Yesterday, I met with some colleagues from my NQT school and we reminisced about the times we shared together and the (quite frankly, unbelievable) stories that used to make us cry, but. now make us laugh at the absurdity of the situations we found ourselves in. Honestly, one day we’ll write a book about them I’m sure.
My NQT year was never what I expected it to be. I loved the career path I’d chosen, had a pretty positive experience on my PGCE and I’d wanted to teach since I first started school myself at the age of 4. I couldn’t imagine that after just three months at my first school I would be reconsidering what I should be doing with my life.
Now, I hope that no-one else goes through the toxic, negative experience I did at a school, let alone in your NQT year. But, here are some tips that might prove useful, whatever your NQT experience is!
1- Always Ask For Advice
We always tell children if they’re not sure about something after first having a go themselves, they should ask for help. So why are we sometimes so reluctant to do this as an adult? There will be times you feel unsure if you know the right thing to do (which, by the way, is absolutely fine!) – so ask! Take advice from colleagues both in and out of school to make sure you feel confident and comfortable in the classroom.
2 – Find People You Trust
In the classroom you’ll find you need to put a lot of trust in yourself – you’re now responsible for lots of little people every day! But, as I said above, you need to be able to ask for advice. The best way to do this is to find a few – or a group – of people you really trust. For me, I was very lucky to find this quite quickly. I’m going into my 7th year of teaching and I’m still really close with the girls I worked with at my first school.
This group of people should be who you can go to with worries, asking for help or even just a friendly face on a morning when you don’t feel yourself. It’s important you have someone you know you can rely on.
3- You Do You
Obviously you need to adhere to school procedures, policies and routines – there are some things which you need to do a certain way which will differ from school to school. But beyond this, don’t be afraid to try things out that you think might work in your classroom.
If you’ve seen an idea online and love it, give it a go! If you have a sudden lightbulb moment, with a way to teach a concept you think would really help children, try it! And if you find a way that works for you that you’ve not seen before, share it! You might help someone else too.
4- Don’t Constantly Compare
This is so much easier said than done. You’ll see some brilliant teaching in your school; you’ll also see it all over social media too. But remember that mostly, people only show their best bits. Or if you observe an experienced teacher it might be a lesson that they’ve already taught several times and have tweaked over the years to make it as fantastic as it is now.
You’re just starting out and it’s absolutely okay to make mistakes. It’s even okay for them to happen years down the line (trust me, we all still have those days!). But remember another one of those teacher phrases we tell the kids: you learn from your mistakes! Don’t beat yourself up about something that happened, just reflect and find a way to make it different next time.
5- What If It Feels Wrong?
I hope you have a B R I L L I A N T school for your NQT year and that you are supported at every stage. But it would be irresponsible to say this will be the case for everyone.
If you have read my previous blogs you will know some of the details of my first school. I’ve not gone into every detail of my time there, or my full NQT experience, but it’s safe to say it wasn’t a positive one. As much as we all hope it won’t be us it happens to, it might be.
My genuine advice here is to reach out for support; if you’re not sure if something feels right, question it. If you don’t want to ask someone in school, use other resources around you. I asked friends’ parents in education, my union, family members in HR…anyone who I thought might have some more worldly advice to give me. Sometimes, you’ll find it’s quite standard practice (as much as people might agree it shouldn’t be!), but others you’ll discover it’s wrong.
(For example, NQTs shouldn’t be put on action plans. DO NOT SIGN ONE. They should be supporting you constantly not deciding without prior warning you now need capability intervention!)
Trust your instinct. And if a workplace is negative? Don’t give up after one school. Give another education environment a try and it may well show you what working in a classroom could and should be like.
6- Use Social Media
If you’re reading this it’s more than likely you already have a form of teaching social media as that’s where I share this blog! But I just wanted to make it explicit how brilliant I think these platforms can be! I wish I’d had Twitter as an NQT. The support, friendship, ideas, advice and resources I’ve gained from my time on there have been invaluable.
If I’d had it when I was newly qualified, I can only imagine how much more informed and supported I might have been. There’s so many fantastic people who are more than happy to have people reach out to them and answer questions or offer help. Use the resource literally at your fingertips!
These are probably pretty simple tips – they’ll probably have been shared online already this summer! But I think it’s important to feel as prepared and confident as you can going into your fresh start this September. It’s also important to be prepared for things not always going right, and knowing what you can do if they don’t!
As always my DM’s are always open 🥰 if you need to, reach out!
Emily x
Teaching Isn't B&W 