Tips for a new trainee teacher (from parents or current teachers)

[Dearly89]

Hi all!

I am 24 and beginning my teacher training in a couple of weeks. The course I am taking is very practical focused so I spend 4 days a week volunteering in my village school and then studying online in the evenings.

I am training to be a primary school teacher and I have been told I have a rota that spreads my time across all the year groups.

I am looking for any crucial tips/advice from current teachers or even parents please?

Is there anything to be particularly aware of or common mistakes that new trainees make?

I am also wondering what I should wear. The school is very lax and many teachers just wear jeans and jumpers but I would like to put a bit more effort in. I was thinking some floaty midaxi skirts, blouses, tights and pumps? Would this be appropriate? I don't want to wear anything that brings the wrong attention but would also like to feel like I have made effort.

Any advice would be so appreciated!!

Be prepared to go ‘off timetable’ fairly regularly. There are always different things to attend to like the class needing to practice for their turn at hosting assembly, or there’s a trip or workshop happening. Harvest festival is coming up and there will be all the Christmas events to fit in soon.

Reflect on your practice. Be open to advice . As you start you might emulate a more experienced member of staff, like your mentor. In time, you will be more able to form your own ideas and ways of doing things. The more you can reflect, the better you will be.

Enjoy it !

Flat, lace up shoes that are wide around your toes. Think about putting arch supports in them. If you're wearing a dress, buy support tights rather than standard ones - your 40 year old legs and feet will thank you for it.

You will need:

Short nails - there's always one kid who will run straight into your hand if you have coffin/ballerina shape.

A sealable, insulated mug.

Tissues.

A warm coat for playground duty.

And 'would you be able to show me how to...?' always goes down better with the office than 'I need 34 copies, double-sided by 12.30pm'.

I agree with small groups for everything, I'd say especially art/DT- don't try to have 30 kids using saws and glue guns (or even paint sometimes!) at the same time.

Agree also that being friendly to all staff especially cleaners and caretakers gets you a long way.

Clothes- a pair of black trousers is normally smart enough for most environments and you can wear thin knit jumpers or plain t shirts for an easy uniform.

As you are doing a more on the job style of training, I would ask to observe as many people teach as possible. Try to find some who are similar to you in age or personality too. Behaviour management is quite nuanced and it's good to watch others for tips and tricks.

Good luck! I loved doing teacher training although it was a really steep learning curve. My old HT told me that in your student year it’s easiest to just copy a good teacher - use their words and routines etc - and then develop your own style once you’re qualified. I found that particularly useful when it came to behaviour management.
Be aware of unconscious bias. Never assume girls will be quieter or boys will be stronger etc! This is something I need to reflect on even now as an experienced teacher. And challenge bias from children (such as boys saying they can’t use pink or girls saying they can’t play football).
Enjoy it and be kind to yourself. It is exhausting being around children all day so allow yourself time to relax in the evenings and weekends. Don’t plan too much outside of school to begin with!

Really do enjoy it. I have been a tutor through a university and now through SCITT for around 15 years and have had many students through my rooms. One is now a SATs moderator for our Borough although I would never have expected that when he was doing his PGCE final practice with me!

It's a tough job but a wonderful one. Oh and definitely yes on mug and even your own cutlery set. Waitrose have reduced pocket cutlery sets at the moment and Sho does good mugs at a decent price and offers 20% off for mums and education workers at the moment.

Enjoy it!

@Helpwhatwouldyoudonext I do the pen thing. No idea why more teachers don't
Other tips.....

• make sure you always have tissues with you
• be firm but fair, hold your boundaries eg. No talking whilst you are
• watch, listen, learn from your mentor (but never judge)
• always do what you say you're going to eg. "I'm going to have to phone your adult at home" make sure you do, kids remember stuff like this
• a good phone call home can work wonders
• don't feel you have to reinvent the wheel, there are thousands of free resources on TES/Twinkl that you can adapt to suit you

Definitely don’t undervalue your voice. Stop every time a child talks when you do. It will pay off to start the good habits in the beginning and save your voice.
After giving instructions to chn ask them to repeat it back or give you each step in sequence. Also write it down on the board. Even though they are looking and appear to be listening …….it’s often to the voice in their own head unfortunately.

The voice thing is really important. I always lose mine in the second week just through overuse. I highly recommend vocalzone pastels which taste awful but help a lot.

After seeing an awful lot of videos about American teachers setting up their rooms I am trying a wireless doorbell this year. We are going to practice responding to it and aiming for silence. I hope it works because it will help my voice so much.

Re coat - I originally had a short waterproof, warm coat but soon changed it to a much longer one. Needs to be warm and waterproof, and full length ideally with a hood - children go outside in all weathers these days and 15 minutes feels a long time when your stood outside in the cold and wet. The children don't seem to feel it but the adults do!

I recommend the Chillys mugs. The drinks stay hot for ages in the travel cups. I've tried several brands over the years and these are the best I've found so far.

Speak to the TAs/LSAs - they often know a lot about what's happening, and any HLTA/cover supervisor type roles as they often work right across school in various classes. In my school TAs are classed as full teaching staff, there is no them and us going on - which means they really do have a good grasp on the classroom and the class.

Re voice- I use a jingle bell to mean stop, look and listen.