By Lizzie Jamieson (@lizziejamieson7) & Natasha Tong (@NatashaTong25)

So, you’ve just completed your training during a global pandemic – congratulations! It’s a strange time for anyone and truth be told, no-one knows what is happening or what will happen in the future.

You might be worried about starting your NQT year with a lack of some experience you should have had, but we are here to tell you that YOU ARE READY FOR THIS!

We see people on Twitter asking for advice all over the place about starting their NQT year so we wanted to share some of our experiences with you and also answer some of your questions. 

I have been teaching Year 5 and 6 (mixed class) part-time this year while doing a full-time masters degree. I felt every single emotion you’re probably feeling right now so we would like to put your mind at ease about starting the best job in the world – Lizzie.

I have been teaching Year 2 at a one-form entry school and I love it- you forget how exciting life is when you are only 6 years old! I can remember feeling exactly the same as you this time last year. It also doesn’t help that I am an over thinker but I hope us answering your questions will help you feel a little more confident about it all and excited to meet your Tiny Humans – Natasha.

1. ‘What can I do on the first day or first week with the children?’

The first week is really fun as it is all about building relationships and getting to know all your amazing Tiny Humans. There are some great ideas online and we have attached a few links below. 

• Class Charter- set your rules and routines early. Let the children be a part of this and offer some ideas. Turn this into a display to have at the front of the room to refer back to.

• Display- Create a class display that can be put up the first day. A nice one is getting the children to draw portraits of themselves and displaying them as ‘WE ARE YEAR …’ The children will love coming into the class and seeing the work that they made already up in the classroom.

• Games- Play lots of team building and class games. Remember you are not the only one who is new. You may have a new child in your class who does not know anyone. All the children are getting used to the New Year group and you. Make it fun! Play games that encourage the children to work as a team and get involved. The children love to see you having fun and joining in.

• Peg Labels- Designing peg labels is always a nice idea and can be prepared to go up for the following day. The children will like seeing their own label on their peg and let them have a little ownership over it.

• Spend time- Let the children get to know you. They will be feeling mixed emotions about their first day and week but they will be really excited to meet you! Answer their questions and let them know a little about you. 

It is important to remember that your first week might feel really messy, unorganised and a little stressful. This is normal. You have never had your own class before and you are getting to know the routines of the school as well as building relationships and establishing boundaries within your class so don’t be too hard on yourself. You will get there!!

https://www.teachervision.com/teaching-strategies/getting-know-your-students

https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/blog/meeting-your-new-class-collection

-Natasha

2. ‘What if the children ask me a question I don’t know?’

Okay, this was probably one of my biggest fears to be completely honest with you. My last placement at University was in Year 6 which I was absolutely PETRIFIED about! They’re so old! So cheeky! So knowledgeable! Turns out though… They were just children! I had such a wonderful placement with them; their personalities really shine through when they reach this age and they start to understand banter which makes the day go by even quicker. Of course, I had to teach myself an awful lot of the content again and my wonderful placement mentor even taught me maths after school (short division, I’m now a wizz at it). The children need to know that teachers are HUMAN and that we don’t have the answer to everything. If you don’t know the answer, here are some of my favourite responses:

• ‘I’m not so sure about that actually, let’s research it together’

• ‘That’s a really great question! Does anyone want to have a go at answering that question?’ (Google it while they’re having guesses!)

‘Ah I was going to come on to that later… I would like you to research that in your own time and tell the rest of the class about it!’

My favourite one to do however, is to ask the children what they would like to know about the certain topic we are learning about. My class studied the Mayans and wanted to know if they wore armour, if they had armies, and what weapons did they have. This wasn’t likely to be included in the planning but I googled it at home so I could give them the low down during the next lesson. They really enjoyed this and felt a part of their learning.

Remember that this is your first year of teaching, you won’t be expected to know everything! Your placement teachers are so knowledgeable because they’ve been teaching a while 😉

-Lizzie

3. ‘I’m worried about building my teacher presence’

Your teacher presence will build as your confidence in the classroom builds. As you begin to find your routine in the classroom and around the school you will start to feel stronger in yourself. The first term is tough and you will have days where you want to cry into a bottle of wine, but that is ok. 

Be patient and kind to yourself. Let yourself off the hook. Just remember, you are the teacher so believe it. You aren’t a student anymore and this is YOUR classroom. Own it and have confidence. You are amazing and you can do this. 

