It's potentially good news for overseas trained teachers. The Government is to make it easier for schools to employ teachers from overseas, under plans announced this week.

Education secretary Michael Gove told the House of Commons that he intends to relax current regulations that force teachers from outside the European Union to undertake further training before they are allowed into the classroom.

According to the Department for Education, research on international qualifications shows that countries such as the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have teacher training systems that are equivalent to the UK.

Read the full story from this week's TES - Gove seeks to relax controls on overseas teachers

I wrote to my MP, who sent me this letter.  Best thing for you to do is to contact your MP and see if there is any further information by now.

Sorry, that's all that I know.  I talked to my head teacher and asked, 'When this plan does go through, will you hire me in a full teaching capacity ?' (meaning ££s as I am already being used as a teacher) and he said that he would. 

But I have been lied to a couple of other times and considering the upheavals in education, I have to wonder. 

Well I worked with an OTT "English" teacher whose English was so bad I couldn't understand 90% of what shhe said but as she had 3 years work experience in Europe got her QTS (no induction required)! She had no idea about the British curriculum, national standards and clearly failed most of the Cs for an NQT. There are many OTTs who can't meet British standards.

I do stress some of the best teachers I ever met were OTT - but they did QTS (in 3 months) and an Induction year so had lots of training in the UK as well. The current system is fair as a talented teacher who is OTT will easily meet the standards.

As an OTT (British Citizenship) and having just gained my QTS, I am relieved that I have now some sense of security. Then, I hear the Government are relaxing these restrictions for OTTs! For four years I have been carrying a weight on my shoulders being an NQT. I recently found a school that was willing to help me during a long-term supply tenure, with two months to spare!!

I fully understand how, in the future, an NQT will feel hard done by when they've invested large amounts of debt and time, to then see someone from overseas taking a position.

Somehow, I don't think that other EEC countries are going to like this Government policy. The EEC seems to be very suspicious of our relationships with any Commonwealth countries (and the USA).