10 (or more) Top Tips for NQTs / Probationers

*Originally posted on my previous blog www.mrbowkerinmalaysia.com in November 2022*

I've read far too many posts recently on social media from new teachers that are struggling with the demands of teaching and wondering if it is the job for them. Perhaps some of the reasons for this can be found in comments from experienced teachers explaining how much more difficult the job is now than in previous decades - ever increasing content in the curriculum, too much paperwork, the technical nature of pedagogy, being up to date with research, more and more instances of challenging behaviour in the class, lack of resources, low pay, the negative impact on mental health - the list of problems people feel they face in our profession seems to be growing year by year.

This really saddens me. I, for one, think that teaching remains and will continue to be one of the best professions in the world. Personally I would urge every new teacher who is struggling to keep on going through the hardships for at least a couple of years - if it's really not for you then you will have gained valuable experience that other employers will value, but on the flip side you may just, like me, find yourself in the best job you could imagine. As a side note, if the mental health aspect of the job is really troubling you then I would also urge anyone to go a see a doctor and get professional support, as teachers we can try our best to support each other, but doctors are a key resource to help us do our best as well.

Okay, so onto the list - here's some top tips to get through the initial challenges.

1. Be kind to yourself

This is a big one. Rather than beat yourself up over a bad lesson, or being behind on marking, treat your internal voice like its your best friend. You would never tell your friend they are a failure, or they can't do it. You would likely be sensitive, support them in understanding it's all part of the process and that it's okay, nay, perfectly normal to make mistakes at the beginning. You would be kind to them and you deserve this kindness yourself.

2. It takes time

Just like the old saying 'Rome wasn't built in a day', equally no great teacher was made during 1 year of PGDE/PGCE or 3 or 4 years of a BEd. There will be some who adapt to the demands of teaching quicker than others, but nobody is the finished article straight away, and it's no use trying to compare ourselves to one another. We all have different strengths and weaknesses that are not always apparent. I'm now in my 6th year of teaching primary and I'm learning new skills each and every day. In fact the more I teach the more I know that I don't know, and there's a whole load more that I don't even know I don't know. When I meet a new teacher the biggest predictor of their success to me is their attitude - someone who can reflect, listen to advice, is brave enough to try something new in the classroom and self aware enough to judge its level of success. These are the things that mean, over time, skills will be harnessed, developed and maybe, one day, even perfected, mistakes are a part of the process.

3. Talk about teaching

Talking about teaching with other teachers has been shown to really improve the quality of learning in the classroom. Find a platform you are comfortable on or in, the staffroom, your university friends, Twitter, Facebook, a colleague. Talk to them about your successes and failures, ask them to share theirs. Discuss how you can get better at teaching together. Perhaps try a new idea together and then both feedback how it went. If you don't feel ready to talk about teaching, then read about it. Find teachers that inspire you on Twitter, Instragram, follow bloggers and connect. Every experienced teacher started by knowing nothing about it and will have experienced their own version of that first year learning curve.

4. Find & celebrate your successes

I think as humans we naturally focus on the negative, I know I have a tendency towards it. As a teacher this can be a positive as it allows us to focus on what we want to improve, but it can also be incredibly difficult to manage if we don't also find and savour our successes. Focus on the things the pupils in your class can do now, that they couldn't at the beginning of the lesson, last week, or the beginning of the year. Those things are because of you. Find the pupil who smiles at your sense of humour - they might not smile in other classrooms. Find the pupil who talks to you but is quiet with other teachers because you make them feel comfortable and safe. Find the part of you that keeps on going even when it's tough - because without being too cheesy, that's one of the biggest successes of all.

Okay, now for some real practical tips to make the job easier

5. Planning efficiently

i) When you are planning, consider giving yourself one lesson a day that you know will be less demanding for yourself in terms of finding resources, differentiating and teaching. For example, use a textbook for Maths on Monday, Grammar on Tuesday or Comprehension on Thursday. Perhaps on Wednesday include a 'News' session where 5 or 6 pupils can share something from home / their favourite piece of work from the week - this is Listening and Talking, a key aspect of English often overlooked even by experienced teachers, it also covers areas of HWB/PSHE. Pupils who are listening may ask questions of the presenter or you may ask them to repeat what they have heard.

ii) Don't listen to teachers who say textbooks / Twinkl are bad, that is an opinion rather than fact. Granted if they are the only thing that is used in the classroom then the quality of teaching and learning will not be great - but using them sparingly adds variety to your lessons. Further, most resources have been made by trained teachers. There is no need to re-invent the wheel. Spend your time thinking about how to teach the material in the best way, rather than spending hours finding it and winging it in the lesson.

iii) If you include 30 minutes to explain and hand out your homework on a Monday, where pupils write down their spelling words and have time to practice them (e.g using www.spellingcity.com) or a spelling grid such as the one below and a 30 minute spelling test on Friday with time to make corrections that is another hour of the week planned.

