New to teaching

The first few weeks in any job can be tiring, especially so for new teachers. As well as being in an unfamiliar environment, you’ll also be getting to know your new colleagues and, of course, your students.

•Aim to meet key people before the term starts, best done if you visit at the end of the previous term. You should have met the headteacher, your induction tutor and/or mentor and department heads before your first day.

• To help you prepare, some information should ideally be provided to you by the school before you start: this could include a staff handbook, class lists, timetable details, information about resources available to you and copies of any school policies that are specific to new teachers.

• Once you have started, it is worth spending some time each day familiarising yourself with school policies for homework, teaching the gifted and talented, discipline and others.

•Give yourself a few key goals for the first week. For example, aim to cement a handful of pupil’s names in your mind each day. Try to adopt the same pronunciation every student has for their own name.

• Take in plenty of stationary. Lesson planners, board markers and stationery for pupils, however, should all be provided by the school.

•Be sure to find out how and where you can secure your personal belongings. You should be given a locker or something similar.

• Introduce yourself to the ATL representative in your school.

•Finally, remember not to put too much pressure on yourself - it can take time to settle in! If things go wrong, accept that people make mistakes at first.

To ensure that your first few weeks run as smoothly as possible, also consider these ideas.
•Become acquainted with your students. Ask relevant pastoral heads if there is anything specific you should know about your students - about medical conditions, previous national curriculum levels or special educational needs.

• Introduce yourself to the non-teaching staff - they will invariably come to your rescue at some stage of the new term!

•Make a note of anything that needs to get clarified. Hopefully the headteacher/principal or your mentor will be available to go through these with you later on. Also familiarise yourself with individual school policies.

Looking after yourself
Always be at your best, both physically and mentally. Try to maintain a stress-free home environment and get plenty of sleep so that you can devote all your energies to the experience.

It’s just as important, though, not to let your first year take over your life as the best teachers are also well-adjusted and balanced people! v

Download ATL’s publication, Induction: making it work for you, full of further advice on how to get the most out of your first year in teaching, www.new2teaching.org.uk

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