10 questions International schools need to answer if they want to attract talent:

Before getting close to filling in an application form, international teachers want to know what their new life at your school will look like. Here are 10 questions you need to be able to answer. 
English-medium and English-bilingual schools are opening across the world in large numbers. And that means leaders are not only having to persuade increasing numbers of teachers to work abroad but to relocate to cities of which they’ve never even heard.
Most people have an idea what the major world cities like Dubai and Hong Kong are like, but most will not have idea of cities beyond the capitals. How does one sell working in Almaty in Kazakhstan? Or in Chongqing in China? Or Yangon in Myanmar?
In such a competitive marketplace, schools need to devote as much time and effort to recruiting staff as it does pupils. Here’s some questions that schools need to answer if they want to attract talent.

LIFESTYLE 

Anyone moving abroad is going to want reassurance about the quality of life they will experience living and working in new country. Schools need to address the basic questions about lifestyle by unpacking what day-to-day life might look like for the prospective teacher:
1. Where will I live? Accommodation is going to be high on the list of questions. Schools need to be clear about whether or not accommodation is provided, its location in relation to the schools and the city centre. They also need to outline what support they will provide in helping staff find their own housing and to settle into life in the new country.
2. What will I eat?
Families will want to know about the availability of western foods. Schools can allay fears in this area by providing information on what restaurants and supermarkets are like.
3. Will I be able to communicate in English or will I have to learn a local language?
One important factor living abroad is the ability to carry out day to day business in English. This varies hugely around the world. Whilst English is spoken and understood in most major cities, what often matters most on a day-to-day basis is the ability to communicate with shopkeepers and taxi drivers. Schools need to be clear about any challenges that potential recruits are likely to encounter.
4. What is the Healthcare like? 
Given that health care is free in the UK, it is perhaps not surprising that very few prospective teachers think to ask about the quality of the health provision - but they should. Most schools have excellent health insurance schemes and access to excellent (private) healthcare.
5. What’s it like living there?
One of the reasons why people want to move abroad is to have a base for travel, so schools would be well advised not only to sell the country, but also to outline the local entertainment options in the evening and at weekends. One important question is whether or not It is important also to clear up misconceptions and be transparent about local customs. For example, schools in Muslim countries should explain about expectations about dress code, or access to alcohol, which can vary even in the same country – Sharjah is dry, whereas Dubai is not.
6. How safe is it?
Often the only reason why a prospective teacher has heard of a given country is because it’s in the news because of some natural disaster or political crisis. This inevitably focuses on the hazards and dangers of living abroad and schools therefore need to allay fears about the safety of living and working overseas. Teachers (and the families they are leaving behind will need reassurance. There are typhoons at times of the year in in South East Asia, but there are effective systems in place to support and protect people during these times. The same is true of political unrest where it is very rare indeed for expats to be targeted.

SALARY 

7. What are the living costs?
Most people moving abroad see it as an opportunity, not only to have an adventure, but to experience a better standard of living. Schools not only need to be transparent about the salary and package, but also to help prospective teachers understand what that means on the ground. For example, salaries in Hong Kong are high and tax is low, but the cost of living and accommodation are very high. Conversely, salaries in Malaysia are low, but so is the cost of living.
8. How much can I save?
 Many staff, especially teaching couples, see working abroad as the opportunity to save for the future and the chance to save for a deposit on a house or to pay off a considerable portion of the mortgage. Financially savvy teachers will need the information to do the sums before committing to working abroad.

PROFESSIONAL 

9. What will the school be like?
For many, moving to an international school is a step into the unknown. In practice they are very similar on the ground to schools in the UK and schools need to get this across. There may be questions about the demographic and language background of the pupils and the staff and about the standards of discipline in the school.
10. What are the professional development opportunities?
One of the most popular questions that I am asked at interview is about the professional development opportunities available. This is understandable because talented individuals do not want their time abroad to become a step backwards. Schools who can provide internationally recognised training opportunities will have an advantage in the recruitment marketplace because it is seen both as the passport to the next promotion; or the ticket that will allow them to get a job back in the U.K.