You could also consider having a class novel or watching Newsround (if UK based) for 15 minutes after break, and also ERIC (Everyone Reading in Class) for 5 - 10 minutes after lunch. This supports pupil in transitioning back to learning after the business of playing outside - a lot of pupils really benefit from this time to self regulate and the inclusion of reading time has obvious benefits.

Between the textbooks, spelling, reading and Newsround that is up to 6 hours a week you can cross off with minimal planning time and just slot into the timetable.

Note - I'm not saying this is perfect teaching and it's maybe not the most inventive, but so long as you are structuring your lessons well, giving clear instructions, checking for understanding, offering feedback then the pupils should be learning. The combination of this should also give you a bit of a breathing space knowing there are some lessons/materials ready and in place each week. Don't worry - planning gets quicker over time. Lessons that used to take me an hour to plan now take 15 minutes. It gets easier!

6. Reduce marking

Marking has one purpose - to help pupils learn. Any marking that is done for book scrutiny, parents or just to show you have done it is not necessarily going to benefit the pupil's learning, so focus on marking that can make a difference to pupil progress. Different types of work can be marked in different ways - it doesn't all need to be written feedback in every book. Using the most appropriate strategy of marking/feedback for the correct task can save you a lot of time, and also be more effective for the learning in your class.

Do check your school's marking policy before following this advice...

Verbal Feedback

One of the most impactful forms of feedback is verbal feedback. Be sure you let the pupils know what they are doing well, what they could improve an how to get there. Mark the book with a VF symbol to show you have done this. Check back later to see how they have done. Another VF, date and initial. Self Assess / Peer Assess

Once pupils reach towards the end of Year 2 (P3 in Scotland) and definitely by Year 4 (P3 in Scotland), you can teach pupils to self assess their work accurately. Stop your lessons 5 or 10 minutes early and provide answer sheets for pupils to mark their own work or their partners work (this can also be displayed on IWB). This is especially easy to do in Maths, or any work where there are definite answers (those Grammar textbooks come in handy here as well). This give pupils the opportunity to check their work, see their errors and correct them - be sure that this is done in a coloured pencil to make it clear. Mark these sheets with SA (for self assessment) or PA (Peer Assessment) the date and your initials to show you have checked it.

Whole Class Feedback

If everyone is making the same mistake in Maths, English, Science etc - don't waste your time writing the same thing on everyone's sheet. Spend 10 minutes at the beginning of the next lesson going over the issue with a new example, and perhaps ask the pupils to practice this. If you are really worried about evidencing this then you can find plenty of examples of whole class feedback sheets. Fill this in once and photocopy. Get the pupils to stick it in once you have gone over the work.

Marking Codes

Check how you are expected to mark work, but generally there is something like - P for punctuation error, Sp for spelling etc, if not then find one online and stick it in the front of your pupil's books. Mark the work using this then give pupils time to correct it in a coloured pencil. Some teachers love 'Tickled Pink and Green for Growth'. This involves marking writing by highlighting the good things in Pink and the areas then need working on in Green. Pupils then correct the green areas. Both of these make marking quicker for you and give the pupils opportunity to reflect on their work and improve it.

Rotate Marking

If you do a long piece of English writing each week and you have a big class of 30+ pupils then consider rotating these strategies. Print out a copy of the success criteria and give a traffic light / tick and cross box etc next to each one for pupils to see if they have completed the work. Leave space at the bottom for 2 stars and a wish (or equivalent).

Each week;

- have 1/3 of the class self assess their own work, complete the sheet and stick it in.

- have 1/3 of the class peer assess a partner's work, complete the sheet and stick it in.

- mark 1/3 of the work yourself and spend the time in the lesson where 2/3 are self or peer assessing giving verbal feedback to your small group.