-Natasha

4. ‘I’m worried that my planning takes too long’

This was also one of my biggest concerns when I was training to become a teacher because of the long processes and big hoops you need to jump through in order to plan a single lesson when you’re training. Did anyone write 1-2 sides of A4 including every eventuality that might happen during their lesson or was it just us?! 😂

The truth about lesson planning is that it is different in every single school. Natasha’s school, for instance, does weekly plans for her subjects whereas my school do not do paper planning. We prepare slides on Smart Notebook for our different subjects and go through them at the pace that our children need.

There are a multitude of ways that schools might ask you to plan, but the most important thing that you know is that you will be SUPPORTED. Subject leads will meet with you if you need help with planning. I would encourage you to ask if this doesn’t get offered because it helps you, and it also shows you’re willing to develop professionally from the get-go.

Essentially, planning quickly and effectively will come from teaching experience. You won’t be expected to produce wonderful lessons within minutes. Truthfully, not all of your lessons will be wonderful! Not all of ours are! It’s all part of the learning experience that comes with teaching.

-Lizzie

5. ‘I’m anxious about the transition from being on placement to having my own class without another teacher present’

This is a scary transition and I am glad somebody has mentioned it as it never occurred to me until I started! You go from being a student who is supported and guided by another teacher, to being thrown in at the deep end and doing it all on your own. Except you are not on your own. 

If you are lucky like us, you will have a super, amazingly supportive TA and an incredible (and patient) NQT Mentor. You are not doing this alone. Everyone in that school knows you are an NQT and aware that it can be hard to balance everything at once. Speak to your Mentor, your TA and any other experienced members of staff for support. 

Take advantage of this. Play the NQT card and make the most of it. It will take time for you to find your feet in your class.

-Natasha

6. ‘I don’t have enough experience in teaching due to the global pandemic, my teaching might be a little rusty, and I’m worried about the step-up in teaching hours‘

These concerns were raised by an awful lot by future NQTs, especially in light of the current situation where teacher training has been cut short due to the global pandemic. I thought it would be a good idea to combine them all together because they’re relatively similar.

One thing is important to recognise here, and that is the fact we are currently in a GLOBAL pandemic. Schools across the whole WORLD have been closed. This means that hundreds of thousands of teachers are going to be in the same position as you reading this.

What you need to realise it that it doesn’t matter whether you’ve missed a placement or some training. If your University says so, YOU ARE READY TO TEACH! To tell you the truth, the real experience happens when you get a job and you’re in front of your own class for the first time. THAT is when you learn how to really teach!

Just remember that there are SO many teachers in exactly the same position as you, there will be strategies put in place in schools for you and the children missing learning! Not only trainee teachers, but teachers who have been teaching for many years have also been affected. They might also be feeling rusty and out of place when we return to school. We’re all in this together remember! 🌍

-Lizzie

7. ‘I’m worried about setting up routines without overloading the children’

Do not be worried. Children are used to routines. They have had routines their whole life both in and out of education. It will take time for the children, and yourself, to become fully established with those routines but keep going. Routines help with structure, structure helps the children feel comfortable, and making them comfortable creates a happy classroom. 

Keep in mind that the children will try to push boundaries and test you. You need to establish your presence. It will take time and there will be plenty of moments of frustration but stick with it. You will get there.

-Natasha

8. ‘I’m worried about not being able to find a job for September’

This was another concern which kept cropping up from new teachers all over social media, especially when there has been an influx of people celebrating their new jobs all over Twitter – which of course they should be proud of! Congratulations!

If you haven’t got a job yet, DO NOT PANIC. There is still plenty of time to find the right school for you. The last date that current teachers can hand in their notice is until May half term. This means that schools will still be looking for teachers past this date, well up to June and July. I secured my current teaching position at the end of June last year, of course, there is always hope!

If you find there aren’t any jobs appealing to you in your area, there are other options. Being a supply teacher, for example, means that you would get a range of experience across different year groups in various schools, meaning you would have a better idea of the type of school you would want to work in. The days you do supply work also count towards your NQT year – bonus!

There are a multitude of supply teaching agencies across the nation so I would recommend signing up to one or at least talking to them if this is something you’re interested in. Who knows, you might even be offered a full-time position at one of them if they have a vacancy that crops up!