How to do it:

The best way for schools to answer these questions is to produce a video which interviews current staff which can systematically address any concerns of potential recruits. A really good example of this is the Haileybury Almaty’s staff recruitment video which features a teacher talking openly about her initial concerns about moving as a family to Kazakhstan; and a colleague having a coffee in Starbucks and shopping in a local supermarket which is reassuringly like Waitrose.

This article was published in Tes on 09/12/2019

September recruitment pitfalls and how to avoid them

A new teacher no-show can throw an international school's staffing plans into turmoil. Here's a few thoughts on how to make sure it doesn’t happen;

It’s the start of year surprise that all international school principals and HR departments dread: that excellent young teacher who was so keen to move abroad and join the team has just phoned to say that she is now not coming. There’s a week until the pupils return, you’re a teacher down and there’s no supply agency within 3,000 miles. The post-mortem questions flood one’s mind: “Why did this happen?” “What could we have done to avoid this?” “Where were the signs that this could happen?” Soon, however, these are subsumed by the pressing concern, “What are we going to do to solve this crisis?” This was not the start of term that we wanted. 

Catastrophes and cold feet 

September nightmares broadly fall into two categories. 

First, there are changes in personal circumstances: such as the break-up of a relationship or the close relation who has an accident or is diagnosed with a terminal illness. With changes of this nature, it is quite understandable that a teacher might not want to be embarking on a new adventure thousands of miles from home. It’s just bad luck for all concerned. 

Second, there are times when the teacher simply gets cold feet and either doesn’t get on the plane or they head straight back home after a week or so in the school. These occasions should be avoidable. They are usually due to poor communication, a lack of due diligence on one side or the other or unmet expectations. 

Sometimes the school has not conducted a sufficiently rigorous interview process to check that the teacher has thought through what is entailed in moving abroad; at other times teachers can have a romanticised view of what it is to live and teach abroad. 

One common area of contention is that the standard or location of the accommodation provided by the school falls short of the teacher’s expectations. For some, this is a deal-breaker and they vote with their feet and head to the airport to go home. 

International recruitment is expensive at the best of times (adverts, visas, repatriation packages), but the cost of a no-show goes well beyond the financial. Having to find a replacement teacher at the end of the summer often means compromising on standards or the existing staff teaching over allocation. Either way, it is not good for morale and stops any beginning-of-year momentum dead in the water.

So, how can schools dodge the bullet? 

How to avoid the September nightmare 

The initial stage of moving abroad is an act of faith on both sides and there needs to be a transparent, open dialogue. Here are four ways that schools can ensure this: 

1. Don’t oversell your location There is a tendency in international education for schools and recruitment agencies to over-sell locations. We see it all the time: the pictures in overseas teaching advertisements that focus on iconic skylines, five-star hotels and sun-kissed beaches give a false impression of what it is to be an expat working in a school in a suburb. Yes, there can be beach days and it’s possible to dip into the holiday life, but the reality is that staff won’t be living in five-star accommodation and that the daily routine is far from a holiday experience. Schools would be well-advised to dispel the romantic notions at an early stage. 
2. Be transparent Schools should be as open as possible about what the job entails, how much holiday entitlement there is, the quality and location of any accommodation provided, and especially how the package works. They need to be clear about what costs are covered fully or in part by the school. It’s easy for teachers to look at a higher-than-UK tax-free salary, not realising that the cost of living in the city is much higher and that there may significant expenses that they haven’t thought through. One reason for a no-show is undoubtedly that, on reflection, the sums just don’t add up. Packages vary around the world so schools are best advised to be clear about any contribution that teachers will have to make to school fees, medical insurance and travel costs for the family. 
3. Caveat emptor Schools need to do their due diligence as part of the interview process, probing key issues such as the candidate’s motivation for working abroad. Will the candidate be able to cope with living at a significant distance from family and friends; and have they done their homework about some of the challenges that they might face? It is perhaps not surprising that things go wrong when a school appoints a teacher who has never lived abroad before or even visited the country or region. 
4. Deliver on promises One of the reasons that things go wrong is that schools move the goalposts and do not deliver on the promises made at interview. Sadly, this happens, often as not, when the owner goes over the head of the school principal to enforce cost-cutting measures to balance the books. Relocating a teacher to an apartment in a different part of town or providing smaller accommodation may be allowed within the letter of the job contract, but it can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. 

