Top tips for success on your journey to teacherhood
It is perfectly common to bubble with excitement and nerves once you have secured your place on a teacher training programme. Once you have celebrated the joy of being offered a place your attention then turns to the first placement school. Many trainee teachers move onto placement two with a heavy heart after treating placement one like a first love.
Rest assured that providers will let you know where you will be placed as soon as they can. It is common for trainees to become frustrated at how long it is taking to receive this information, but be aware that any delay will be due to the fact your providers want to ensure they select the right school for your needs, with great mentoring and support, to ensure you have a positive, highly effective placement.
The purpose of this blog is to outline ‘top tips for success on your journey to teacherhood’, but first a few mistakes I have seen from trainee teachers that should be avoided where possible:
- Don’t turn up to a training session on professionalism in a bib borrowed from the PE department because you got too sweaty doing a workout minutes before the session started!
- Don’t sit in the headteacher’s assembly swiping through Tinder. Yes, this has actually happened!
- Don’t overwork yourself so much that you fall asleep in a classroom, wake up at 2am with the school locked and then try to climb out of the fire exit, which sets off the alarms resulting in the police racing to the building! Again, this really did happen!
Be in the know
It is imperative that you identify the key people within the organisation. Most importantly, know who the designated safeguarding lead is. This is the person who you must talk to if you have a particular concern about a pupil. Other colleagues that you will want to identify include the headteacher/principal, the senior colleagues responsible for trainee teachers, and those who will be directly invested in your training, such as your mentor, host teachers and heads of department/age phase.
Other people that could be very important within a placement are the receptionist (they will know who everyone else is!), the colleague responsible for reprographics, and site staff such as caretakers. Surviving in a school can seem daunting but befriending a colleague who may be one or two years ahead of you on their journey is important for your own sanity and professionalism, as they will be able to relate to life as a trainee teacher.
Be professional, polite and prepared
Being in a school for the first time as a member of staff can seem really strange. Apprehension and nerves are common but don’t let this be an excuse for making a clanger early doors. Remember, you are now in a very different position from that of a pupil.
When making the transition into Miss/Sir it’s important you remember to avoid inappropriate relationships or conversations with young people. If you are fortunate to have youthful good looks, then you may wish to be extra formal in what you wear. Remember that you are modelling behaviour at all times, so ensure top buttons are done up and skirts aren’t too short. Whilst we are mentioning professionalism, don’t be over-confident or arrogant. One of the trickiest types of trainees to work with are those who think they know it all already.
Being the academic
Once you are submerged into a placement, the quality of your academic work can be compromised. Teaching is an academic profession and it is really important that this side of your training year is taken seriously. Plan time to do your studies and university assignments; and don’t leave them until the last minute. A lot of the studies require research and trying to do it properly the night before a deadline is impossible. Having a Twitter account will also be very useful on this side of your training year.
Enjoy lesson feedback and embrace mistakes
In an ideal world there would be a diarised time for the host teacher to meet with you to give feedback close to the end of every lesson you have taught, but this doesn’t always happen. Nevertheless, it is so important to always get feedback from a lesson, and if it hasn’t happened then chase it up in an appropriate manner. When you receive feedback listen attentively and take all comments on board. Don’t get defensive when the person giving feedback outlines areas of improvement.
If you aren’t making mistakes in the classroom then you probably aren’t being innovative enough! Learn from your mistakes to avoid doing them again. Nobody is expecting you to be the finished article at this stage in your career, so don’t worry about making errors. The most experienced teachers still make them because they are still learning and still trying new things in the classroom because they want to improve by stepping out of their comfort zone too.
Don’t rush to apply for jobs
A lot of providers or placement schools will be really keen to keep you as a Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) within a trust. If they are going to invest in your training and you are good, then it is very much in their interests to employ you — but don’t feel pressurised into doing something you don’t want to do. I would say that taking your time to look for a teaching post is important. Consider the type of school you want to work in and make sure the position you are applying for meets your needs.
Finish the placement with class
Remember the reason that we all got into teaching. The young people! You aren’t going to make a difference to the future of the young people if you put your metaphorical flip flops on weeks before a placement finishes. Do your best to get through everything, in terms of course content, that you were asked to do. If you haven’t, simply tell the class teacher. If she or he is a good one, they will understand, having been in the same position as you! Make sure there is a smooth handover back to the host teacher as this will leave a good impression — and, most importantly, be good for the pupils.
I wish each and every one of you reading this blog the best of luck in your teaching career. Don’t hesitate to tweet me @MrSamPocock with any questions or comments. Remember, we were all trainee teachers once!