Rotate this each week. This teaches pupils the skills to assess their own work (you could also give time to make corrections and improve it), your marking is reduced dramatically and each pupil also gets 1:1 verbal feedback from you every 3 weeks to support their learning. Win, win, win.

7. Let the pupils do the work

If the pupils are old enough then let them do the heavy lifting. Could they research information for themselves in a book or online and make a poster/leaflet/presentation/google site about it? Could the pupils work in groups to solve a Maths problem then share how they achieved it? I'm not the biggest advocate of enquiry based teaching if it is the only teaching pedagogy applied, but it does have it's place, and teaching your pupils the skills to be independent and confident in their learning is a big part of it.

8. Use your support staff effectively

If you have another adult in your class them use them wisely - all the teaching assistants I've work with have been brilliant, especially when treated with professionalism. Can they support a small group with their understanding? Could they stretch the HAs in your class? Do they need to hear your introduction or could they get that photocopying done for you or stick that work in the pupils book while listening? Maximise this resource.

9. Get organised & take a break

Sometimes it feels like the work will never stop. In my first year teaching I was in super early and left each day when the janitor locked up the school and kicked me out - but I always refused to work weekends (unless there were reports to write).

I had some brilliant advice from my Mentor in week one and I've used it ever since:

'Write out your rough plan for the following week on Monday & Tuesday, you then have the rest of the week to resource what you need / ask for support to photocopy. By Friday everything is done so you can enjoy your weekend'

If you are working in a 2 or 3 stream entry school then split the workload with your year group partner.

Some teachers are happy to work weekends, if that is you then great, if not, then take a break. If your energy levels are low then it'll be more difficult for you to be able to plan, teach and assess effectively or quickly, and you'll likely just get more behind. Just to give you a bit of hope, I now arrive 15 minutes before the kids, and on most days I'm ready to leave an hour after the pupils have gone. All planning, marking and teaching is completed is this timeframe, and to a high standard.

10. Ask for support

If you don't know something then ask. Ask your colleague, your mentor, your headteacher, your union rep, your twitter learning network. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Starting any new job can be an isolating experience if you feel like you are the only one who doesn't know stuff - but everyone has been there themselves and most are willing to help. If you have no one else to ask, then you are welcome to get in touch and ask me, I can't promise to know the answer but I'll listen and support you in any way I can.

Okay - So I've written 10, but I can't help but add a couple more, if you've read this far then here's your reward.

11. Use retrieval activities

I have blogged about this before, you can read here. The benefits in terms of learning are huge so you can sleep easy knowing you are using the most up to date, research based methods to improve the retention of information in your class. The activities suggested in the blog take up 5 or 10 minutes at the beginning of a lesson, should take less than 5 minutes to plan and have a hugely positive impact on the learning in your class.

12. Help out other teachers

I know that in the first year of teaching the last thing you are thinking about is how you can help other people, but I would recommend you do. Every teacher in your school will have a 'to do list' that seems to have 2 items added for every 1 ticked off. That will never change. If you follow the advice in this blog then you may be asking for some extra time and support from your colleagues, and in general teachers are a friendly bunch and more than happy to help - but do consider giving back. See if there is a piece of work that someone is working on that you could help out with. You will no doubt feel good about yourself for helping out, you'll be supporting your colleagues and you can add this to your success list from earlier. As an example, when I was in my first year of teaching my Mentor was also head of ICT and we had a new order of ipads in that needed setting up. I offered to spend a couple of hours helping out with this mundane task - it was a small thing but it made me feel like I had something to offer and I know it was appreciated.

13. Build a PLN (Professional Learning Network)

This links to asking for help and talking about teaching - but in the online environment. Edu Twitter is a huge network of educators and can be used as a valuable resource - if you don't want to post just yet then just follow and read what others are doing. Facebook has lots of teaching groups to join and share information and resources. Lots of teachers post ideas on Instagram and there are tonnes of educational bloggers out there - find the ones you like, sign up and comment. By connecting with other educators you won't feel alone in the experience, you'll likely discover some activities or information that will improve your teaching and you may even make some new friends!

14. The one no one else will tell you!

Get a new haircut. You know that feeling when you get a new haircut, people compliment you, you look in the mirror and feel great. Take that confidence into your teaching for a day and let it grow! :)

Please do comment below or like the Facebook page if you enjoyed this post, and you could even consider signing up to the blog if you want to read more. In doing so you are building your PLN. ;)

Thanks for reading,

Laurence