Soon-to-be trainee teacher requesting (urgent) advice!

[OhMySaintedTrousers]

I'll be starting my teacher training in just a few weeks, and will be spending the entire 2 years working full-time in one school. I have recently found out which school I will be training in, and have a 5-hour-long visit scheduled for this Friday (along with a few other trainees). It's a secondary academy, but not part of a big chain. I'll be teaching English.

I have a few questions which I'd really appreciate your help with, please!

1. What should I wear? (I know the "can't see up it, down it, or through it" rule, but I'm not sure how formally I should aim to dress.) I'm female, petite, and in my mid-20s.
   
   
2. What should I ask about the school in general?
   
   
3. What should I ask about my department in particular?
   
   
4. Are there any important things I should make sure that I do or avoid doing (besides the obvious)?
   
   Thank you in advance for your time and help .

[OhMySaintedTrousers]

Just to add - unfortunately the school is too far away for me to go and scope things out beforehand.

[CharlesRyder]

Take your own chair mug and tea for the staff room. Both may be provided but don't assume.

Wear smart trousers and top I would say- office wear.

Don't know about the specifics as I am Primary, but be interested and positive without gushing.

Do not mention Michael Gove.

[OhMySaintedTrousers]

Thank you so much - your suggestions are all really helpful! I'm so nervous my brain starts to grind to a halt whenever I think about the visit, so it really helps to have specific things to focus on .

[superram]

Assuming you are schools direct. Our school Would expect suit on first day, smart there on in.

Take lunch as they won't have sorted your lunch card (if a lot of you they might provide sandwiches).

Will you have a classroom? Tt for next year? Log on. When school is open over the summer so you can go in to prepare.
Where are sow? Can you access ict remotely-especially as you seem to be far away.

[Golfhotelromeofoxtrot]

I agree with the above- wear a suit.

Find out exam boards and key texts to read over the summer.

Bring a pen drive and save all their shared area docs onto it. Even if they have remote access, it's good to have.

Either buy a memory stick with a huge memory or buy a portable Hard drive.

Join Twitter and follow all the brilliant teachers on there.

Buy the 100 ofsted outstanding ideas book for secondary school teachers. I really loved it.

Buy the Letts English teacher subject audit book, I found it much more thorough than the one my training programme provided.

Find A/B/C grade example work and read it. This is invaluable when you first start teaching GCSE.

Buy a watch!

Good luck- you'll love it. Best job in the world.

[JacobWrestling]

Teach First, I presume?

Dress: more formal to begin. You can always pull back at bit but a formal first impression is important. Female equivalent of a suit - skirt or trousers, smart blouse or shirt, jacket (even if you take it off after 20 mins. No jersey (too casual). Comfy shoes, no open toes. If you need / want heels, make sure they're seriously broken in.

Get into the English dept cupboard and borrow all of the texts that you'll teach next year.

Take a large capacity memory stick or external hard drive. Copy the whole departmental shared drive onto it (with HOF's permission, obviously). Make sure that you have schemes of work and delivery grids.

Identify the current TF and ambassadors and swap contact details.

Feel free to PM me if you want to know anything else. I'm an '05.

[JacobWrestling]

Oh, and if you're on any kind of social media, crank your privacy settings sky-high now!

[OhMySaintedTrousers]

Thank you all so much - I'm noting everything down! I really appreciate you taking the time to help me - I really want to get this right from the start.

JacobWrestling - you guessed right. Less than three weeks left until SI, and I'm nervous but very excited to get started! Thank you very much for your kind offer - I'll be in touch very soon .

[peacoat]

Also ask what the marking policy is. Good luck!