Early childhood teachers amongst 60 strong cohort who now call WA home

Sixty teachers from overseas – including two early childhood teachers – are now calling Western Australia home, bringing their expertise, passion and fresh perspectives to early learning settings and schools across the state.

Six different countries were represented in the new teacher cohort welcomed by the Department of Education in time for Term One, with all the teachers having the opportunity to meet one another before moving to their new roles. 

46 of the teachers arrived from the United Kingdom, six from New Zealand, four from South Africa, two from Canada, and one each from Ireland and Mauritius. 

They are now teaching in various regions across WA, with 24 in the South Metro area, 10 in the Wheatbelt, nine in the Midwest, seven in the Goldfields, five in the Pilbara, four in the South West, and one in the Kimberley. 

The educators are filling roles across different school levels, with 36 in secondary schools, 16 in primary schools, six in education support, and two in early childhood education. 

For many of the teachers the decision to move to the other side of the world is a large and life changing one, which comes with a multitude of surprises, from cultural differences to unique Australian wildlife.  

“We’ve completely uprooted ourselves. We’ve sold a house, we sold everything, and we started again,” teacher David said.  

“It’s very scary, but exciting at the same time. We went to a park in Meadow Bay and saw a wasp dragging a spider across the path. It was bigger than any spider I’ve ever seen before.” 

“We saddled up to a sign that said ‘Tiger snakes’, a bit about tiger snakes. We looked down to our right and there was a tiger snake!” 

“We wanted something completely different and we’ve definitely found that so far.” 

For other teachers who may be living overseas, and who are interested in making the move to Australia the advice from new Narrogin Senior High School teacher Siobhan is “just go for it.” 

“It might seem daunting, but once you start the process, you realise, yes, I can do this!  It’s been a brilliant experience. Something that could have been extremely stressful, like moving across the world, they’ve helped so much. So, with every question I could have asked, they’ve helped.”

Since the start of the program, in January 2023, the Department has appointed 253 international teachers. 

More information about becoming a teacher in public schools in Western Australia can be found here.