I am in my NQT year and I am doing supply work. I am seriously worried about this four-term supply limit. What is going to happen to all the teachers in Wales once it runs out? I qualified two years ago and did have a job in England for a year, but it was in the private sector so there was no induction available. I’ve moved back to Wales and I have only seen one suitable job in the past three months that I’d be prepared to apply for; and then I was lucky to be one of the last three candidates, out of 260.
I’m wondering whether to go back to England just to do my induction year, but I am not sure whether English schools would want people who have trained in Wales. I think only three people from my university got teaching jobs, out of around 180. What should I do?
* I’m sorry you can’t find a teaching job. The decline in primary school numbers has been signalled for several years. I think government planners hoped that the introduction of preparation, planning and assessment (PPA) time into primary schools this year would create more posts for teachers.
To date, this doesn’t seem to have happened. Take a job in England if you can find one; they are scarce there as well. In a few years time, the retirement boom will mean your skills will be needed. I would also work with your friends to lobby the general teaching councils in both Wales and England about the problem. A solution has to be found if all your training isn’t to go to waste. At present, there is a consultation about whether a period during which induction may be completed be extended to five years.
Wait and see.
