How to get a teaching job in London?

[Standzo]

I have no idea where to start.
I am a teacher in Wales. I graduated July 2019 and I have been supply ever since.
However, there are just no primary teaching jobs where I like and if a teaching job happens to pop up, it has way over 100 applications.

I'm thinking of looking further a field. Of course no job is guaranteed but i've heard London has better job prospects. I have never lived in London so no idea if this is true.

But I have no idea where to start. I have been on Guardian jobs and eteach but all the jobs advertised seem to be recruitment agencies, who state they are hiring for a school and looking for a permanent teacher. However, I don't want to waste my time and apply through these agencies if they are doing a typical agency scam of advertising fake jobs.

What I am asking is:
What sites do schools in London usually advertise teaching jobs on?

And also:
How do interviews work when applying for jobs over 5 hours away.

Thanks in advance!

Agencies are not all exclusively very short term supply - they may also have long term jobs etc. Nothing to be lost by talking to some of them.

When I wanted to return pt I found it very hard to get days or short term supply, but I had long term contracts being offered constantly-even though I’d been clear I didn’t want them.

When I was in leadership, as a small primary, we were forced to pretty much give up on TES because of the costs. It was thousands and not regularly getting us interviews either.

Ask on the fb sites of the area you wish to move to which agencies are used. In this borough for example one local agency deals with a huge number of schools and is very good, there are a number of these one person outfits with good relations with schools. Even employing an agency teacher on a permanent contract is far less than a TES advert, so people are happy to do it. Many though work for years in the same post on supply. It’s an easy route I’m in London.

You don't need an agency

Just take a permanent job - Dh (SLT) His school has 2/3 vacancies at any one time

Main recruiting time is February - look on TES for all vacancies from January onwards

791 current London vacancies on TES website

Have a look at each of the London Council's jobs site.

Here's a couple of examples:

recruitmentbromley.engageats.co.uk/LoginV2.

www.haringey.gov.uk/jobs-and-training/jobs-schools

Lambeth Council jobs are here teachlambeth.com

You can do the interview online I did. I moved 6 hours away - everything including my lesson was done on zoom.

Ps make it clear in your covering letter or even better ring the school and ask prior to putting in an interview.

I rang them when I saw the job - talked to the DH said I was worried about childcare as a single parent with an interview 6 hours away and even before my application went in - I was told it was fine they would zoom me- I had a lesson on teams and then 3 interviews on zoom. With different people. I knew the school VERY well as it is where I grew up.

Sorry meant talk to them before putting in an application

I am in south Wales near the border, and was keeping an eye on teaching jobs through my local authority websites for the last year to return to work as my youngest is approaching school age. Have one now but only through a job coming up where I worked years ago.
Two things:
There have been unbelievably few jobs advertised- I dont know if people are sitting tight because of economic worries, but it must be a really bad time to jobhunt as an NQT.
Have you looked at Bristol? Seemed to be a steady number of jobs there. I don't know where you are moving from but it might be less of a change than moving to London, and closer to visit family?

Have a look at what area of London you'd like to be in/ can afford to live in. If you're moving as a single person then you will most likely be looking at house shares unless you live in a tiny studio miles outside London (and then add in the commute cost). Think realistically about how far you'd be able to travel to work (Not distance- time!). Do you drive? Reasonable enough to expect to drive to work if you're in outer London, but very unlikely to get a house with parking and a school with parking in inner London (although depends on area obviously).

There used to be a great pay calculator on TES so you can see what your take home pay would be. (Google something like 'TES FAQ take home pay calculator'). Keep in mind the difference between inner, outer and fringe pay. Schools just down the road from each other could have a difference in pay because of this. So Barking and Dagenham is counted as inner London for pay, but comes right out inbetween Redbridge and Havering which are outer London. (Although could be argued that the pay drop is very much worth it to work in Havering rather than Barking and Dagenham )

I'd look on TES and local authority websites for jobs. But now is really really not a great time to look. People aren't really moving jobs and jobs for September won't be coming up yet.

Much better to have a secure job if planning the move, but it is doable with agencies if you're happy to live in a cheap house share and have some savings as back up for slow periods/ holidays. Lots of agencies will do guaranteed supply, where they pay you for 3 days per week no matter what - but you have to be available 5 days a week and agree to any work they offer you. And yes - majority of the agency adverts are not real (DP is a recruiter). If they have a school that has a specific long term roll to fill, the agency will usually have a large bank of teachers on their books that they would just go to. Fake adverts are to get you signed up with the agency.

I would also look at Bristol / very close to home but not London prices and plenty of jobs