Teaching maths in England - what's the likelihood of getting a job at home?

SissySpaced

Hi all,

I'm an NQT, teaching maths in Liverpool. I love teaching but I find the job I am in to be, well, soul destroying. It's made me question if I want to teach and for that reason alone I hate it.

To listen to most people you'd think that Ireland was crying out for maths teachers but I've found the reality a lot different and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Are more jobs likely to come on stream with the retirements in the new year? Will there be more demand for qualified maths teachers considering the rising failure rates at Leaving Cert?

I know there is probably an article out there with all the answers I'm looking for but I'd sooner get the opinions of the people that are actually in the jobs market like me or teaching at home. I'd pack in the job here if there was a decent chance of staying off the dole at home.

Thanks in advance,
Sis

whiteandlight

Fully qualified with two years full time experience in project Maths, best position was 16hrs in a school. The job Market sucks ATM. If you can have someone looking for jobs in ireland but I wouldn't come home looking for a teaching job as they are so scarce

SissySpaced

Thanks Musicmental85

raytray

I'm in the same boat sissyspaced. I have a teaching job in the UK but would love to go home. It's so difficult to decide whether to follow your heart or head! The last thing any teacher wants to be is unemployed when they get back home but I don't want to stay in the UK forever so going to have to bite the bullet, leave my job in the UK and move home sometime but I cant see the situation improving at home for the next few years so it really is a difficult decision

rainbowtrout

SissySpaced wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm an NQT, teaching maths in Liverpool. I love teaching but I find the job I am in to be, well, soul destroying. It's made me question if I want to teach and for that reason alone I hate it.

To listen to most people you'd think that Ireland was crying out for maths teachers but I've found the reality a lot different and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Are more jobs likely to come on stream with the retirements in the new year? Will there be more demand for qualified maths teachers considering the rising failure rates at Leaving Cert?

I know there is probably an article out there with all the answers I'm looking for but I'd sooner get the opinions of the people that are actually in the jobs market like me or teaching at home. I'd pack in the job here if there was a decent chance of staying off the dole at home.

Thanks in advance,
Sis

Sissy, what is it about the job in Liverpool that you find soul destroying? It's true that jobs are thin on the ground in Ireland, but I'd just be concerned that if you did get a job in Ireland that you would feel the same about it here. Is it the system over there or is it the classes you have, the staff you work with or something else?

clartharlear

From what I gather from reading the Times Education Supplement boards, schools in England vary wildly in atmosphere and working environment. As an experienced maths teacher in the UK, I'm sure a lot of schools would be very grateful to have you and would try to make sure your soul stays un-destroyed! Have you seen the thickness of the jobs section with the TES magazine??

MarionMcg

A lot of teachers are retiring this year but a lot of hours are been shuffled around. One example is two art teachers retiring and only one new teacher is employed. I've also heard that a lot of VECs are redeploying present VEC staff where possible. Another way to shuffle hours around. I doubt I have as much experience as Sissy but I'm getting fewer calls to interview this year, and still jobhunting!!

Can I ask UK teachers what recruitment agency would you suggest to a teacher moving to England for the first time?? I've heard a lot of dodgy rumours about recruitment agencie but Im not sure wot to believe...

raytray

marion,if you are moving to the UK dont go through a recruiter. Look at jobs on TES and eteach and apply yourself. A lot of very dodgey schools have to use recruiters becasue they never get applicants if they publicily advertise. I know a lot of people who ended up in awful schools and who went through a recruiter. I applied to schools myself and it wasnt too bad getting a position.
If you decide to go through a recruitment agency make sure you read the OFSTED report for the school. If they get anything below a 'good' rating for behaviour dont even think about accepting a job!

clartharlear

MarionMcg wrote: »

A lot of teachers are retiring this year but a lot of hours are been shuffled around. One example is two art teachers retiring and only one new teacher is employed. I've also heard that a lot of VECs are redeploying present VEC staff where possible. Another way to shuffle hours around. I doubt I have as much experience as Sissy but I'm getting fewer calls to interview this year, and still jobhunting!!