-Lizzie

9. ‘I’m worried about assessing the children with no knowledge of assessment or experience with a progress tracker’

Your school will support you with this. On my first day, in my first staff meeting, I was shown how to use Target Tracker. It was very overwhelming and I didn’t understand any of it (I am not very techy) so when I used it again I was really unsure. I am still not 100% sure how to use it and I will need to ask again when we go back to school but I know that is ok. 

As you get to know your Tiny Humans you will begin informally assessing them in every lesson. You will learn what each individual needs to be challenged and supported and you will apply this into your planning and lessons.

-Natasha

10. ‘Will we get a bad wrap for being the cohort that didn’t do a full year in school?’

This was a very important question to ask because I know so many people will be thinking this. The simple answer is – NO. Just because you missed some of your training or some experience in school does not mean you are going to be seen in a negative light. There are so many future teachers out there that have missed some training but there will be plans put in place to prepare you for having your own class. 

There are also NQTs such as Natasha and I who have missed a term of our NQT year which is still part of our training. Plans will be in place and we will not be judged for it. Everyone is doing the best that they can do given the situation ✌🏼

-Lizzie

11. ‘I ask lots of questions but I don’t want to be a burden or annoy anyone’

Ask. Ask. Ask! Both Lizzie and I love asking questions. I suffer from anxiety and I am an over thinker (just ask Lizzie) so I ask a lot of questions to reassure myself and my anxiety. There is no point making yourself more stressed or unsure of something all because you didn’t ask a question… even if you have to ask the same question hundreds of times. It is always worth asking. There are so many things thrown at you as an NQT and it can be hard to balance it all. Ask the question and make things easier on yourself. You already have enough to think about!

-Natasha

12. ‘I am worried about not being able to look around a school for a job and seeing what support they will put in place for my NQT year’

Several people have asked this and I am in the same position as I am looking for a full-time position in a new school for September. So many future teachers won’t be able to look around their potential new schools, so here’s some things that you can do instead:

• Google maps. Map out your drive to the school and also get a satellite view of the building. It might sound a bit crazy but hey, we’re all in quarantine and I’m sure you want to see as much of the school as possible! Mapping out your drive is also a good way to see how long it would take you to get there. Some people prefer to work far away from where they live so they won’t see parents at their local pub, but some people like to work on their doorstep. Whatever suits you!

• Searching the school website for photographs of the school. This is a great idea to see what the inside of the school looks like. Of course this isn’t the same as being able to walk around the school and get a real feel for it but it’s the best that can be done in the current situation really.

• Asking the ‘right’ questions. Truthfully, there aren’t really any ‘right’ questions to ask the school. I would be asking what support you would be getting as an NQT, what their planning strategies are (weekly planning, no planning, daily planning). This is a good way to get an idea of the likely workload you will be getting. As already mentioned, all schools are different! You might want to ask about your interested subjects too, do they take part Forest School ect. Just ask as many questions as you feel comfortable doing to find out the information you’re looking for in a school! Good luck ❤️

-Lizzie

13. ‘I’m worried I’ll forget all I’ve been taught’

I remember this feeling. I hardly slept before my first day. This is what you have been working so hard towards and you are not going to forget anything. The build-up is the worst part. As soon as you stand in front of that classroom and see all those smiling faces you will remember everything!

If you do have a moment of panic then just try to relax. There have been a few occasions where I have become flustered in the classroom and my TA has taken over so that I could step out for a few minutes to calm myself down. You are not going to get everything right and not every day is going to be easy, but you will learn to cope, and everybody is there to support you.

-Natasha

14. ‘How do I catch the children up with their missed learning due to school closures?’

You are not the only one asking this question at the moment. Teachers with years of experience will be asking the same question so when schools finally go back everybody will be in the same position. Every school will have their own way of approaching this and a way they feel is best to support the children and all staff. 

Everyone is prepared for the fact that there may be gaps in learning but we can only do what we can. If you are in a 2-form entry school then speak to your Partner Teacher as you may be able to make a plan together. If, like me, you are in a 1-form entry school then speak to the year below to find out what has not been covered yet and what you may need to spend some time teaching. Nobody will except you to have it all figured out.

-Natasha

15. ‘I’m worried about wearing work clothes after being in lounge wear for so long’

Haha!!! We are too my friend, we are too.

We hope that this helps put some worries to bed for some of you as we know how you’re feeling as we were in the same position last year. Just remember, we’re all in this together and we’re all here for each other. EduTwitter is a wonderful way to connect with other NQTs, experienced teachers, and other professionals to help you along your journey.

