There are thousands of England-trained teachers working in British international schools around the world - all of them having undertaken the same qualifications as teachers at home.

In many cases, the time they have spent overseas has given them huge experience in dealing with a variety of pupils and parents, of working under various inspection and accreditation systems, and delivering high academic outcomes - almost always working to the same GCSE and A-level examinations as English schools.

Yet, when I was a school principal of British schools in the Middle East and Asia, one of the things I found remarkable was the difficulties and prejudice colleagues would encounter when trying to return home to teach.

Reticence to appoint from abroad

Many domestic principals still view with suspicion candidates who have taught abroad. For some, there is the false perception that overseas candidates are out of touch or have irrelevant experience.

When combined with the practical complexities of teacher appointment processes when appointing from abroad and most schools’ unfamiliarity with conducting interviews by video conference, it is often viewed as easier and “safer” to take the local applicant.

This is short-sighted.

Working abroad is no longer a haven for those who don’t cut it in the UK. British international schools are some of the highest-performing schools in the world, subject to the same standards of inspection and rigour as those in the UK.

International teachers bring with them a wealth of important experience and skills, including cultural awareness, international mindedness, a global outlook, adaptability, resilience and extensive English as an additional language experience.

Indeed, given that some jurisdictions (such as Dubai) have annual Ofsted-style inspections and frequent changes to the curriculum, not to mention intense competition between schools and accountability to fee-paying parents, what international teachers experience in two years of teaching abroad could be worth five years or more in the UK.

Ministerial interest

For a long time, these issues seemed to be ignored by the government - but perhaps the ongoing recruitment crisis is sharpening minds.

In May 2023, I had a letter published in The Times on the subject. The letter struck a chord with teachers around the world who told, on LinkedIn, the stories of their difficulties in finding roles on their return to the UK.

Such was the response that I was contacted by Nick Gibb, then the schools minister, to talk about how this issue could be fixed. In the course of a 30-minute conversation, I made the following suggestions.

1. Run an awareness campaign for headteachers

The government should run an awareness campaign for UK school principals and headteachers explaining the merits of employing teachers who have been working internationally.

This could help to demystify the experience that such teachers have acquired and help to explain why, for example, candidates from schools accredited by the British Schools Overseas (BSO) Inspectorate should be treated on an equal footing with those from UK schools.

The government could also encourage UK principals to recognise and value UK qualifications and training gained overseas (such as initial teacher training and qualified teacher status).

And it could make efforts to change minds around the need to always attend interviews in person and to teach sample lessons - video-lesson submissions and video-conferenced interviews can work just as well.

2. Hold recruitment fairs in key international cities

The Department for Education (DfE) should consider running teacher recruitment fairs internationally.

There are tens of thousands of UK teachers working in Dubai and more in the wider Middle East, many of whom are looking to return to the UK.

A DfE recruitment fair during a weekend in December, timed before teachers renew their international contracts, would serve as a hub for the region.

Fairs in Bangkok and Hong Kong could equally serve as hubs for the Far East.

3. Learn from the Republic of Ireland

The UK should learn lessons from the Republic of Ireland. There, the Irish Department for Education and Skills has had a structure in place for more than a decade that recognises international experience.

Specifically, teachers can return to a point on the pay scale, with incremental increases of a maximum of seven years’ experience for their time abroad.

Will anything like this happen here? Well, Gibb was moved out of his schools role in a government reshuffle soon after our call, so to my knowledge, the DfE is not taking these ideas forward.

However, it would be good to see the department putting in place clearer, more transparent, visible and recognisable pathways to support the mobility of teachers back to the UK. This would enable more talented professionals to return home while simultaneously boosting teaching excellence in the state system.

Mark S Steed was a school principal for 22 years running independent schools in Devon and Hertfordshire; and international schools in Dubai and Hong Kong

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