Jade Raynor-Poppleton (Classroom Secrets): Experiences teaching abroad

In this episode, Claire interviews Jade Raynor who is one of our very own proofreaders at Classroom Secrets. Before joining our team, Jade taught in primary schools in both the UK and Thailand leaving her with many interesting insights into teaching internationally.

In Thailand, Jade taught all subjects across the primary phase, other than those taught by specialists in Music, PE, Swimming, MFL and Thai. Although the workload was similar in both countries, teachers were given much more non-contact time in Thailand allowing them to keep on top of tasks during the school day. She found that this gave her a significantly more positive LIFE/ work balance than she had experienced while teaching in the UK.

Drawing on her experiences, Jade shares the similarities and differences between teaching in the UK and abroad, details about the preparation required before making a major move and information about the support systems and school structures in place.

Claire’s interview with Jade offers a fascinating snapshot of teaching abroad and weighs up the pros and cons of embarking on the ultimate teaching adventure.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Apply early!
Many schools begin recruiting in October for the following September. You can apply later in the academic year but it’s advisable to get your application in as soon as you can to ensure you have the broadest range of options available to you. When working abroad, schools often expect their teachers to decide in October whether they will be staying beyond the current academic year to allow maximum time for recruitment.

Be prepared to prepare!
As you might expect, there can be a lot to organise when moving and working abroad. After accepting her job offer, Jade needed to gather up her identification documentation, apply for a VISA and complete stacks of paperwork from the school. The company Jade worked with agreed to pay for the flights to Thailand and back to the UK at the end of her contract, and although they didn’t contribute financially towards her accommodation, they did help her to organise this before her arrival. The school that Jade worked in also offered places for teachers’ children at the school as an incentive for families to move there. Since all schools work differently, it’s recommended to research a variety of schools to see which perks and incentives may be most suited to you.

LIFE/work balance
Jade found that teacher life in Thailand offered her a much better LIFE/ work balance than in the UK. Unless she was running her weekly after-school club, her working day ended around 4 or 4.30pm on average. She found that her evenings and most weekends were free to enjoy life and she and her partner spent many weekends on cheap mini breaks to nearby islands. The key to this balance was having more time to complete tasks during the school day. Jade taught all subjects across the primary phase in Thailand, other than those taught by specialists in Music, PE, Swimming, MFL and Thai. While the children were with their specialist teachers, she had at least an hour each day to catch up on tasks and this went a long way in giving her a positive LIFE/ work balance.

Support systems
Jade felt very well supported by the leadership team at her school in Thailand. If she had any concerns about children with SEN issues, she could ask for them to be observed and they would be supported with additional TAs where possible and taken for interventions if needed. Teachers who could speak the native Thai language also assisted her greatly with translation and behaviour management. Jade and the other staff created a support network amongst themselves to help each other during their time away from home.

School Structure
In Jade’s experience, the school day in Thailand was structured in the same way as the UK. The main difference was that the school year started in August rather than September and the October half term and Christmas holidays were longer. Many of the schools in Thailand were funded privately. Subjects were led by SLT rather than class teachers, though while Jade was working in a Thai school, opportunities did arise for staff to apply for specific leadership roles with some additional pay, and they were given extra time to manage this.

Teacher Pay
Jade received the same income that she’d earned in the UK, though her partner took a slight pay cut. They found that taking this cut was worthwhile as the cost of living was significantly cheaper in Thailand. In fact, they were able to share one of their incomes between them and save the other salary during their time working there. When they returned to the UK, they put these savings towards buying their first home. The salary received varies from country to country. One of Jade’s friends who taught in Hong Kong and Singapore received a much higher wage due to the much higher cost of living.

Behaviour Management
The vast majority of children in Jade’s class were very well-behaved and there wasn’t a specific whole-school behaviour policy in place. It was truly left to the teacher’s discretion however this sometimes led to issues arising from the inconsistency across the school as there were sometimes different sanctions for the same behaviours.
Language Barrier
Jade didn’t know any Thai before moving to Thailand. She learnt some basic words while she lived there but as most staff and children spoke English, it wasn’t essential for her to learn Thai fluently. The main language barrier that Jade encountered was encouraging the children to use the different tenses as they struggled to write in anything other than the present tense.

BEST MOMENTS

“I didn’t get the Sunday dread. I wasn’t coming home thinking I had loads to prepare. It was done and ready.”

“One thing I always say about LIFE/ work balance is that it’s alright giving teachers little tips but what they actually need is time.”

“Sometimes people have the misconception that you’ll be finished at 3:30 every day but it’s not like that at all. You’re still expected to do the planning and the marking. It’s still the same job. You’re just given more time to do it.”

“We’re both home-birds. We did say we would miss our friends and family but it’s a great opportunity to travel.”

“Teachers out there, regardless of where they are from, are respected. Education is really valued out there.”

“Moving out there is a tidal wave of emotions. When you come out, it’s going to be the best thing you’ve ever done. For the first couple of weeks, you’ll be on a high but in a few weeks you may dip massively because that’s when you’re going to start thinking about the people you miss. It’s going to come back up eventually. You get used to it and get into a routine.”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

TES Jobs: https://www.tes.com/jobs/
The Teachers’ Podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheTeachersPodcast/ 
Classroom Secrets Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClassroomSecretsLimited/ 
Classroom Secrets website: https://classroomsecrets.co.uk/ 
LIFE/work balance campaign: https://classroomsecrets.co.uk/lifeworkbalance-and-wellbeing-in-education-campaign-2019/ 

ABOUT THE HOST
Claire Riley

Claire, alongside her husband Ed, is one of the directors of Classroom Secrets, a company she founded in 2013 and which provides outstanding differentiated resources for teachers, schools, parents and tutors worldwide.

Having worked for a number of years as a teacher in both Primary and Secondary education, and experiencing first-hand the difficulties teachers were facing finding appropriate high-quality resources for their lessons, Claire created Classroom Secrets with the aim of helping reduce the workload for all school staff.

Claire is a passionate believer in a LIFE/work balance for those who work in education citing the high percentage of teachers who leave or plan to leave their jobs each year. Since February 2019, Classroom Secrets has been running their LIFE/work balance campaign to highlight this concerning trend.

 The Teachers’ Podcast is a series of interviews where Claire meets with a wide range of guests involved in the field of education. These podcasts provide exciting discussions and different perspectives and thoughts on a variety of themes which are both engaging and informative for anyone involved in education.

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