✌🏼🌍

As many students have started at university this week, many people for the first time, some are returning students, I wanted to share my experiences with my own well-being at university and what you can do to look after your own.

I am staying on at the same university that I have attended for the last four years as it is familiar to me. I know the lecturers, I know the buildings, and I know roughly what is expected of me.

Even though the last time I was here was for my BA, I am staying for my fifth year to complete my MA degree.

During my BA, my university couldn’t have been more supportive of me.

My background information:

My life changed during my BA degree when my dad got poorly. I had to take temporary withdrawal from my studies and I became his full-time carer. the university supported my decision through this and made everything very easy and straight forward for me.

Upon returning after losing my dad, I took many different measures to ensure my own well-being was being looked after during the remainder of my studies.

My advice for looking after your well-being at university is:

1. SEEK people to talk to.

Whether they’re your friends, your lecturers, module leaders, support workers. Whoever takes the time to listen to you. No-one can know you’re struggling if you don’t tell anyone! Your university should have a student support worker, make sure you know where they are and where their office is.

2. Start your work early.

Especially if you’re doing a thesis in your third year, or doing your MA thesis like I am (20,000 words 🙃). Collate all of your ideas in a designated notebook for your dissertation and share them with your module leaders/ course leaders/ academic advisors. It’s their job to help you, and they’ll be able to guide you in the right direction for your research. I’ve only had one day at university this year and I think I’ve sent about 6 emails about my thesis already! You don’t want to be rushing around after Christmas by contacting places for research and scrambling to get a literature review together.

3. Remember, you’re all in the same boat.

You’re not the only one on your course, and you’re not the only one studying those modules. Try and find your tribe and study together. Share notes and ideas, and talk about the things you are learning about in classes. This will help you consolidate your learning and you might gain some new perspectives on things!

4. Self-care.

The usual things that you will probably already know of will help you. Exercise, eating well, and getting enough sleep. Lack of any of these will affect your ability to concentrate in class, even though we’re all guilty of it sometimes! You’ll also do much better if you designate a time in the evening to switch off by and do things you enjoy.

5. Don’t lose yourself.

As hard as getting a degree can be sometimes and it requires a lot of work, never forget who you are and the things you like to do outside of university. Look into the clubs your university has to offer and join any that take your fancy! You are NOT your degree and you must put yourself first.

This is an open and honest insight into my first BrewEd. I not only attended the day, but I was a speaker! For anyone who knows me, or saw me at the event, they will know that my largest phobia in life is public speaking.

I had never spoken at an event before. I have managed university presentations in the past, but had been so nervous I couldn’t get my words out. I’ve been physically sick in the run up to speaking, and BrewEd was no exception!

There were a few tears, and lots of anxiety. But it turns out, it was all for nothing! The day was absolutely fantastic, with the biggest support from @gdmorewood. I was able to meet with him several times before the event, and we also had dinner with @Claire_R123, @rlrossi64 and @TerryCulkin1.

My co-speaker, the wonderful @SENDISaunders was unable to make the day due to personal reasons, so I wanted to carry on with our presentation which we had both worked hard on for the previous few weeks. I hope I did you proud, Tom!

The event was amazingly managed and organised by @gdmorewood, with an inclusive theme running through the whole event. The day included pens, lanyards, and a raffle with wonderful prizes to end the day.

The speaker list was so inspiring, and I totally had imposter syndrome before the event.

Speakers included:

@Mellow_Pascoe who told her personal journey with autism and her family. Taneisha’s passion and natural talent with people shone throughout the day, and it was a pleasure to listen to her and her story.

@Claire_R123 who I had previously met at #OBUinc19. ADHD myths were discussed throughout her talk, which highlighted the people behind the behaviours. Claire also mentioned the campaign #ITakeMyPillsBecause which is very personal to her.

@folkycat had such an engaging session which literally had everyone off their feet! Everyone was involved and we discussed the skills we were using during different activities. Cat also highlighted the influence music can have.

@MissCWick did an absolutely smashing job by telling us her humorous and honest story of how she ended up as an assistant SENCo from teaching maths. We supported each other through the nerves of the day!

@TenaciousRk was interviewed by Gareth during her talk. Rachel’s story was fascinating to listen to as her child is home schooled. She highlighted things in school which NEED to be changed, and that parents are the biggest teachers in their children’s lives before they go to school, so why stop?

