Teachers visiting Perth in July/August with a toddler. Anyone want to meet up?

[SarahL]

Dear all,

We (my husband, 20 month old son and almost 30 year old me!) are visiting Perth from 26th July until 9th August and I was wondering if anyone would like to meet up as it would be great to talk to people that have actually made the move. 

We are also hoping to arrange some visits to a couple of high schools if possible so we can get a feel for what the education system is like in WA. Are there any teachers out there that would be willing to let us observe? My husband is a math teacher and I used to teach science before becoming a stay at home mum. 

We are staying in Mosman Park but will be hiring a car and will be doing quite a bit of exploring so we are happy to travel.

Thanks for reading and thanks also to people that have shared their experiences of moving on here as it has been really helpful.  

 

Sarah 

[Rossmoyne]

Hallo SarahL.... and welcome to the forum.

I do hope  you realise that WA is in a serious economic downturn at the moment and jobs are not easy to get.   Having said that, you and your husband are Maths and Science teachers, and should be OK getting positions.... probably temporary positions to start with, whether you go private or state education, but if you prove your worth, you might be OK. 

I am assuming that you have visas in place, because if not, you have little chance of getting one at the moment with all the massive changes within the Dept of Immigration and Border Protection.

[baggytrousers]

Hi SarahL,

We've been over here 12 years, live in Mosman Park and my wife is a teacher, albeit a Primary School one, so can give you some insight into the Australian education system.  We also have two teenage boys at the local public high school, Shenton College (http://www.shenton.wa.edu.au), and our oldest went through a different high school before we moved to Mosman Park so we can give a parents' view on high schools if that's any use.  

I know Shenton are very accomodating to prospective parents who want to have a look round the school so I'd imagine they'd be  open to prospective teachers if you contact them in advance. From memory I think you can even book torus on the website  but they are more parent-oriented.

Happy to meet up for a chat/beer when you're over.  We're right in the middle of Mosman Park so you probably won't be more than 10 minutes walk away from us. Get in touch if you want to meet up and get our views on living and teaching in Perth.

Cheers

Baggy

 

 

 

 

[baggytrousers]

Hi SarahL,

Thought I'd chip in with a bit more info re the current state of the economy in Perth and your likelihood of getting work as Maths and Science teachers. 

Whilst it's true that Perth's economy has dropped off from its previous significant highs overall it's still not a bad place to be. There's still lots of cranes on the skyline and there are new bars and restaurants opening all the time so things aren't nearly as bad as some people would make out.  Perth is going through a readjustment and if your skills are now no longer in demand then it is undoubtedly tough but on the whole there's still a lot of work out there. 

Over the past 10-15 years the mining and oil and gas sectors were going gangbusters and that came to an abrupt halt last year causing a fair amount of pain to those whose livelihoods were tied to those sectors.  Other sectors of the economy however pretty much continued on their merry little way. I work in IT, servicing all sorts of businesses, and, whilst the market was undoubtedly tight last year, the company I work for has enjoyed it's busiest period ever in the first 6 months of this year, so much say that we've had to rent another office to accomodate all the extra staff. So generally I would say that the Perth economy is still pretty healthy but that, as is so often the case, that's not much consolation if your jobs in a sector that is struggling.

As far  as teaching goes I'd be pretty confident that maths and science teachers would be able to pick up work but you may have to jump through a couple of bureaucratic hoops to get your first job.  Once you get your foot in the door somewhere you'll be fine. Just make sure you allow for the possibility of that not happening instantly as the first job is always the trickiest one to get.  

There's a large cohort of kids going through primary school right now (a result of the baby bonus which was an Australian government incentive to encourage people to have kids a few years back) which will hit high schools very soon so pure demographics will dictate that more high school teachers will be needed soon.

My wife is a primary school teacher and hasn't been out of work since she did her Australian teaching orientation (bureaucratic hoop) ten years ago. I have heard tales of other primary teachers struggling and surviving on relief work though but generally the works there.

As far as high school goes we have a friend from Blighty who taught geology and environmental science in high school (which is a bit niche) and she seemed to get work really easily.  On the whole I would say your chances of getting work are pretty good but of course that's no guarantee.

Hope that helps and look forward to possibly meeting up somewhere in Mosman Park (possibly a boozer) when you get over.

Cheers

Baggy

 

 

 

   

[SarahL]

Hi Baggy,

Thanks for your reply. Great to hear a positive perspective of the current economy. Would be great to meet up. Will send you a message once we are settled in. 

Thanks again 

Sarah