Can I ask UK teachers what recruitment agency would you suggest to a teacher moving to England for the first time?? I've heard a lot of dodgy rumours about recruitment agencie but Im not sure wot to believe...

Recruitment agencies are great because they usually pay your expenses for flying over to interview and if you're only a so-so teacher, they will have a list of schools who are desperate for staff.

If you can afford the flights yourself now, it will pay off in the long run as the agency won't be skimming the top of your salary. If you're a good teacher in a popular subject - Maths, English, Science, Modern Foreign Languages (minimum two), it is just as easy to get yourself a job in a choosy school.

http://www.tes.co.uk/jobsHub.aspx

Schools are interviewing now for January, and in February for September.

SissySpaced

rainbowtrout: I know 'soul destroying' is quite dramatic but it's actually a good description. I'm working in an independent school and I'm the only full time maths teacher. There are no existing schemes of work so not only do I not have any indication of what to teach pupils now I also have no indication of what they have learned in previous years. I have no assessment data and there are huge gaps in pupils' knowledge. The pupils are nice individuals but in groups they can become really arrogant. Trying to convince them that they need to learn is quite difficult. I'm not naive. I know that not all pupils want to learn, that they don't all see the importance of it and I can accept that to some extent. What I can't accept is that a lot of these pupils feel entitled to good grades regardless of effort or ability.

I have very little in the way of resources. I don't have enough books for the class and I'm limited in how many pages I can photocopy.

I know every one has problems especially in the first year of teaching but I feel like I'm doing the work of a head of department when, as an NQT, I should still just be focusing on my teaching skills and classroom management. There has been very little in the way of support except for a lot of 'constructive' criticism.

I've kind of decided that I will stick it out to get my NQT year out of the way but I fully expect to be home in Carlow this time next year. If Ruairi Quinn could find it in his heart to create some more jobs for us actually qualified to teach maths then that would be great.

SissySpaced

clartharlear wrote: »

From what I gather from reading the Times Education Supplement boards, schools in England vary wildly in atmosphere and working environment. As an experienced maths teacher in the UK, I'm sure a lot of schools would be very grateful to have you and would try to make sure your soul stays un-destroyed! Have you seen the thickness of the jobs section with the TES magazine??

I feel a little bit trapped. If I started applying to other schools what kind of reference could I expect from my present school?

I finished my PGCE graded outstanding and I felt really confident starting my career on a high. That confidence is almost gone now and I'm really confused as to what the best way forward is.

yosser hughes

If I were you I would not come back to Ireland.You will regret it. You can take or leave anybody's advice and this is mine.
Ireland is a failure and always will be.

SissySpaced

I don't want this to descend into some kind of debate about whether Ireland is a failure or not. If that is your opinion then I won't argue it. I don't personally agree.

Whether or not I return home isn't really the question anymore. The question is do I stay until the end of the academic year or will the retirements after Christmas create some jobs worth taking a chance on? Is change on the way?

clartharlear

SissySpaced wrote: »

I feel a little bit trapped. If I started applying to other schools what kind of reference could I expect from my present school?

I finished my PGCE graded outstanding and I felt really confident starting my career on a high. That confidence is almost gone now and I'm really confused as to what the best way forward is.

As an NQT, you have the (legal?) entitlement to a mentor/tutor. Do you have a more senior teacher to ask for advice on what kind of reference you can get?

If I was you, I'd finish out the NQT year anyway, so that you can get fully registered as a teacher in the UK. It will make it easier to get recognised by the Irish TC, I'd say.

SissySpaced

Thanks. I think it's probably the best way forward.

MarionMcg

thanks raytay and clartharlear for all your advice

that sounds terrible sissyspaced and if ur the only maths teacher there no1s should be offering "constructive criticism"... obviously every other teacher in this school has gone thru somthing similar when they started!!

lestat21

Sissyspaced, a lot of teachers are retiring in Feb but some of them are staying til June so as not to disrupt the exam years. I have already seen posts advertised for teaching posts that have arisen due to retirement, but so far they're substitution posts.

Best of luck whatever you chose to do