Sorry to read this. For us we are doing it in reverse. Our kids were born in the ME and we are gradually working our way back to WE where we can have a more 'normal' life with long-term stability. But even at their pre-school age they are affected by the various moves and sudden loss of friends and familiar surroundings.

Many thanks - another thing to swallow before heading back to WE!

What is the average working week in Qatar in an international school? At my new school the contract is 48 hours plus 1 hour for ECAs. ECAs and any extra hours are not paid. So, is a 49 hour week normal (as they say it is) under Qatari law. It seems excessive.

It doesn't hurt in these circumstances to email the school with a few 'follow up' questions about prepping for the year ahead, or related to the forthcoming move/living situation. If they don't bother to reply or even acknowledge that contact then that would be a concern but in my experience it has been the norm that replies have been slow.
@ShadowJack: I am still in the sandbox, moving to Qatar with the next job but that will hopefully be my last one out here until I try for Europe (or Asia) at a later stage.

I have spent almost 10 years in ISs in the Middle East - Tiers 1,2,3. Not one has offered much in the way of PD - it has usually been, in my experience, reserved for 'pals' of the management team as a perk or given only where it was absolutely necessary. Otherwise it is dangled as a carrot but never actually given.

I have worked at a couple of schools where folks have been fired - not including non-renewal of contracts. Some were fired for private tutoring, some for unprofessional behaviour in front of students (including insulting students), and one for for having a serious drinking problem. I have actually seen a teaching couple fired in front of me for clashing with the Director over the way one of them had been reprimanded, and I have worked at one school where post-accreditation a couple of people were fired for expressing personal views about the process within an hour of the accreditation team leaving. The same school had two active pedophiles on the staff whose inclinations were reported to the Principal but no action was taken. Go figure. Oh, and a long-serving and very self-serving head of department at a so-called Tier 1 school was fired 2 months from the end of his final year when he was found to have doctored grades, including those of his own kids, which also cost him the job he was moving to.

Happy to report that the offer and position have been confirmed. As it is a new school in its start up year things were slow to get out but it looks hopeful.

I looked into what was needed to get German citizenship for me and my family. It was clear that to gain German citizenship we would have to give up our respective nationalities which just isn't in our plans. There are certain limited exceptions to this rule but they don't apply to us. Sweden has the easiest route to gaining citizenship as it is based on 5 years legal residency with good character and there is no language test or citizenship test. Unfortunately, we are still committed to working in the Middle East for the next 5 years or so and post-Brexit we don't know what our options in Western/northern Europe will be.

@PsyGuy

Perhaps my post should have begun, The prospect of Brexit... given that the break hasn't occurred yet.
Regardless, if the UK does break from the EU (especially as a so-called 'hard' Brexit), moving into the EU/EEA area as a UK passport holder (with non-EU family member(s)) is likely to become very difficult. I am currently in the ME, expecting to be here for the next 5 years, but was hoping to transition to WE/NE after that.

Returning to live/work in the UK for us would be already difficult given the scarcity of jobs and low salaries (for a school LMS the positions where available are often poorly paid and term-time only). With a non-EU spouse I face the added difficulty of meeting the new family requirements and face a potentially lengthy family split during the visa process. A move to the EU/EEA seemed to offer the best opportunity for us - other options being to either stay in the ME to retirement (ghastly) or move to Asia.

Although sympathetic to many of the concerns of the Brexiters, I think Brexit (especially a hard Brexit) is an ill-advised move. Hopefully it will either drag on for years or clearer heads will prevail once the full implications are known.

Its a new school and contracts are still being written. Having worked in that country before I know its not unusual to see the contract on arrival. I have another week to wait until they return from vacation.

Brexit potentially put the mockers on my family's longterm plans. We planned to relocate to the EU/EEA in the mid-term future for my pension run and for better prospects for our kids. Post-Brexit England doesn't seem to be a place we want to return to. I don't want to have to give up British citizenship to live and work in the EU but I'll take Scottish citizenship if necessary to keep the option of living and working in the EU/EEA. Just when, after years of mulling, we finally had a family plan, Brexit ballsed it up.

OP you mean reapplying to the same school you withdrew your previous application from (albeit a few years later)? I doubt the school would blacklist you for that, and if the admin has changed then go for it. I withdrew an application at a prestigious school in China because on reflection at that time in my life it would not have been a positive move. Under the right circumstances I might reapply in future if it fits my life/family/career plans. Why stress about it, just reapply and see if they want to interview you.

There is no contract as yet but I was told that the school regard the offer letter and my acceptance in writing scanned back as binding. If it happens it happens but in the meantime i am continuing my search.

It was via a recruiter the school is using. Will do.

I was made an offer by a school subject to references and the usual checks. That was a month ago. Since then I have heard nothing, even after sending on some supplementary documents. (My references don't worry me - but there is one former principal I don't list who is known to try to scupper/spike references for former colleagues as he has an axe to grind after he was fired and returned to classroom teaching). So, how long more should I wait to hear before I chase it up with the school?