit the EOI, or complete the Skillselect form, I need to obtain a 'Suitable Skills Assessment' for teaching. So I started to fill out the AITSL form for Secondary school teachers. I can get certified copies of all of the documents they require but I am slightly stumped by the 'Supervised teaching practice' document. This document was not one which was provided by my PGCE course and it seems counter-intuitive to ask for proof of 45 days in-class teaching when I could get my current principal to certify the 10 years worth of teaching!? It seems very strange to me that the form doesn't even ask for current employment status or actual teaching experience. Am I even filling out the correct Visa? Any help or assistance would be greatly appreciated, Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Sorry cannot help you with the visa but I have read that some people get a bridging visa whilst their visa is being processed. A migration agent may be able to assist you in the process. As for the teaching, which State are you heading to. Letting the forum know where you are headed will get you more information as each State is different and has its own State Government. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selina Smith Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 It does sound like the right form, and yes it very strange but AITSL only go on qualifications, not experience. For the 45 supervising teaching practice I had to get an official letter from the university that said how many days I did and they also had to include the age ranges of the children I worked with (I'm applying for early years teacher). I'm still waiting for a decision from them. If you go to the jobs and careers forum there is a really helpful thread called 'Teachers in Oz' it discusses the whole process and has information from people who have passed AITSL and registered with a state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scattley Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 A letter from the school is not sufficient. It is one of the problems with the requirements to teach in Australia that it does not matter if you have been a FT teacher for 20 years - if your Degree in Education did not include an assessment of in practice supervised teaching for more than 45 days - you are not qualified to teach in Australia. As such teachers who trained in e.g. India are not eligible to teach in Australia as not one of the university degrees in education in that country qualifies. The spouse visa is likely going to be the quickest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozmaniac Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Hello, Just to set the scene... I am a Secondary school teacher working in the UK. I have 10 years of teaching experience, a BSC degree, a PGCE and management experience. I am married to an Australian National and we have three children. We are looking to migrate to Australia within the next six to nine months. Initially I thought that the spouse Visa would be the most suitable, however, after contacting the immigration offices it appears that they are currently taking 10-14 months to process, which is simply too long. So I am now looking into the skilled independent working Visa (189). I am aware that before I can submit the EOI, or complete the Skillselect form, I need to obtain a 'Suitable Skills Assessment' for teaching. So I started to fill out the AITSL form for Secondary school teachers. I can get certified copies of all of the documents they require but I am slightly stumped by the 'Supervised teaching practice' document. This document was not one which was provided by my PGCE course and it seems counter-intuitive to ask for proof of 45 days in-class teaching when I could get my current principal to certify the 10 years worth of teaching!? It seems very strange to me that the form doesn't even ask for current employment status or actual teaching experience. Am I even filling out the correct Visa? Any help or assistance would be greatly appreciated, Tom As others have told you, the 45 days of supervised teaching practice needs to have been during your PGCE and no amount of work experience after that can be substituted. Are you aware that if you come to Australia on a Visitor visa, you can lodge a Partner visa application onshore and will be granted a Bridging visa that will allow you to stay in Australia (with unrestricted work rights) until a decision is reached on your application? Processing time for onshore Partner visas is currently 12-15 months but given that you can work without restrictions while you wait, that's shouldn't be too much of a problem. The BV won't take effect until your Visitor visa expires but that will only be 3 months if you get an eVisitor. Currently, onshore Partner visas are considerably more expensive than offshore ($6865 vs $4630) but from 1 July, the offshore will rise to be the same as onshore. If you go the onshore Partner visa route, you won't need AITSL skills assessment and will only need to meet the registration requirements of the state in which you want to teach. I understand that some state requirements are easier to meet than those of AITSL. If your intended state is one of the 'easier' ones, that could be the way to go if you don't have the 45 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrussell Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Hello, Just to set the scene... I am a Secondary school teacher working in the UK. I have 10 years of teaching experience, a BSC degree, a PGCE and management experience. I am married to an Australian National and we have three children. We are looking to migrate to Australia within the next six to nine months. Initially I thought that the spouse Visa would be the most suitable, however, after contacting the immigration offices it appears that they are currently taking 10-14 months to process, which is simply too long. So I am now looking into the skilled independent working Visa (189). I am aware that before I can submit the EOI, or complete the Skillselect form, I need to obtain a 'Suitable Skills Assessment' for teaching. So I started to fill out the AITSL form for Secondary school teachers. I can get certified copies of all of the documents they require but I am slightly stumped by the 'Supervised