Teaching in Ireland

As the last week of the summer holidays approach, I’m starting to feel like I’m finally settling in and ready to begin my journey teaching in Ireland. I’ve finished applying and interviewing for jobs and I have secured a position in an Educate Together School- delighted!

With that said, I am noticing still that I’m swimming in paper work in order to be a “proper” teacher in Ireland. The aim of this post is to provide you with a checklist to get done abroad before you move home, in order to make your transition easier.

Registering with the teaching council and obtaining police clearance, were discussed in my previous posts Returning to teach in Ireland & Settling Back into life in Ireland- Car Insurance, Garda Vetting and Money talks.

However, it was only in the last two weeks I thought to try and get my years teaching abroad recognised. First of all, you need to download this form from the Department of Education’s website. It’s 8 pages long, two of which need to be filled out, signed and stamped by your employer abroad (hence why I’m suggesting you get it sorted before you move back to Ireland).

Secondly, you need to fill out a separate form for each country you have worked in as a teacher. For instance, I taught in England for a year before I moved to Qatar, so therefore I have to print off the same form twice and fill them in.

There is a section for non-teaching related experience, which I don’t have, so I left that part blank. Upon completion, you need to post this form to the following address and hope for the best.

Department of Education and Skills,

Incremental Credit Unit,

Teacher Special Needs Assistants Terms and Conditions,

Athlone,

County Westmeath,

N37 X659

Why am I documenting this process to teach in Ireland?

I have read online that it can take up to 20 weeks to hear back about your claim, however you do get back paid if granted the increments. In the past, I have also heard of teachers not being allowed to claim back their years abroad and having to start at the bottom of the pay scale in Ireland. If like me, you have taught abroad for a number of years, this can make a colossal difference to your wages!

Personally, I don’t see how the Department of Education can justify not recognising these years, as I taught as a fully qualified teacher in a British School (with was attested by the British Education System). I know many of you are in similar predicaments, hence why I have decided to document this “returning to teaching in Ireland” period of my teaching career. I hope that these posts help to smoothen someone’s transition and also to help you get what you deserve, in terms of your position on the pay scale.

Why I applied for Job Seekers Allowance

As you know, securing a teaching job in Ireland is not easy. In my experience this summer, a lot of the jobs go to internal candidates in June, so some/most of the jobs advertised in June are not genuine. July tends to be quite quiet in terms of job advertisements, and then in August more jobs start popping up on http://www.educationposts.ie . 

Having returned to Ireland at the end of June, it can be very overwhelming having an entire summer with

1. No job lined up.
2. No income.

Luckily, I did have savings from working abroad, however by living at home jobless, I was burning into my savings while seeking a job. That’s when I enquired about applying for Job Seekers Allowance, to which I was granted.

To apply, you need to visit your local social welfare office and fill out forms. It took over a month for me to hear back from them, but I did get back paid and they informed me that it normally takes 2-3 weeks. It’s worth a shot to ease a burden while looking for the gold dust (jobs).

How do I teach in Ireland when I haven’t spoken Irish in years?

This is something I genuinely thought would go against me in interviews. I have some what of a level of Irish (even if it is verrrrry basic) and I feared being asked a question as Gaeilge at interview. Somehow, I didn’t get one in any interview that I did! I am a bit apprehensive about teaching Irish, but I’ll be sure to post any tips, tricks and resources that I find along the way.

As part of my undergraduate degree, I studied Irish and therefore won’t have to go through Irish exams now. However, I still need to attend the Gaeltacht and be inspected (as far as I know). I’ll keep you posted on that journey too. Keep an eye out for future posts.

Interested in attending my webinar on an insight into the Irish Language Requirement? See more information here: https://rahoo.ie/events/an-insight-into-the-irish-language-requirement/

Be in touch if you’ve any questions or queries.