Working in child care as primary teacher?

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Sunshine
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Working in child care as primary teacher?

Post by Sunshine » Sun Aug 29, 2010 7:58 pm

Hello everybody,
I'm a primary school teacher from Germany and after several fantastic holidays in Australia I've decided that I want to emigrate to Australia in a bit less than a year. Now I'm trying to find out what my carreer options are.
Here in Germany I've been working as a primary school teacher for the last 4 years and I'm absolutely loving my job. I've always had years 1 and 2 as a classroom teacher, as well as teaching EFL in all grades. My question now is: would it be possible for me to work in child care? I think I'd prefer that option to working in government schools. I have a Bachelor of Education, but not specialised in Early Childhood. Do you think applying to child care or early learning centres could be successful, maybe to work in kindy or pre-primary rooms? Early learning settings don't exist in Germany, the kids come to school at the age of 6 without having done any shapes/letters/numbers learning in child care. So I think year 1 in Germany is comparable to kindy and pre-primary in Australia.
I hope there is someone who has some ideas about my questions,
kind regards,
Sunshine


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Lorina
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Re: Working in child care as primary teacher?

Post by Lorina » Sun Aug 29, 2010 9:11 pm

Hi Sunshine,

First of all, welcome to Aussie Childcare Network and also welcome to Australia :D !

You have a few options regarding your career choices at this stage:

1) Primary Schools - As you currently are holding a bachelor of education and have had 4 years experience as a primary school teacher, you will be able to work in a primary school as a classroom teacher. Depending on the school you choose, you can either work for a government school or a private school. Primary schools in Australia, start from kindergarten (6yrs) to yr 6 (12 yrs). Now since you have a bachelor of education you have a wider option in selecting the specific year you want to teach.

2) Childcare/Early Learning Centres - You are still able to do preschool teaching (3-5 years old). Preschool teaching supports a child's developmental learning and provides a child with the necessary skills to develop before starting kindergarten in a primary school. These include such things as pre-writing skills, learning alphabet, numbers, social skills etc. While working as a preschool teacher, the programming and planning is your responsibility and there is no set curriculum to follow (like lessons etc) like in schools. There are a few options available to you in the type of early learning centre that you are after. These include: Long day care (8am - 6pm) or preschool (9am - 4pm). Please keep in mind that these vary at each individual centre.

The above options, are for you to take into consideration when determining what career opportunities you would like to take. However, other factors come into play such as wages, working full time or part time, the location where you're moving to etc. These are also important for you to consider, when considering a suitable option.

Do you know what state/area you will be migrating to when you come to Australia. Would you be having a full time working permit?

Also just let me know what your preferences are, such as the type of school/ early learning centre/ age group of kids you would like to work with.

I will be more than happy to help you out with my suggestions :mrgreen: !

Cheers :geek:

-L.A

Sunshine
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Re: Working in child care as primary teacher?

Post by Sunshine » Sun Aug 29, 2010 10:51 pm

Hi L.A.,
thanks alot for your detailed reply!! Good to know that schools as well as early learning centres would be an option for me. I would consider both, but I love to work with the little ones, so working with preschool kids as well as year 1 or year 2 age would be fantastic!
I've already got a positive skills assessment by teaching australia, but right after I got it the department for immigration took primary school teacher off the list for independent visas :cry:
So now I'm waiting for the state migration plans to be released which won't happen before the new government will be in power. Hopefully primary school teacher will be on one of the state lists, that would give me the opportunity to apply for a permanent working visa (I'd have to live and work in the state that would sponsor me for the first two years). The state I like best and would love to live in is WA!! But I'd also emigrate to any other state, I just fell in love with your beautiful country! :D
If no state will sponsor primary teachers then I'll have to look for an employer to sponsor me. I don't think it would be possible to be sponsored by a government school, but maybe I could find an independent school or early learning centre which is willing to sponsor me.
What do you think, would it be possible to find an employer willing to sponsor me for a visa?? Of course I'd prefer state sponsorship because I'd rather be bound to a state than to an employer. Well, I just have to be patient and wait for the state lists. By looking at job offers on the internet I got the impression that education professionals are in high demand, is that correct??
kind regards
Sunshine

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catchmeifucan
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Re: Working in child care as primary teacher?

Post by catchmeifucan » Mon Aug 30, 2010 11:26 am

W.A is a definitely a beautiful state to live in. It's so peaceful and the cost of living is relatively cheaper than here in Sydney.

In some states in Australia some occupations are in high demand and education and childcare is definitely one of them.

I think the immigration may be lenient with qualified professionals from overseas if you are considering migrating to some states. There are a high demand of jobs, particularly in some states because of less population. Some of the states include: W.A, S.A, TAS, NT.

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Lorina
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Re: Working in child care as primary teacher?

Post by Lorina » Mon Aug 30, 2010 7:16 pm

Hi Sunshine,

I can tell how excited you are to move over here and I can also see that you have done a lot of research. It's definitely a big step migrating to another country and you are definitely on the right track regarding your career options.