teaching practice' document. This document was not one which was provided by my PGCE course and it seems counter-intuitive to ask for proof of 45 days in-class teaching when I could get my current principal to certify the 10 years worth of teaching!? It seems very strange to me that the form doesn't even ask for current employment status or actual teaching experience. Am I even filling out the correct Visa? Any help or assistance would be greatly appreciated, Tom From what you have posted there is probably a straightforward solution to your issues. May I suggest that you consult a registered migration agent for advice about strategy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 On an entirely different track while you're waiting - be sure to get your spouse UK citizenship before you leave because getting back in as a non EU spouse if you don't have UK ancestry is nigh on impossible and you never know when you might need to do it. Belt and braces! You will have to sort out the teaching practice thing if you want to teach in Aus anyway - if you go back to your training institution they should know what the course entailed at the time. It was many years ago now but I had to sign a stat dec to say not only how many days teaching but what subjects covered and how many hours! Unless you are science/maths or want to live in some place that no one else wants to live in then now might be a good time to think of a career change. Spouse visa much easier option! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommyers Posted May 21, 2015 Author Share Posted May 21, 2015 Thank you all for the excellent advice. The 'Teachers in Oz' thread was particularly helpful, and it seems that the STP (confirmed 45 days of in-class teaching), is an absolute necessity. I have contacted my PGCE institute and hopefully they can fulfill that requirement. I'll be teaching in Victoria, where my wife's family is based. Having done some preliminary research, it seems that Design and Technology is a shortage subject in that state which should hopefully open a few more avenues in terms of jobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naveedalirao Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Hi, could you let me know is this separate certificate from University/school where the one has completed the 45 days supervised teaching practice. could you pls describe/share the format of this certificate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy1 Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Normally it is shown on the academic transcript from the university, but if it is not shown, then I would ask the university to supply an official letter detailing the length of the supervised teaching. Contact the university and tell them what needs to be in the letter/certificate. The letter should (as a minimum) have details of your wife's name, course, qualification attained and dates attended and the length of the supervised teaching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satty Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 On 5/21/2015 at 05:50, scattley said: A letter from the school is not sufficient. It is one of the problems with the requirements to teach in Australia that it does not matter if you have been a FT teacher for 20 years - if your Degree in Education did not include an assessment of in practice supervised teaching for more than 45 days - you are not qualified to teach in Australia. As such teachers who trained in e.g. India are not eligible to teach in Australia as not one of the university degrees in education in that country qualifies. The spouse visa is likely going to be the quickest. @ Scattley - What you said has bewildered me and I feel I'm back at square one. None of the degrees from Indian universities qualify ? My wife has a Masters degree in English Language & Literature and also a Bachelors in Education (B.Ed, one year full time) with 60 days of teaching practice. Please let me know if we have to drop our plans! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Gregan Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 Unless your teaching qualification has the requirement of minimum 45 days teaching practice across the specified age range then it ain't happening. Work experience itself doesn't count as a substitute - there's no arguing with AITSL about this. Regards, Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satty Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 @ Richard - Thanks for replying to my query. My wife had 60 day teaching practice as a part of her curriculum and I understand work experience alone is not recognized by AITSL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Gregan Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 Yup no problem. The next thing is to inquire with the university to see if they are willing to provide a letter confirming the number of days teaching practice, and to state the age range and setting in which this took place. Regards, Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satty Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 Yes, we approached the university last month and the official asked us to get the STP(supervised teaching practice) on the college letterhead duly attested by the principal basis which the university will issue the STP certificate on the university letterhead. In our case, we are good with the following criteria 1. No. of days of STP - 60 days 2. Age range of students - 13-18 years 3. Setting - ? Need help! ( Does it mean the university campus or college campus ) To be on the safer side we are keeping the syllabus copy handy and probably will get it attested if the university officials agree to do so. Rest of the documents like passing certs, transcripts are pretty straightforward and should not have any issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anupama Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 Hi Satty, I was wondering were you able to successfully get approval from AITSL for your wife? I am on TSS visa with my husband and did my BSc, MSc, BEd from DU and was teaching for approx 8 Years in India, I was hoping to teach here in AUS. Any guidance is much appreciated. /Anu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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