When teachers are looking for their next career opportunity, you might filter jobs by location, such as “Spain,” “Dubai,” or “Asia”, fantasising about the lifestyle change.
But recently, at Inspired we’ve noticed the conversation shifting to something far more fundamental than geography. We aren’t just talking about where teachers can work; we’re talking about how they can grow. And, yes, international opportunities are an important part of that how.
The education landscape has evolved. The binary choice between “staying at home to build a serious career” vs. “moving abroad for an adventure” is disappearing. In its place is the rise of the Global School Group – an ecosystem that offers the rigour and stability of a domestic career combined with the resources of an international network.
Whether you are looking to move across the world or simply move up in your career closer to home, the question you should really ask yourself isn’t “Which country?” It’s “Which organisation?”
Here is why your next career move should be defined by the network you join, and not just the whereabouts in the world.
1. Early Career: A world-class foundation (wherever you start)
For teachers at the very start of their careers, the anxiety is almost always the same: “If I choose the wrong school now, will I stall my development?”
This is valid. In many standalone schools – whether in the UK or overseas – resources for mentoring Early Career Teachers (ECTs) can be sparse. You might get a classroom, but you don’t always get a roadmap for your personal development.
This is where the power of a global group changes the dynamic. Programmes like the Inspired Global Teaching Fellowship are designed to professionalise those early years. While the Fellowship is often associated with the excitement of travel, its real value lies in its academic rigour.
It’s about standardising excellence. A Fellow in one of our UK schools receives the same high-level mentorship, access to best-practice frameworks, and support as a Fellow in Spain or Bahrain.
The benefit here isn’t just that you can travel (though that option is there); it’s that you are entering a kind of “teaching university”. You are being trained by a network that sets the standard for premium education globally. You are building a CV that is recognised instantly, regardless of whether you plan to stay in your home country or venture out later.
My advice: Don’t just look for a job description. Look for a programme. Look for an employer that treats your ECT years as a fellowship, not just a vacancy fill.
2. Professional Development: The world comes to you
Historically, professional development for teachers has been a lonely pursuit. You might attend a local conference or do some reading, but your exposure is limited to your immediate bubble.
The biggest advantage of joining a global group isn’t that you can go to the world; it is that the world comes to you.
At Inspired, our Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is built on the idea that a teacher in a single classroom should have access to the collective brainpower of 125+ schools and 14,000+ colleagues.
This global approach transforms professional development for our teachers in three key ways:
- Best practice sharing: If a school in South Africa pioneers a brilliant new approach to student wellbeing, we share that framework globally. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
- Education technology & AI: Innovative groups provide you with cutting-edge EdTech initiatives that are transforming learning, from AI-powered tools to immersive Metaverse.
- Access to Experts: We can bring in global experts for webinars and training that are accessible to our teams in Madrid just as easily as our teams in Morocco.
This means that even if you never leave your home city, your career becomes “international” organically. You are constantly exposed to diverse curriculums, new methodologies, and global standards. You aren’t just a teacher in a building; you are a practitioner in a global think-tank.
3. Career velocity: Breaking through the “dead end”
One of the frustrations of the traditional school model is the “dead end”. You become a Head of Department or a Deputy Head, and then you wait. You wait for someone to retire, or you wait for a position to open up in a neighbouring school.
In a global group, this “dead end” is removed.
Because Inspired operates a vast network, Internal Mobility becomes a massive driver for career retention. But this doesn’t just mean moving countries – it means moving opportunities in two ways:
- Vertical growth: With so many schools today, and more in our pipeline for tomorrow, leadership positions will open up for you. You might be a Head of Science in one school and find a Deputy Head role opens up in another school within the group – perhaps even in the same region.
- Lateral growth: Maybe you want to switch curriculums or pivot into pastoral care. In a standalone school, that switch is almost impossible! In a group that trusts your track record, those doors open much easier.
We’ve got stories of team members moving from schools to our Head Office – changing from passionately delivering excellence in education in one school, to challenging and shaping our entire global educational strategy for more than 95,000 students across 30 countries!
You keep your tenure. You keep your benefits. You keep your professional reputation. But you get a new challenge that helps keep you learning and growing.
We see this as the “Career Without Borders”. You don’t need to leave the company to find growth. Whether you want to lead a boarding house in the Bahamas or drive academic strategy in London, the pathway exists within the same ecosystem.
Conclusion: The teaching career has changed
The next time you are interviewing for a role, shift the focus of your questions. Don’t just ask about the timetable or the extra-curriculars. Ask about the Group.
“Who will I be learning from outside of this building?”
“What technology and platforms do you use to connect your staff globally?”
“If I succeed here, where can I go next within the organisation?”
Whether you are looking for an adventure abroad or a rigorous career at home, the answer lies in joining a community that invests in you. The world is getting smaller, but for teachers in the right network, the opportunities have never been bigger.
Register for our Inspired Career event in London on Saturday, 24th January 2026, where more than 30 of our premium British and IB curriculum schools from across the UK, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Americas will be in attendance. The event will focus on vacancies for the 2026/27 academic year, beginning in August 2026.