To answer your question
By looking at job offers on the internet I got the impression that education professionals are in high demand, is that correct??
Yes you are right, qualified educational professionals are always in demand which will certainly give you the edge when applying for a job.

Since you have already received a bachelor of teaching and work experience in the same field, I don't think you should be having much problem in finding a job in this field.

Regarding your qualification, in my opinion you would benefit a lot more from doing a classroom teaching job rather than in a childcare. The only reason is due to your experience as working as a classroom teacher in Germany. As an experienced classroom teacher you understand how to teach children in a classroom setting, you are able to complete different lessons and you are able to follow a school curriculum. The teaching experiences you have will definitely give you an edge when applying for a job in this field.

However, if you do have a passion for working with younger children then by all means you should definitely work in a childcare setting. Like I mentioned in my previous post, it is far different from working in a childcare setting than in a school setting. As long as you are comfortable, the decision is entirely up to you.

Yes you are right when you say that you will need an employer to sponsor you if no state will sponsor primary school teachers. However keep in mind - though the jobs are in demand, finding an employer to sponsor you can still be a tough process. The reason is cuz it involves a lot of paperwork and the employer will need to be fully convinced before sponsoring someone. Don't worry...I'm not trying to scare you, just a little heads up, so you can provide as much information as you can to your employer, to prove you are an asset to them.

Sometimes friends and family can help in finding a employer who is willing to sponsor you, since they may have contacts. Do you have any family or friends here in Australia?

Sunshine
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Re: Working in child care as primary teacher?

Post by Sunshine » Tue Sep 07, 2010 8:16 pm

Thanks very much for your replies, sorry that I didn't have a look at the forum for a few days, unbelievable how busy one can be as a teacher on holiday :D
I'm glad to hear that there is a demand for education professionals. Although I'd love to go to WA, I'd consider every other state if primary teacher should appear on their state sponsorship list!
Of course I'm aware that it is not easy to find an employer who would be willing to sponsor me. But at least the opportunity exists.
L.A., I can see your point that I'd better work at a school with the experience I have instead of a child care centre. I will have to decide that once I know if I can go for a state sponsored visa or if I have to look for empoyer sponsorship. With state sponsorship things would be a lot easier, because I could come to Australia and then look for a job while I'm already there. Now that it's clear who will form the new parliament, I hope immigration changes will be sorted out soon, so keep your fingers crossed for me, please! ;)
Sunshine

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Re: Working in child care as primary teacher?

Post by bree » Thu Jan 06, 2011 6:55 pm

Hi,
BAD NEWS
I am a WA teacher and would just like to point out that it is extremly unusual to be employed in WA chilcare as a primary teacher, they would much prefer an early childhood degree, in fact I dont think an primary degree would meet the min standars for a qualified, I could be wrong on that one, but i dont think so .

In WA primary teachers are not often employed as kindy or preprimary teachers either again these positions often go to early childhood teachers.
GOOD NEWS
I believe your best bet to get sponsorship as a teacher would be as a LOTE teacher, as these positions are hard to fill in WA. Check out the WA Department of Education Website as this will help you determine if your degree is acceptable in WA and what, if any , study you may need to do. You should also check out WACOT website.

If your heart is set on early childhood you can do a one year conversion degree at Murdoch Uni.I believe there are alot more positions for teachers in NSW for teaching in childcare so your degree may be good there for teaching k/p.

If your hear is set on WA you may also consider going remote for two years. If you are catholic also check out the WA catholic ed website.

aNOTHER CONSIDERATION for you is that the pay, conditions and holidays are MUCH MUCH better in education than in child care. Although I hope this will change soon.

HOpe that helps,
Bree




Good Luck

Sunshine
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Re: Working in child care as primary teacher?

Post by Sunshine » Wed Apr 13, 2011 10:17 pm

Hi,
sorry that I haven't logged on for such a long time. I had a quite busy and exhausting time at school, but now everything is back to normal.
Thanks again for all your answers, it's good to get some first hand experience and knowledge from people working in the education sector.
I've also been very busy with my immigration plans and have now applied for and been approved state sponsorship from South Australia! That's fantastic, and I've already lodged the visa application, keep your fingers crossed! But I think nothing can go wrong now and I should have my visa within the next months. Very excited! :D
So thanks again, I think I will look for teaching jobs in primary schools, there are also many schools in SA teaching German as LOTE, so that would be a great job for me.

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Lorina
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Re: Working in child care as primary teacher?

Post by Lorina » Mon Apr 18, 2011 6:01 pm

Hi Sunshine,

Great to hear from ya…Fantastic to hear you are on the way to the land down under :mrgreen: .

How exciting is that…. So I guess you’re almost ready to make the big move… what a great idea with you teaching German in schools as part of LOTE…That’s a good way to get into the education system down here… Not a long wait to go now… 8-)

You will probably be here in the next few months…… And maybe enjoying your first aussie xmas… :D

Cheers :geek:,
L.A

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