We are very excited that Teacher Horizons and Teach First are collaborating and have developed a network of Teach First ambassadors who are interested or involved in education overseas.
Why join this community?
We believe that joining this network will benefit Teach First ambassadors all over the world, by:
- Strengthening connections between international ambassadors and enabling discussions about countries, schools, curricula and developments in international teaching practice.
- Enabling ambassadors looking to move abroad from the UK, to learn more about international teaching and ask questions in a safe and trustworthy environment.
- Providing help and support for ambassadors looking to transition between international schools or even back to the UK; a process that can be challenging in many ways.
Watch this video to hear about the network from Alex, the CEO of Teacher Horizons. Contact tiffany@teacherhorizons.com if you have any questions.
Why Teach First and Teacher Horizons?
Teacher Horizons is a platform that helps adventurous teachers to explore the world of international education and access all the best teaching opportunities overseas. This platform was founded by Teach First ambassadors, has many ambassadors in the team and helps hundreds of ambassadors find roles overseas. Alongside Teach First, we are aiming to build a community of like minded, talented teachers who can share their experiences and learn from one another.
Not already signed up for Teacher Horizons? Make your free profile here.
Teach First has developed a community of over 10,000 ambassadors since their launch in 2002, and Teacher Horizons has a network of over 250,000 teachers. Our collaboration will have a huge impact on both communities who already share so much in common. In terms of location, the second biggest cluster of Teach First ambassadors, after those based in London, is those who have moved into international teaching. Many of these ambassadors have transferred their learned skills and their understanding of diversity and cultural awareness overseas, to make a difference in an international context. We have developed our network to allow these inspirational teachers to share their experiences and convey the expertise they have gained through their international career; to support each other with challenges, help each other progress, and inspire each other to have even more of an impact around the world.
What to expect and how to get involved.
We involved lots of ambassadors in the development of this community, as it’s a network set up by ambassadors, for ambassadors. We asked what people wanted and what they could offer, and the future of the network is exciting. We already have more than 100 ambassadors signed up, and more are joining every day.
Once a term we hold webinars over Zoom where teachers can come together to discuss different aspects of international education. Our next webinar date is set for 14th January 2021. We have plenty of ideas for future webinars but will always need more. Past webinars have involved discussions on where ambassadors are based, job-seeking tips for new international teachers, networking tips for current international teachers and more! Some examples for future webinars are ‘learning about the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum’ or ‘adapting your CV for international teaching’ or ‘how to choose the right international school’. If you tell us what you want, we can endeavour to make it happen.
We have also set up a LinkedIn group as the network base. This is an active group filled with introductions, discussions and ambassadors building connections. It’s also where we decide what to talk about in our next webinar, and it’s where you can sign up to attend.
Finally, we have set up a resource sharing area as ambassadors were keen to share lesson plans, curriculum resources, CPD resources and plenty more. This area can be accessed through the LinkedIn group, and you can email tiffany@teacherhorizons.com for more information on how to access this.
Meet some ambassadors already involved in the network.
Anisha, London, 2012: “I taught Spanish in Yorkshire before joining Teacher Horizons in 2014 as part of the operations team. This community will be a great way for ambassadors like me to connect, share initiatives and experiences, and pass on advice. As part of this community I could use my recruitment experience to offer advice for candidates taking their first steps into international teaching; a general overview of the sector, what to look out for when accepting your first contract, etc. I could also offer my thoughts on the moral battle that many ambassadors have when considering international teaching vs the Teach First mission!”
Meet more of the Teacher Horizons team
Jeff, Wales, 2017: “I came across Teacher Horizons when searching for jobs and advice online. When I saw it was started by a Teach First ambassador I felt reassured that they would be able to help. Before I knew it, I had interviews lined up and managed to land a job teaching science in an international school! Building an international community of Teach First ambassadors is invaluable. Ambassadors are doing amazing work all around the world and therefore being better connected would enable us to share opportunities to learn, develop our skills as teachers, support schools and continue tackling education inequality beyond the UK. I haven’t started my international adventure yet so I would be listening and learning as opposed to offering advice, but after my first year of teaching internationally I could reflect on and share some of the lessons I’ve learned. I would be interested in chatting to other ambassadors about how to continue to have an impact on education inequality when working in an international setting, as this is important to me.”
Laura, London, 2008: “After Teach First I moved to teach internationally and registered as a candidate on Teacher Horizons. I loved the company and actually became an international adviser for TH in 2017. I am still in contact with many of my cohort and it is great to see the different paths they have taken since Teach First. This new platform will enable us to expand our network and make connections with other cohorts to find out what they are up to as well. Teach First ambassadors are resilient, creative and flexible and these qualities are exactly the kind of qualities that make excellent international educators, so we need a platform to enable more of us to take the leap! I could contribute to our community by sharing personal experiences of moving abroad with a young family, as I have three children! I could also share my experience of learning the IB curriculum; something I think has made me a much better teacher.”
Steve, London, 2014: “After 3 years at my Teach First school, Teacher Horizons supported me in accepting an IBDP psychology role at the Koç School in Turkey. For me, moving to an international school required a large shift in my approach to teaching as the challenges I faced were quite different from before. This network will be very helpful for sharing advice and knowledge about best practice in an international context. Like many Teach First ambassadors working abroad, I plan to one day return to teaching in the same type of schools that we started out in. The network can help to remind us of the Teach First vision and the reasons why we started teaching in the first place. As part of this community, I could give some advice on things like Project-Based learning (PBL), inquiry-based learning, the IB learner profile, use of devices in class, ATLs and even CAS, for teachers who are new to the IB. In return, I would like to learn more about strategies such as Epistemic Inquiry, ways of scaffolding discussions, integrating TOK into subject lessons and many more things!”
Fancy joining Anisha, Jeff, Laura and Steve as part of the international ambassadors network? Become a Teach First Ambassador today!
