Getting more flexible

I was awoken every morning last week by the sun coming up at 5am. I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand it’s a sure sign that summer is almost here in England –we get more than 16 hrs of daylight at times, which makes me happy. On the other hand, I hate waking up at 5am.

It also means that now is the time of year that schools are getting more flexible when hiring for a September start. Why? For three reasons.  Firstly because the UK teacher resignation deadline has now passed and teachers in England and Wales cannot now easily resign for a September start.  Secondly, because schools in many states in the US are just about breaking up for the summer and teachers will be much less contactable. Finally because most international schools finish for the year in June and the Principals/Head Teachers want to have a summer break without having to arrange interviews from their beach chairs in the Maldives.

More than 90% of international schools run on a northern hemisphere calendar – starting in August/September and ending around June. And because international schools offer 1-3 year contracts with provision for mid-year resignation, it means that the majority of vacancies are for a September start.

What this means to you, the international teacher is this:

• If you are available to go abroad for September, it’s a good time to be looking as you are more likely to be able to ‘date-up’ and be considered by a higher level of school than might consider you earlier in the season. Schools still have to meet ministry requirements but they tend to relax a bit on their curriculum experience requirements at least.
• If you are thinking about going abroad or changing jobs internationally in 2017, let us know now. We are planning events in November, January and February already. 

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