To ask for comparisons between teaching in UK and NZ

[Probablygreen]

We visited New Zealand in winter this year with a view to potentially relocating as a family and loved it. Since our return this has obviously been put on hold due to COVID, however I’m wondering if anyone has any experience of teaching primary in both NZ and the UK, and can give an opinion on which is better? I am a teacher here working very long hours and weekends although obviously we get the holidays, and behaviour in my school is pretty rubbish in general. What’s it like to teach in NZ? Preferably Nelson/Tasman or Northland.
I’m not looking for advice on visas or general lifestyle as there’s already loads online about that, but not much for teaching comparisons!

Are you primary or secondary? If secondary do you have a specialist subject?

I can't be super helpful as I was an unqualified classroom assistant when I worked in the UK but some general thoughts:

• Northland is a deprived area of NZ and quite rural/small town. It also has a large Maori population. If you are teaching there (especially primary) you will have to brush up on basic Te Reo Maori (the language). Not to the level of fluency, but at least basics like numbers, colours, greetings etc. Also there is no government lunch scheme so if you are working in a very poor school (poor as in money not standards) you may have situations with hungry children.

• health and safety can be pretty different. In the UK I remember having to help with a massive risk assessment to take students to the beach and then in the end they weren't allowed to go in the water as it was deemed too risky. In NZ I went to pick up a friend's kid from his primary school and they were all jumping off the local pier across the road with one teacher watching several classes! This was during school time. Also not sure about all UK schools but where I worked children had to be signed out of school up at the end of the day until year 5 or so. Not so here.

• general curriculum pretty similar I would say. Early reading and numeracy methods change every so often.

• behaviour will depend largely on school and even year group. Generally pretty good at primary ime but like UK many issues with under supported SEN children in mainstream classrooms.

• primary teaching here generally has pretty long hours for the first 1-3 years for new grads, maybe for you as well as you are changing countries and systems. Then better hours. But you may be expected to give up Saturday mornings to the school during winter as teachers are often expected to coach/manage a sports team or umpire matches.

I would also consider pay comparisons carefully and judge against cost of living. Especially if you will want to visit UK family regularly (presuming easy travel in the reasonably near future!).

@Fantail - from the OP:

”however I’m wondering if anyone has any experience of teaching primary”

I don’t have any experience of teaching, but I work in the education sector.

I think the main points of difference are that here in NZ, we have a very flexible, permissive curriculum. It’s more of a framework, really. As I understand it - and correct me if I’m wrong - the UK curriculum is a lot more prescriptive.

Our teachers like it this way, but it does mean schools, teachers, leaders, etc, really have to step up to the plate when it comes to designing a school / classroom curriculum that is reflective of, and responds to, the young people they’re teaching. And that they get the important learning they need to thrive.

Also, New Zealand is a diverse country (similar to the UK), with a bicultural founding document (different to the UK), the Treaty of Waitangi. It would probably be a good idea to get your head around that, and what that means for teaching and learning in NZ.

NZ students do pretty well in the international comparisons - PISA, TIMSS, PIRLS, etc - on par with the UK. Our best performing students are among the best, but the gap between high and low performing students is amongst the biggest in the OECD. I mention this, as it’s why I recommend getting your head around the Treaty, and the effects of colonisation, etc. it’s a significant difference from the UK, and presents some challenges that you might not have considered.

On the plus side, schools are real communities hubs here. You don’t go in a draw for schools the way you do in the UK, and then get allocated a place at whichever school has a place for you.

Kids go to their local primary school - in more populous communities they are zoned, but it basically amounts to kids going to the nearest school to them (unless fee paying, of course).

Hope this helps.

Northland schools will have a very different character to Nelson/Marlborough. Nelson/Marlborough is "an uncomfortable mix of Rich Retired Americans, bogans and hippies" to quote a very good friend of mine. Northland is in contrast poor and has entrenched social challenges including methamphetamine use and intergenerational trauma. Some parts of Northland in little pockets are fine (eg kerikeri, Russell)

The free lunch program has been rolled out at a majority of Northland schools. Thanks jacinda.

Teaching vowel phonics will be weird..

Thanks very much everyone, there’s some great nuggets to consider here!
In general are working hours very similar? Do teachers in NZ get non-contact time for planning?

@Guineapigbridge it’s Kerikeri we’re considering but thank you, it’s definitely something to take into account. I’m actually quite surprised at that as Kerikeri/Paihia we’re probably the most upmarket places we visited in NZ, but maybe that’s just the motels and not the villages!

*were (stupid autocorrect!)

Where in the U.K. are you? I found there was quite a bit of similarity between the NZ curriculum and the Scottish curriculum. More fluid than the English one. I had a few interviews over in NZ around the Auckland area and they were keen to treat me like and NQT for the first year as I was from a different country. This would have meant more non-contact time and support but additional training and presumably less wages. I decided against it and went travelling instead. This was in 2012. I don’t know if it was specific to just that school or area but I wasn’t keen to go back and retrain when I was only staying for a year