Frontier is working with Edexcel to offer a new TEFL programme – The BTEC Advanced Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. This is a customised course which is accredited by Edexcel as a level 3 qualification.

Volunteers taking part on Frontier’s teaching projects for 4 weeks or more are able to sign up for this qualification which combines self-study, an intensive training weekend and practical work experience in a foreign country. On completion of the placement, volunteers submit a portfolio which is assessed and then verified by Edexcel.

If you’re interested in finding out more, visit Frontier’s site.

Teaching in the UK may have its difficulties, but fortunately Maoist strikes are not one of them. For volunteer teachers from UK charity Our Sansar, teaching in Nepal has thrown up considerable challenges, not least of which has been the closure of the schools by a countrywide shutdown. But with the schools now open again, they have been experiencing the challenges and rewards of teaching in one of the world’s poorest countries.

For the next year, Bethan Pink from Richmond and John Buckley from Twickenham will be teaching and organising interschool activities for disadvantaged students in and around Hetauda, a city in Nepal’s green but impoverished south. They will also be working with the local schools to establish education programs for street children.

‘The scenery is very beautiful and the family [we’re staying with] has been lovely to us,’ says Bethan, who previously taught at Lancasterian Primary School, London. ‘There are so many ideas I have for improving the running of the school, such as trying to change the attitude to time keeping; trying to make the classrooms nicer places to be by sweeping the floors, putting up cheerful displays and removing dangerous obstacles; trying to influence the teachers to use more interactive approaches to teaching…We’ll see what can be done with all these ideas.’

Bethan and John arrived in Nepal in late April and are currently based at Shree Kamala Lower Secondary School. Both are experienced professionals who will bring valuable skills to a school that currently has just 9 teachers for over 330 pupils.

The school day has 7 periods and the teachers swap between classrooms to teach their specialist subject. ‘Lessons are quite dull to be honest,’ adds Bethan. ‘[They] rely heavily on call and repeat. I would like to try and have an impact on this.

Adapting to the severe lack of resources, Bethan says that she has been making simple things at home and improvising with whatever is around her.
‘The school has a small library that looks quite cheery,’ she continues. ‘Otherwise classrooms are very bare with only desks and a chalkboard. The library has a copy of an EKTA scheme of learning for English, called Harmony, but they have only 1 copy of each book and with no photocopier, it’s pretty hard to use for the classes. Other text books which are quite inadequate are being used.’

Our Sansar will be sending another experienced teacher to Kathmandu in June and hopes to be able to send a further 7 to schools in Janakpur, Kathmandu and Hetauda before the end of the year. The project will help 50 street children and over 3000 school children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Would you like to be involved in future projects? To find out more, visit www.oursansar.org.

In 2000, 164 countries committed to achieving Education for All by 2015. As access to education is improving, enrolment figures are rising fast, and developing communities now urgently need qualified teachers to deliver quality education.

VSO, the UK’s leading volunteering charity, are urgently looking for primary teachers to go overseas on placements and deliver ‘in service’ teacher training as soon as possible. You need to be a qualified primary teacher with at least three years’ experience; if that’s you this presents a fantastic opportunity to work in countries like Thailand, Nepal, China and Ghana and to share your teaching skills.

VSO volunteers work by serving teachers in a cluster of primary schools, introducing them to a more participatory, child centred methodology. You’ll be observing teachers and feeding back and also helping them to develop materials using local resources, and working with teachers to improve education programmes by increasing the quality of education and teaching methods. Roles are generally longer term, ranging from one to two years, and we also have occasional short term assignments for up to six months.

In return, VSO offer comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. Volunteers are provided with extensive training before their placement, and VSO’s financial package includes a living allowance, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more. When you return to your home country, VSO helps you to resettle and many returned volunteers stay involved with the organisation long after their placement ends.

Now is the best time to volunteer. The Government has made funds available for members of public service pension schemes, including teachers, to volunteer for up to two years with their pension paid. This new scheme will benefit you, your career and the UK education system.

There’s a great video about a primary teaching placement below that really shows what you can gain from volunteering.