The Probation Year question
9:14 am on the 13th of November, 2006I’ve written about this topic before, next year after I have graduated I get a job in a scottish school for one year as part of the NQT induction scheme, where I go is a bit up in the air.
There is a system where I pick my 5 preferred councils and I am hopefully placed in one of them and then there may be some element of choice of which school within the council I go to. The other option is the Preference Waiver Scheme where I could be placed anywhere in Scotland with the bonus of £6k (less tax).
On Friday there was a fayre held at uni for all the people who will be going into the induction scheme next year with most of the councils attending. Until recently I was tempted to go for the preference waiver scheme because £4.5K sounds like a fair whack when you’re a student, but I don’t know if I like the idea of the desicision being completely out of my hands and £4.5K isn’t really that much when weighed against the possible costs of starting out in a place I don’t want to be.
Needless to say this has been on my mind a lot over the weekend but I am no closer to being able to make a final decision yet - there are too many factors here to consider so I have just ruled out a lot of places simply on gut feeling because that’s as good a way as any without going and visiting them all. My main prefererence is somewhere nice and quiet that has a good reputation for it’s induction scheme. So far, based purely on my idea about the place itself and not education, I have narrowed 32 councils down to these ones in no particular order.
- East Lothian
- Borders
- Highlands
- Dumfries and Galloway
- Argyll and Bute
- Perth and Kinross
- Moray
The first common theme being they are all not cities. The second, they are all very pretty (I’m told Moray is, but I’ve never been).
They all have their plus points and their minus points.
- East Lothian - I went to school there, Is that good or bad? Sounds like a brilliant place to teach but do I want to go there first thing, I think I’d rather get experience of somewhere else first - it’s only one year anyway.
- Borders - Very pretty, lots of fairly small schools, do I want to end up there straight away? Like East Lothian, I think I want to try something different first.
- Highlands - It’s massive (33% land area of Scotland) and I could be put anywhere in it, it could be very very remote, or it could be Inverness.
- Dumfries and Galloway. Most of it is very nice, but it does come across as being a bit grey and dark a lot of thie time, are the people like that too? And why do they have trouble attracting and keeping teachers?
- Argyll and Bute - very varied, islands and biggish towns, recently adopted an nasty sounding stance on blogging though
- Perth and Kinross - really nice part of the country, central to everywhere. Bad points? I’m sure there are some, I haven’t heard any good (or bad) things about schools there so for me that counts as a bad point.
- Moray - I don’t know anything about Moray to be honest, I include it becuse my dad says it’s nice.
So having written all that down am I closer to a decision? Not a chance!
Update:From Ewan, it seems Argyll and Bute just had a temporary glitch, not a change in stance
November 13th, 2006 at 4:50 pm on the 13th of November, 2006
Given what we mentioned yesterday, about next year being potentially a ‘gap’ year in terms of enforced separations, perhaps somewhere not too remote is good? A weekend away that starts with a 5 hour dirve to the airport might not be the best.
November 13th, 2006 at 4:51 pm on the 13th of November, 2006
Oh and…
MoraG. MoraG is nice.
November 13th, 2006 at 4:52 pm on the 13th of November, 2006
Sorry. Couldn’t resist.
November 13th, 2006 at 4:58 pm on the 13th of November, 2006
eh? I don\’t get it.
November 13th, 2006 at 5:17 pm on the 13th of November, 2006
Live in Edinburgh and come to East Lothian. We need people like you!!
November 13th, 2006 at 6:34 pm on the 13th of November, 2006
Don, living in East Lothian isn’t a problem for me - I’d far rather that than Edinburgh - and I’d love to teach in East Lothian but I’m wary of starting out in a comfortable place that is well known to me. I’ve 40+ years to work somewhere like that but only now do I have the chance to try something totally different, in a few years time I probably won’t have those sort of options.
November 14th, 2006 at 11:11 am on the 14th of November, 2006
To be honest,
Murray, Murray is nice
would have been a better verbal play on words. But I was amused that you are apparently contemplating moving to Moray on the grounds that someone said it was nice, and thought it would be even better if you had mis-heard or been the victim of a typing error.
Sorry. I’ll get me coat.
November 14th, 2006 at 10:22 pm on the 14th of November, 2006
I don’t see you or any new teachers staying put in one place for 40 years - these times have gone. You might not even be teaching in ten years. The important thing is to get the best possible start. One of our goals is to see our teachers and promoted post holders moving to other jobs in other authorities - just as much as we might attract those from outside. East Lothian is not a cosy place to work - we aim to be one of the leading contributors to educational thinking and practice at a local, national and international level.
November 16th, 2006 at 2:25 pm on the 16th of November, 2006
Having lived and worked in Moray during my 22 years as a physics teacher, I am probably biased, but I really can recommend the area - favourable climate, lovely countryside and very good access to the hills of the Grampians and North and West Highlands. That was what persuaded me to move to the area at the start of my teaching career and I never regretted it.
There are good schools in both Moray and Highland, but it will always be a bit of a lottery where you end up, as I assume that you will not actually be given a choice of schools. As an HMI, I have also visited schools in the other authorities you list, but it would feel it appropriate to recommend individual establishments. South Lanarkshire and Stirlingshire might also be worth considering, as both are highly regarded authorities and have some very good schools.
Get in touch if you would like to have a longer chat about your options.
Best of luck in your teaching career.
Don
November 17th, 2006 at 12:23 pm on the 17th of November, 2006
Two Dons, how confusing!
Don Vass: thanks for commenting, did my dad set you up to it? It’s correct that I won’t have much, if any, say in where I go for the first year, and after that it just depends on where there is a job. I can imagine myself living in any of these places quite happily, for a year at least. Nice to hear from you.
Other Don: I didn’t mean it as a slight on East Lothian, I see it as a great place to teach. What I had meant though is it is somewhere I know well - I know the background of the pupils, I know the area, I know what it is like growing up there - and I am not sure that it would be best for me to go there straight away when I have the chance to go somewhere that is unknown to me and learn what it is like to teach in a different place.
Your point about getting the best start though is a strong one. There are two ways of looking at the decision I have to make:
I have a feeling that over time my life will drift back towards East Lothian and surrounding areas, too big a part of me is attached to the area to ignore it.
I’ve got lots to consider and the day where they hand out the forms is fast approaching.
November 19th, 2006 at 12:38 am on the 19th of November, 2006
Stuart,
One comment my girlfriend made when she signed the waiver form is that it was a relief not to have to worry about where she ended up. She just waited for the letter to arrive. Friends of hers doing the course got their second or third choices in some cases which led to much gnashing of teeth. The money my girlfriend got has definitely helped her/us but unfortunately, she did end up in Unst, the most northerly island in the British Isles. The flip side of that is that she has got a brilliant school and a very supportive Local Authority. I am in the same situation as you but won’t be ticking the box purely because my girlfriend and I need a bit more of an idea where I will be so she can start applying for jobs in that area - one year apart is enough! If I was single though, I would tick the box and go for the adventure! It is only 1 year and you never know, you could just get Glasgow and £6,000! Interestingly my girlfriend is also from East Lothian.
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