Solutions 

Schools often turn to their extended community in a crisis situation. There is sometimes a suitably qualified parent or a retired member of staff who is willing to step into the breach on a short-term basis. If all else fails, and in absolute extremis, the only solution is to draw on the considerable expertise of the senior leadership team and put them to task until a suitable replacement is found.

This article was published in Tes on 13/09/2019

Ten ways that international schools differ from their UK counterparts:

In this article I outline some of the ways in which International schools differ from UK schools in structure and on a day-to-day basis.

Structural Differences 

1. Schools are fee-charging and often are run for profit 

Most International schools are not owned by the state, rather they are independent institutions which charge fees. Although there are a small number of older schools that operate on a not-for-profit basis, almost all of the schools established in the past twenty years were set up for-profit. This means that they have owners who control spending on resources and have varying degrees of influence on how the school is run. One other consequence of this is that parents tend to complain more because they see themselves as paying for a service. 

2. Different regulatory framework 

Governments around the world set the regulatory framework and inspection regime for their country. This means that, even if a school is following a ‘British curriculum’ there may be other aspects that are required to be taught. For example, in China it is mandatory to teach Mandarin and in the UAE it is mandatory to teach Arabic, Islamic Education and Moral Education. There is a huge range of practice when it comes to school inspections, ranging from annual OFSTED-style inspections in Dubai, to no compulsory inspections in Hong Kong.

3. Schools tend to be new - ‘schools without history’ 

Because of the explosion in English medium K12 International schools over the past twenty years (from 2,584 in 2000, to 10,400 in 2019 - ISC Research May 2019) these schools tend to be new with up-to-date facilities and greater access to new technology. In their initial growth period, they are usually operating below full capacity, giving a sense of space and being over-resourced. It can be very exciting to be part of a founding school’s journey as it is a real opportunity to shape its future direction.

4. Random holidays 

One of the quirks of working in an international school is that there are quite regular seemingly random holidays which fall during term. Religious holidays tend to move around because many of them are based on a lunar calendar, so no two years are the same. In addition, there are often a number of national holidays marking the founding of the nation or its independence. My particular favourite was ‘Flag Day’ in the UAE. These can bring both a welcome break and be hugely disruptive to the curriculum. At times these holidays clash with key points in the UK schools year (such as when the 5-day Eid break coincided with UK GCSE examinations) necessitating key staff to go ‘above and beyond’ and forego their time off; but for most staff they are a very welcome bonus.

Day to Day 

5. Range of cultural backgrounds of the pupils and more EFL 

It is not surprising that the pupils in international schools tend to come from a broad range of cultural backgrounds: it is not uncommon for schools to have a student population who, collectively, hold passports from more than 80 countries. However, what struck me going abroad for the first time was the complexity of some of the pupils’ backgrounds (e.g. Kuwaiti-Romanian; Thai-Swedish). This cultural, ethnic and religious diversity brings with it not only a richness of experience, but also some challenges for teachers. One important consideration is that the range of linguistic diversity can mean that a significant proportion in a given class are operating their second, third or even fourth language.

6. High pupil and staff turn-over 

International schools typically experience a relatively high level of pupil and staff turnover, as fixed contracts come to an end and families move to the next posting or back to the UK. There can also be significant movement of pupils between schools within the same city as pupils and teachers move either opt for a "more prestigious" school or look for a better financial deal..

7. Younger demographic of staff 

Staff in international schools tend to be younger than in the UK, with the ‘centre of gravity’ being somewhere in the early/mid-thirties. There are two factors that drive this. First, many teachers take the opportunity to travel and work abroad before they settle and have families; and, secondly, a large proportion of international schools are relatively new and therefore haven’t yet had the opportunity to grown into being a more senior staff room.

8. It’s a long way from home at times 

The teaching staff is predominantly made up of expatriates. A whole community living away from their home country support network has its own challenges. It simply isn’t possible to have the same level of regular face-to-face contact and Skype is, at best, a poor substitute. The most difficult aspect of being a long way from home is that there are times when expats miss out on key events in the lives of their family and friends such as weddings, christenings and even funerals.

9. Very limited number of supply teachers to provide cover 

Most countries do not have supply agencies, so schools must make their own arrangements to cover staff absence. Most schools will have lists of people on whom they can call, but, in many cases, teachers will have to rally round by merging classes or providing cover during their non-contact time.

