More teachers leave the UK to teach abroad after from budget fears and continuous Government interference

With increasing interference from the Government in classrooms there is an increasing number of in the number of British trained teachers seeking international jobs in schools, colleges and universities.

The bitter cold times during winter and the prospect of funding cuts after the election is giving teachers a greater reason to leave the UK to work in schools abroad. Recent figures have shown that approximately 70,000 British primary and secondary teachers are now working in international schools.  This is a huge increase compared to 41,000 in 2005.

There is  much greater increase in the number of international schools.  According to ISC Research the number of English-medium international schools has leaped from 1,700 to 5,400 in the past decade and anticipated at rising to 8000 in the next 5 years.

There is a huge boom of jobs in Asia and the Middle East. Top international schools and global educations chains like GEMs and Raffles are now focusing on getting students from increasingly wealthy families both locally and the expatriate base.

This opens questions to the Government to rethink its decision about reduce the number of hired trainee teachers for secondary teacher training. If changes are not made in due course, UK schools could be left no other option but to looking at bringing in overseas teachers from South Africa and Canada, which could have a huge impact in the way children in the UK are taught.

While there is huge appeal in teaching internationally there are some pitfalls that all educationalist should be aware of rather than get drawn in by good salaries and great weather.  Regulations in international schools is not as stringent as they are in the UK which could lead to teachers and leaders finding themselves in awkward situations, especially if they have disagreements or are not aware of the labour regulations in the country.  It is advised that teachers and leaders get as much information as possible from reliable sources before committing themselves into a role.

If done successfully there have been many cases where teachers have left and have not returned having found that “ideal” teaching job, not from a just because of higher TAX FREE salaries but also by not having the worry of OFTSED creeping up to come in and carry out a frightening inspection.  In addition it can generally be stated that children are far better behaved and there is a greater emphasis on learning and becoming the best that they can be.

• What side of the fence do you sit on?
• Are you already a teacher who has made that application to work abroad?
• If so we would love to hear of your experience(s) be they good or bad and shed some light on new teachers coming on to the international teaching circuit!

Regards

The SeekTeachersâ„¢ Team