As a teacher, you have a range of options on where to teach, including state schools, catholic schools and schools in the independent school system. Here are some of the reasons some teachers enjoy teaching in independent schools.
Recognition of excellence
Teachers who teach in independent schools are not as restricted in the ways that they can be recognised for going over and above their job and achieving excellent results. This can include getting financial rewards such as a higher salary or bonus, as well as extra leaves in order to attend professional development and conferences to keep sharing and learning best practice. As teachers are one of the strengths that independent schools use to attract new students, there is a continuing focus on assessing the quality of the teachers and rewarding excellent achievement.
A community of like-minded teachers
The flipside of rewarding excellence in teaching is that teachers with a bad attitude or poor performance are managed to improve their performance and attitude or to leave the school. This means that the stronger teachers do not need to pick up the slack for weaker teachers and the teaching community tends to be more positive and rewarding. Many teachers find this a rewarding experience, particularly if they have previously taught in schools with a less positive environment.
Supportive parents
Independent schools are run for and by the parent community. This means that the parents are very involved in the school and tend to be willing to support the school in a number of ways, including volunteering in the school, contributing financially and following up on school feedback at home. This can help teachers to be effective in their roles.
Flexibility
While independent schools have policies and procedures, as they are not part of a larger structure there tends to be more flexibility to change these procedures to suit the student population. This can be very useful as teachers can modify their teaching or implement new programs in order to meet the specific needs of their school community. This means that students feel more committed to the school and can find it easier to focus on their learning.
Teachers often love the environment of teaching in an independent school, including the extra rewards for achieving teaching excellence and the support from the school, parents, and community. Why not chat to a local independent school and see if they have vacancies that you might suited to?
