Being a qualified teacher gives you a passport to a career across the world. There are many reasons that a teacher should consider teaching internationally, from personal dreams of a lifestyle change through to career development and feeling valued by pupils and parents alike. Exploring a new country and culture and way of working can truly give you a life changing experience.

Did you know?

• There are nearly 12,000 international schools
• In these schools, some 6 million students are taught by nearly 600,000 teachers

What is an international school?

Each international school is diverse in its approach, ethos and all are unique. 
An international school is often a school that caters for many different nationalities and may follow a set curriculum that is not native to their own country. For example there are schools in China that follow a UK Curriculum. Equally there are schools in the Middle East who follow a US curriculum and vice-versa. The majority of these schools will also teach through the medium of English. 

Schools are usually staffed by a mixture of native staff from that country and teachers who have relocated to work there from a variety of international countries. The teaching staff are as diverse as the pupil base that they serve.
Pupils often speak English as an additional language and can come from a variety of countries and backgrounds themselves. It is often an advantage if teachers have experience of working with English as an additional language. 

What school based roles do you recruit for?

• Nursery teachers / Early Years Teachers 
• Primary Teachers (sometimes known as Elementary or Kindergarten Teachers)
• Secondary Teachers - in all subject areas
• SEN Teachers and SENCO’s
• School counsellors - social & emotional and also careers
• Librarians
• Assistant Headteacher / Deputy Headteacher / Vice Principal 
• Head of Lower School / Head of Upper School 
• Principal

Plus many more jobs that are specific to the schools that we work with.

We don’t recruit for teaching assistants or nursery assistants, schools will tend to recruit these themselves, locally.

What qualifications or experience do schools look for in a teacher?

Often if a school follows a set curriculum, they will generally require a teacher to have experience in delivering that curriculum to pupils, for example UK, US, Canadian, International Baccalaureate (IB). Some schools will be flexible and will provide CPD to upskill a teacher within a certain curriculum if during the interview they feel that you would be a good hire, regardless of your previous curriculum experience. 

As the schools we work with usually teach through the medium of English, a teacher must be able to demonstrate fluency in the English language.

In order to obtain a working visa, it is common for a school to require a set amount of post qualifying experience as part of the visa process.

In China, it is usual for a school to require 2 years post qualifying experience as a minimum

In the Middle East, the amount of post qualifying experience needed can vary from 2 years in Abu Dhabi, to Qatar where schools can accept NQTs!

Qualifications that a teacher needs for teaching internationally must be a university level teaching degree such as a Bachelor of Education, BA (QTS), PGCE, or a formal teaching qualification which enables them to teach in their home country.

In Teachanywhere, we are not able to accept candidates who solely have TEFL qualifications, although if you have this alongside a formal teaching qualification and relevant experience, then this is a good additional skill to have.

Here are our top 5 reasons to explore teaching internationally:

1. Great facilities and resources in the majority of international schools
2. Enhancing your teaching practice - you will find that you have to adapt to the new ways of teaching globally and you will improve your teaching practice as a result of this. 
3. Career development - a number of international teachers find that they are considered for promotion more quickly than in their home country and are also given additional CPD opportunities.
4. Personal benefits - longer school holidays and good pay and benefits are always a positive. Teachers generally are offered annual return flights home plus the longer holidays also mean….the opportunity to travel and explore new countries and cultures.
5. Saving potential - many countries offer tax free salaries, or those that don’t may have a lower cost of living. This coupled with accommodation provided by the school may give you the opportunity to save money - or have more disposable income each month to explore and maximise your lifestyle choices.

We wouldn’t recommend teaching internationally if travel is your sole motivator for relocating. Any teaching role, wherever in the world you are based needs you to commit to the job, school and pupils fully. 

You must also be aware that you will likely sign a contract to teach in a school for 2 years, but some schools require a 3 year contract to be signed. The positive of this means that you can fully immerse yourself in the local culture and way of life, but don’t expect to be able to change schools and locations every few months. 

If you are looking for a new challenge, and would like to speak to one of our team for personalised career advice and guidance, reach out to us on www.teachanywhere.com or email teacher@teachanywhere.com