I am looking to find out more information for working as a primary school teacher in Singapore. From the UK, have completed PGCE, and currently teaching as a Primary 2 class teacher.
It would be great if you can share any information on the below areas or provide a link to where I could be directed to get more details:
International Schools - Primary 1 or 2:
I) Basic queries -
1. School timing - Generally what are the days like, what time do teachers get in and out
2. Teaching Assistant - Is it a common to have TA's
3. Activities/trips - Is it an active environment? Frequency of trips with the children?
4. Homework/marking - Any thoughts to share on the intensity of homeworks/markings
5. No. of Semesters / Duration of breaks - How many semesters? How long are the summer breaks?
6. Resources - Do the schools provide sufficient resources for setting up boards/classroom?
7. Weekend Overtime - A classic question only teachers with experience can tell if you need to work over the weekends in order to complete your work.
8. Student to teacher ratio/class
9. International/local teacher ratios in International Schools
10. Curriculum / Teaching approach / Planning - ie Textbook based / hands on approach. How is the planning time allocated?
11. Training - Do schools provide good training opportunities?
II) Other queries -
1. Benefits as an Expat teacher - Housing / Medical insurance etc.
2. Suggested Int'l schools - Pls name a few good International Schools to work for?
3. Desired qualifications - Are the any specific qualifications that would be good to have?
4. Any mandatory assessment tests for student in Singapore - i.e. SATS (Standard assement tests) are given at the end of year 2, year 6 and year 9 in UK
Thanks a lot for your help!
