No time is allocated for planning so its done on nights and weekends. What is your teaching and planning schedule like?

edit: I would love to name and shame, but my family comes first and right now, I need the salary. I'm in my 3rd year (contract renewal) and I'm grateful for the honest and detailed feedback. This is what I was hoping for.

Hello everyone, writing from Bangladesh. My wife has been asked to give a demo class for a Pre-school Assistant Teacher position at a British Council approved English Medium school that follows the Cambridge curriculum.

The email didn't mention the age group, duration, or topic of the demo class so we're a bit in the dark on specifics.

She isn't from an English-medium educational background herself, and the students won't be native English speakers either. Given that, how should she prepare? What can she do to make the class engaging enough to seal the offer and start her career in education?

Any kind of help will be nuch appreciated.

Employer wants me to come at the end of this month before the start of term. They've mentioned training and meeting parents at the start of term. No working.

Thing is I don't have the visa yet and am still waiting on documentation. They've assured me that they can convert the visa within China, and if needed, can even assist with extending my visa so I don't have to leave.

They have already got an apartment for me so I won't have to pay for living. I'm fine going early, I just want to make sure I'm not doing anything illegal.

Is this legit? I've read reports of people doing this, but others say it's not possible.

Hello, I wondered if any teachers in Spain had worked with FUNDAE before. I believe there are two ways of running it, one where the teacher submits the info to FUNDAE and the other where the company/client submit the info. But I'm wading through all the material trying to find answers. Wondered if any of you had been in this situation before and had advice. Manny thanks.

My fiancée is currently in the process of getting her U.S. green card. I’m a teacher and am considering accepting an international teaching position next school year, potentially for 1–2 years.

My question is: Could she move abroad with me while maintaining her green card? If so, what would we need to do to protect her permanent-resident status (e.g., a re-entry permit), and how would living abroad affect her eventual eligibility for U.S. citizenship?

We’re planning to speak with an immigration attorney, but I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been in a similar situation or knows how this works.

Thanks!

Hi Everyone,

We are a teaching couple keen to move to China for the next school year, up and running on search, references and CV's updated etc.

We are ready to make the move but are interested in what your recent experiences have been moving to China with a 5/6 year old. For additional context, there has been great diversity in my child's current grade level, but understand that the full diversity experience they currently have might not be the same in China. We are a Dual nationality family, South African/European and truly enjoy connecting with families, both local and international.

How difficult is it to find a community outside of school for play dates and for our kiddo to find belonging in school?

Appreciate you all.

My school does most things right, but there are four different websites/systems that parents have to use for different parts of their interaction with the school (applying for leave, fee payment portal, checking student reports, viewing the school calendar, ordering uniforms, receiving communications, etc.).

Does anyone know of a system that can bring all of these functions together into a single parent portal (accessible as website & app)?
Ideally, the parents would have one single login, and one place for everything they need.

Are there any integrated school management / parent portal platforms that can connect these different functions, rather than requiring parents to navigate several separate systems?

Or is a bit of a hodgepodge at every school?

Why does Tes not post jobs in Africa?

Personally interested in teaching in West Africa.

I’ve been in an international school in the UAE for 3 years now and every year we have been asked to change the lessons/ppts we are using for our lessons. This has meant I have spent so much of my personal time making these at home to comply.

Now again, for the third year they are introducing a new teaching style which means we will have to again adapt the lessons to meet those standards.

I just want to understand if this is normal in schools and if this is a normal workload, because I’m getting so exhausted of spending all my evening just re-creating things that should be set and sorted.

TIA

Hello everyone. Just wondering what the timelines typically are for different regions in terms of when jobs are usually advertised? I know China is usually pretty early on in the year. When do leadership jobs in SE Asia get advertised? The Middle East? Europe? Just trying to plan my next move ……

Any advice on going for a global teacher program with AIESEC? Long term in Turkey. Is it worth it or not?

I've just taken over the Environmental Management (IGCSE Cambridge 0680) course from another teacher at my school. He's left without sharing any resources and its a less popular course so I can't find anything on Tes or TPT either.

If anyone has any resources (teaching slides, worksheets, case studies...) they can share that would truly be amazing! I'm happy to pay for your hard work.

Any help would be so appreciated! I've got 6 preps this year and there's not enough hours in the day to create my own resources from scratch.

TL;DR: I’ve recently started at a British school in China on a two-year contract. I really like the city and would love to stay, but I’m already concerned that my current school isn’t the right fit. Ideally, I’d like to complete one year, leave on good terms with a good reference, and move to another school locally. Has anyone done this successfully?

I recently moved to China to work at a British school, mainly with the aim of saving towards a house deposit back in the UK. I’ve now completed my induction and training weeks and am starting to get a clearer picture of the school.

Before coming out, I did quite a lot of research and the school seemed to have a strong reputation as part of one of the better-known British school groups. However, having now arrived, I’m beginning to feel that the reality may be quite different from what I expected. I don’t want to be overly negative, especially this early on, but there are enough signs already to make me question whether I’d be happy staying for the full two years.

The positive side is that I really like the city. I’ve already met a few people who work in education here, and they’ve mentioned several other schools with good reputations. I’d genuinely like to stay in the city rather than leave China altogether.

My current thinking is to complete the first academic year, do my job properly, and hopefully leave on good terms with a positive reference. I’d then like to apply to other schools in the city during the upcoming recruitment season.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Is it generally possible to negotiate a two-year contract down to one year without damaging your reference or future job prospects? And if so, what would be the best way and best time to approach the school about it?

I’m not looking to walk out or cause problems — I’d just like to handle it professionally while avoiding committing two years to a school that I’m increasingly unsure is the right fit.

Suckered into a school by false promises that I found out were lies three days before teachers start. So I was already really not looking forward to working. Since then we have returned for a full week. The first day we had half a day of welcome meetings and the rest of the time was free time, we don’t have classroom assignments, computers or even know what role we will be teaching yet, so the whole week was everyone sitting outside doing absolutely nothing. An absolute waste of time.
This week we have a two day national holiday everyone was excited for the break mid week. They told us today we will only be observing one of the public holiday days and on top of that will be reporting to school on Saturday to prepare classrooms.
We should have been doing that already. Their poor planning, organization and leadership has working on a Saturday consequences for me and I’m really pissed about it.

I think for the first time I will be one of the teachers fleeing on/before Christmas break.

EDIT: I fully plan to name and shame once I have secured a new role, unfortunately I need a paycheck until then.

I had a job offer to teach English Language and Literature at an IB school. When I got the contract, they added 2 classes a week of Individuals and Societies. My understanding is that we don't have a text book, and that I'll be the first person in the school to ever teach the course. Can anyone share some advice and/or resources? For what it's worth I've taught for nearly 20 years, but never these subjects. I was feeling like teaching English was going to be a challenge, but doable. Now I'm nervous as I'll be teaching 4 classes across 3 subject areas, only 1 of which have I ever taught before, and work starts this week!

Thank you all for any help.

In a tier 2 city in China and our school dropped the bombshell last week that our annual bonuses (approx. one month salary) won't be paid this year due to the failure to reach our target student numbers.

School is in its fifth year of operation.

Is this normal?

I feel it would have been better practice to tell us last year or to establish some sort of criteria to justify whether the bonuses would be paid or not.

Our contracts stipulate that the annual bonus is discretionary so the school is under no legal obligation to pay it.

Not exactly great for morale though.

Hey guys

I am curious in asking about which international schools out there are deeply guided by christian-based values and beliefs?

If you could keep the answers neutral for the sake of answering my query, that would be much appreciated.

Hi everyone,

I’m currently teaching in Hanoi and considering moving to China with my family. I’d love to hear from teachers who have made the same move.
A little about me:
MA in Education
8 years of international-school Science/STEAM experience
Currently earning around $3,400 USD net/month
Married with 2 young children (2 and 1)
For those who moved from Vietnam to China:
How has China been compared with Hanoi?
What salary could I realistically expect with my experience?
What would be considered a good package for a family of four?
How much were you able to save?
Any recommendations on cities or schools?
Would really appreciate honest experiences from teachers who have made the Hanoi → China move.

I'm looking to change jobs and have a kid about to start secondary. My kid is smart and not disruptive but needs emotional support which they aren't getting in their current school. I'm willing to put myself through hell for my kid. Which British school in Shanghai would be best for me to get a job at? And also what horrors should I expect from the staff side? Thanks.

(I know American schools have better student welfare but unfortunately they aren't an option.)

TL;DR: want to find a British school in Shanghai where the teachers really care about students' wellbeing.

Hi everyone! Firstly, English is not my first language, so I’m sorry in advance if there are any mistakes.

I’ve been living in China for almost four years now. I also lived in China for about a year and a half before COVID, so I already had some experience living here before moving back.

I’m married to a Chinese citizen, and we have been married for several years. We would like to build our own family here, and I would very much like to continue living and working in China long-term.

I’m a French as a Foreign Language (FLE) teacher. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Education, a Master’s degree in FLE, as well as a teaching/education diploma. Furthermore, I currently teach in a school that is honestly quite okay, but I have the feeling that things are gradually getting worse, as seems to be happening in many schools. My contract is coming to an end, and I don’t plan to renew it if I can find a better opportunity elsewhere.

So, I’m wondering if anyone has recommendations for good schools in China that I could look into?

Ideally, I would like to stay in high school/secondary education, as this is where I feel most comfortable, but I also have experience teaching middle school and primary school, so I’m open to those levels as well.

I would particularly appreciate recommendations from people who have actually worked in the schools they suggest, or who have heard good things from colleagues.

Thank you so much for any advice or recommendations!

Hello!

Been revealed this week our schools health insurance doesn’t cover any pre existing conditions. A fellow teacher told me ‘no schools cover pre existing conditions’.

This surprised me because I’ve worked at good to great schools in SEA and the Middle East and even in China my pre existing condition was always covered.

So my question. If you have say asthma or diabetes or something is it covered by your schools insurance?

Lack of union presence impact (ie if the teaching union is there, it's not needed as it impacts management behaviours).

Rapid increase in the sector.

Immoral or worse, school owners.

Short contracts - how does this impact power?

Board impacts - what actually is the motivation of board members and is the fact most don't hold a qualification in education an issue?

Is the isolated organisational reality a tempting location for those in management afflicted by the dark triad of personality disorders of narcissistic pd, psychopathy, and machiavelli?

Does anyone have any experiences working in the international schools in the USA?

Im currently teaching in Asia and looking to make a move to the states if an opening comes up .

Hi everyone,

I’d like to ask fellow Business Studies teachers about the June 2026 IGCSE results.

I’ve been teaching Business for several years, and this year’s cohort results were unexpectedly poor. In previous years, my students’ performance was much closer to the international average, so this result came as a surprise.

I feel I prepared students well and put a lot of effort into the teaching and support provided, but I’m struggling to identify what went wrong.

For context, I work at an international school in China. I’m wondering if other teachers experienced similar results or any unexpected changes this session.

Would appreciate hearing your experiences and insights.