Transitioning from abroad to teach in the UK

Haris had a very interesting journey to be able to stay in the UK and work in a UK school. Haris came to the UK from Pakistan where he was eminently qualified in his field of Physics holding a PHD. He had teaching experience from his home country and he had a good grasp of English both spoken and written due to his high level studies in his home country. However it was not all plain sailing for Haris and he had to take many alternative opportunities for work alongside part time teaching hours in schools to get established in the UK. However he was very committed and finally secured a part time HLTA position in an Academy school which allowed him to develop his teaching practice at PCT2U.

However there was a requirement for Haris on his Visa application to secure full time employment in the country and not casual work and this meant that he had to complete the DET before the school could give him that official full time contract. Haris would have liked to have achieved his course a lot quicker due to these restrictions as he knew that potentially he could be deported back to Pakistan if he didn’t secure an offer of full time work. With the help and assistance of PCt2U and his mentor within that school Haris managed to secure a full time contract prior to completing his DET course that allowed him to stay in the UK and develop his teaching practice with PCT2U.

It was not plain sailing for Haris in every respect and what we found with his theoretical knowledge was that whilst he had achieved a PHD in his home country this didn’t necessarily translate to the theoretical standards of the UK. I would say that this was the hardest part of the course for Haris to deal with as traditionally in countries like his there is more emphasis on testing and exams than theoretical production of essays and assignments. The Harvard standards as such are not always applied in some countries and these standards are required in the UK at this Level 5 study. On a practical teaching basis Haris had no problem integrating into the school and his practice was perfect and he soon grasped the nuances of working in a UK teaching system.

Whilst theoretically it did slow Haris down and it was frustrating for him to grasp what was required initially from the UK standards, he did apply his intelligence to the task and finally succeeded in producing some good theoretical work. This was achieved through a great deal of mentoring of Haris by his tutor at PCT2U and with personal 121 sessions on the standards required. Haris was able to produce some very valid and reliable theory once he had understood what was required. Our advice for anyone wanting to come and work as a teacher in the UK from abroad is to get up to speed on the Harvard standards first and how you can apply yourself to the theoretical studies of the UK teaching course at Level 5 and 6. Whilst you might have 30 years of experience in your country teaching you still require a qualification to teach in the UK and if your countries standards are not equivalent to the UK then the only step forward is by taking the DET course whilst working as an HLTA or support teacher in a UK school. Once achieved, this DET qualification will enable you to then transition back out of the UK and into British schools around the world. The DET also enables you to then apply for QTS or QTLS in the UK and if you secure position in a UK state school you could realise a wage per annum f £27000. To learn more about teaching in the UK and the associated routes to certification please call Paul to discuss on 020-33974548