@rlrossi64 posed the question as to whether there was a problem with over-diagnosing children with ‘MLD’. Rachel also highlighted the rise in new teachers using successful and inclusive practices which have been used for years.

@StarlightMcKenz spoke about the importance of including parents in inclusive practice in schools. Bethlyn was passionate about inclusivity in schools, which is supported from my university training where we are taught that parents are the experts in their children!

@AspieDeLaZouch who I also had the pleasure of meeting at #OBUinc19 ended the day with some powerful quotes and statistics. Barney highlighted the importance of grouping as individuals, and not by their disabilities.

@TerryCulkin1 performed his artistic magic throughout the whole day, capturing our pictures in ‘toon’ form. Terry is an amazing artist and was a real asset to the day.

Speaking about trainee teacher perspectives on inclusion matters and what needs to be done made me persevere through the imposter syndrome as people wanted to hear what I had to say. These types of CPD events are where people pay to come to see and HEAR what you have to say.

Everyone in the room was so supportive, I couldn’t thank them enough after the event for helping me through the day.

And a huge, special thank you to Gareth for being such a huge support and organising an amazing day!

I have put ‘behaviour management’ in quotation marks as I dislike the term, as I do not believe that behaviour is something that needs to be managed. It is somethings that takes compassion and relationships to understand.

The day was introduced by the NEU, and contractors hired by them taught our three groups in our final year of the BA (hons) primary education course.

Our ‘behaviour management’ training day provided lots of opportunities for discussions and critical thinking today at university.

My group had the pleasure of spending the day with @PeteHrekow who is an experienced teacher and head teacher, a behaviour specialist who has worked with children with SEMH and in PRUs.

His messages were insightful and empowering, telling us to hold onto our passion and the fire we have burning within us to make a difference in schools when we graduate.

The first message Pete wanted us to think of was what things might affect our behaviours during the day. We came up with things such as the weather, being hungry or stressed (as many students are this time of year), or family situations happening at home. This was an important message for us to think about how stresses can affect our behaviours as adults, and to think about how the same thing happens to children.

The most shocking part of the day to me was when Pete asked who had heard children being called ‘little shits’ in the staff room, the majority of the room put their hands up. Pete ensured we knew these children are vulnerable, and often with many complex needs. I personally have never heard teachers talking so poorly about their students, but many of my peers have seen this.

Leading on from this, we discussed the power of language. We were asked to think about words to describe behaviour, such as ‘good/ bad’, ‘negative/ positive’. The room agreed that this language regarding behaviour leads to attitudes that children should behave in a certain way. We know that changing the language regarding behaviour will also lead to a change in attitudes for us to see past behaviours.

We also discussed the terms ‘appropriate/ inappropriate’ behaviour which the class deemed the most acceptable term to use. I felt it was important to state that this needed more explaining, because it raises many questions. Appropriate for who? The context? The child? Their age? Their developmental age? If anyone has a better term to use to describe behaviours, please feel free to suggest some to me on Twitter @lizziejamieson7 for discussion.

The key messages from our second session with Pete were that the only behaviour WE can control is our OWN. This is such a crucial message for teachers, as we need to learn to manage our own stresses and behaviours when working with children.

If we take a step back whilst helping a child who is displaying ‘challenging behaviours’ (I personally really DISLIKE this term. They are behaviours that adults don’t have the skills to understand) and ask ourselves what we can do to better support these children, and what you could do to make them feel more secure. There is no definitive answer of how to help a child displaying a certain behaviour, but building trust and relationships will allow you to better understand what they are communicating.

Pete further stated that fair is NOT doing the same thing with every child in the classroom. Each child needs to be treated as an individual based on their needs. This perfectly describes equitable education which I spoke about during #BrewEdHawarden which I will be reflecting on soon in a blog.

During our final session, Pete spoke about his personal beliefs on ‘traffic light systems’ where children can move up and down a ‘behaviour management’ system. He believes that when children are given a reward for something they have done, they should be able to KEEP that reward, and consequences should be treated as something separate, not in the form of taking the reward away. This happens in schools often where children move up the ‘traffic light’ system for praise, but they also get moved down as a consequence of ‘inappropriate’ (?) behaviour.

The day overall challenged us to think about behaviour in schools, and to extend our critical thinking to see past the behaviours of children. Brilliant day in all.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton