A national insurance holiday worth almost £4,000 a year is being offered to teachers who relocate to the Isle of Man.
That’s on top of “golden hello” comprising two lump-sum payments of £2,000 at the beginning of the second and third school years, and housing assistance up to £500 per month for a maximum of two years (subject to relocation circumstances).
The Isle of Man government says it needs to recruit “a very high number of teachers in the next couple of months” in its secondary schools, particularly in science, maths, English, D&T, IT and computer science
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And because the island has its own education system, schools are not subject to Ofsted inspections, although pupils are entered for GCSE and A-level exams through UK examination boards.
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The Isle of Man’s minister for enterprise, Laurence Skelly, said: “This scheme enhances the already compelling reasons to live and work in the Isle of Man. We have excellent quality of life, opportunities for career progression and average salaries which are higher than the UK. We believe this will be a fantastic incentive for Manx nationals to return home, as well as attracting new workers to our shores.”
Teacher salaries are equivalent to that of the UK - yet under the national insurance holiday scheme, eligible employees on a gross income of £30,000 would take home £27,450 compared with £23,800 in the UK.
The island, of 85,000 residents, has its own curriculum called Essentials for Learning, which is described as “a more holistic way of education” and is based on the “6 Rs” which are: readiness; relationships which are positive; resourcefulness; resilience; remembering skills and reflectiveness.
The island was also awarded Unesco status as a world biosphere region, to which all 37 schools are partners.
A spokeperson said: “One topic they particularly care about is the use of plastics, which many times end up in the beach and the sea. Many of the children (and their parents and teachers) collaborate every Sunday morning with Beach Buddies, a local charity of beach-cleaning volunteers.”
Any interested teachers should submit details here.
