Rocio Marti, British School of Bucharest
Read the results of our Teacher Supply research here

PROFILE

Originally from Spain, Rocio has taught primary and secondary Spanish in Romania for 12 years. During her time in Bucharest, she has also completed a PGCE through the University of Sunderland.

MOVING TO AN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Rocio completed a degree in pedagogy and a teaching qualification in Spain and taught in an international school in Spain before moving to Bucharest.

The job advert was for both Spanish and SEN. I thought it looked perfect. It was the job itself that got me to Romania.

INITIAL TEACHER TRAINING IN A BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

A few years into her time at BSB, she decided to pursue a PGCE. She had been considering other work opportunities, but found that despite her qualifications and experience, without a recognised UK teaching qualification she wasn’t getting responses to her applications.

She decided to do a distance learning PGCE with University of Sunderland, while being based in the school. The decision of which provider to use was made easier by the fact that her now husband, an engineer who retrained as a maths teacher while being based in an international school in Turkey, had also done the Sunderland qualification.

As an experienced teacher, Rocio felt that her PGCE experience was largely reinforcing what she had already been doing for many years. Her main motivation was to gain the qualification.

I did it for the paper. Of course I learned loads of things, but the teaching was teaching I was doing anyway.

She found it an added stress, completing the PGCE with its associated deadlines alongside her usual teaching job. But she does think it was worth it, and would recommend it to other teachers.

As a non-native English speaker, I’ve always had to prove myself a bit more. Now I have the qualification; I’ve studied exactly the same as other teachers. I would definitely recommend it.

MOVING TO THE UK

Rocio and her husband might consider teaching in another country, but for the time being are planning to stay in Romania. She thinks it is unlikely they would teach in the UK. If they moved to Scotland, where her husband is from, she is concerned that their international PGCEs would not be valid and they would need to complete further training. But the reluctance to move to the UK is also influenced by other teachers.

It’s not my first choice for many reasons. Other teachers [who have come from the UK] say don’t go. The main vibe is that classes are bigger, behaviour is appalling.

Rocio also has the impression that there are barriers for teachers with overseas experience wanting to move to the UK.

You hear constantly about headteachers who think that we’re here on holiday. They don’t trust what you’ve been doing for the past years.

She recalls colleagues who have struggled to secure the right job back in the UK, despite excellent experience.

ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGE OF TEACHER SUPPLY

Rocio believes that people are born with a passion for teaching, but that it can be tricky to sell the profession to people. She points to behaviour and student/teacher ratio as the main challenges that need to be addressed.

If you can tackle that and you’re really on the side of the teachers, then teachers will feel more supported.

Find out more about our Teacher Supply research findings here