10. Local challenges determined by geography, climate, and politics. 

Internationals schools certainly do the weather differently, be it ‘Avalanche Warnings’ in Switzerland, ‘Rain Days’ in Dubai, or ‘Typhoon Warnings’ in Hong Kong. In similar vein, crisis management goes way beyond the termly fire drill – with staff practising lock down and bomb evacuation procedures, not to mention measures to protect children from kidnapping attempts.

This article was published in Tes on 29/08/2019

The importance of building a network as an international leader

“No man is an island.” – John Donne’s observation that human beings need to be part of a community in order to thrive is never truer than when moving overseas into a position as a school leader. Regardless of your experience, moving to a new international context is always challenging. Not only do you have to come to terms with the foibles of the new school, but there is inevitably much that you need to learn about the regulatory framework in which you will be operating. 

‘No substitute for local knowledge’ 

You can spend hours on online research, but the reality is that there is no substitute for local knowledge. The most efficient way to get up to speed is to build a local network of more experienced colleagues and tap into their experience and expertise. 

Building a local network can be more difficult than it sounds. Most international schools are operating in a highly competitive fee-charging environment, where margins are tight and the recruitment of every pupil matters. 

 In this context it is difficult for school leaders to set aside their differences to collaborate or to help newcomers find their feet. Yet there is much to be gained from working together. 

Take Dubai for example. There are 58 British curriculum schools in Dubai, most are for-profit and the heavily regulated market is over-supplied. There is intense pressure on school principals to get high ratings in annual inspections and to grow pupil numbers. It is no surprise that the average tenure for a school principal is a little over two years. However, despite the fierce competition, there is a vibrant British Schools in Dubai (BSID) group of principals and headteachers who work together to navigate the changing regulatory landscape - “we don’t compete on compliance” is their mantra. The BSID is a valuable network for old hands and newcomers alike: the collective wisdom, understanding and knowledge of the group far surpassing that of any one of its individuals. 

If a local group of this nature doesn’t exist it makes sense for a school leader to meet with a few like-minded colleagues to start one. 

The importance of International networks: 

International schools have much in common with UK schools, but they are fundamentally different in a number of significant ways. Firstly, the children and students are usually drawn from a huge range of countries (JESS Dubai has some 82 different passports) and many are not native English speakers. Secondly, the teaching staff are expatriates, often living away from their home country support network. Also, staff and pupil turnover can be high; and there are other local challenges determined by geography, climate, politics and religion. 

It is hugely beneficial for school leaders to build a network with colleagues who have an understanding of these and similar challenges. The best way to do this is for schools to join a major international schools group such as the Council of British International Schools (COBIS) or the Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA). These organisations curate the expertise of international school leaders and, though annual conferences and webinars, provide forums for them to share best practice and ideas. 

The importance of UK networks: 

One of the dangers of working overseas is that it is very easy to be become out of touch and dislocated from the issues which are driving education in the UK. This can have a negative impact on the school because UK debates ultimately impact on the international sector; and it can be detrimental for the school leader in terms of professional development and career progression. By maintaining close links with a UK-based network, international school leaders can remain part of the conversation and stay abreast of key developments. 

The importance of social media networks: 

Social media allows international school leaders to keep up to date, to play an active part in educational debates and to build a local and global network – indeed I have developed strong professional links with a number of colleagues whom I have never met in person. 

At a local level, Twitter and LinkedIn allow school leaders to build picture of their contexts by collating information from a range of sources, such as local media channels, government and regulatory agencies, good schools guides, relocation agents, other school leaders, and rival school feeds. 

At the same time, they are a forum for regional and global thought leaders and provide a platform for school leaders to publish their ideas and be part of the conversation. Social media is perhaps the most effective way for school leaders to promote their schools and to tap into a network of like-minded school leaders. 

Networks – the antidote to “it’s lonely at the top.” 

There are times when all school leaders feel isolated – even lonely. It goes with the territory. However, that isolation and loneliness can be magnified when working overseas. Here it is more important than ever that school leaders develop a strong professional network to whom they can turn for support and advice.

This article was published in Tes 24/07/2019