Miserable NQT year

[VeganMarshmallows]

I'm currently training to teach through the Teach First route (secondary Maths) - completed my first year of teaching/PGCE last year. Unusually, I loved it. The school is challenging but supportive, my timetable was reasonable and I loved being a teacher. For what it's worth, I was generally a good teacher and always received positive feedback, and was graded 'Outstanding' by my PGCE university.

Now, three weeks into the new term and my NQT year and I am so miserable. Although outwardly I'm coping, I am completely exhausted and I cry every evening. The increase in my timetable has been a huge shock to the system (and I'm still 'only' on an NQT timetable) and I can't see my workload becoming more manageable. Part of me wants to leave at the end of this year and go and do something for more money and less stress, except, I do still love the actual teaching and can't imagine doing anything else.

Could really do with some handholding and some stories that this will actually get better.

I'm a maths teacher too, your marking policy sounds absolutely crazy. I've learnt to do as much as I can and not worry about what I can't do. You can't do everything. Have you listened to the mr Barton maths podcasts? Listen to the one where he interviews Mark McCourt for a realistic view of individualised marking and ridiculous marking expectations.

Prioritise lesson planning, don't reinvent the wheel, use resourceaholic and tes and the resources listed above. I personally refuse to use pay for resources such as mathsbox as there is so much brilliant stuff for free. Use twitter it is the best cpd out there. Sunday evening lesson planning on #mathstlp is amazing. Where are you based? I am in Wiltshire, if you are lucky al I am happy to help in person. Maths teaching is bloody hard and you sound amazing so don't let the bastards get you down!

I know I really should let Teach First know about how I'm coping (or not!) this year. It's just that I had such a great year on the programme last year and I was so enthusiastic and I wrote them blog posts about how great it was etc. etc., I'm reluctant to turn around now and explain how difficult I'm finding it. But I'll get over that and I will do!

Narnia I'm absolutely not going to my HoD for additional support! Although he generally quite likes me, he is a genuinely awful person with a horrible temper, and I get so little from working with him.

Larry thank you for this! I am obviously just starting out in my career and I do really want to succeed in it - but I also want a reasonableish work life balance and it's nice to hear that it is possible.

Eek, i feel your pain. I've been teaching a long time (16 years in languages) and the last couple of years have been utterly shit in terms of workload. I love teaching and working with kids but couldn't give a monkey's about grades, sub-levels and levels of progress, particularly as we no longer have clear guidelines. Knew where I was with nc levels - have no clue now.
I mark on an effort grade and the standard of their work in relation to their group - above, at, below. Works well .

BossWitch that's what's been on my mind a lot recently - I always saw teaching as a lifelong career for me but I can't see that happening, as much as I want it to. And although I know that I'd be fairly employable right now, I've no idea what else I'd want to do, if only for a few years.

mnistooaddictive no, I've never listened to those podcasts before - have come across them, but always been too busy. I've got much better at not reinventing the wheel, as I was making way too much new stuff last year, but will continue to work at that.

Helbelle I do wonder at what stage workload expectations are going to have to decrease - I would hope it would be sooner rather than later but really can't see it happening.

Teach First grooms you for leadership doesn't it?

So aim for a HOD role in a school which doesn't have these ludicrous and ill-evidenced expectations.

Op my bf is in his nqt year in secondary maths and finding it easier than last year and loving the new freedom, massively depends on the school, maybe consider changing that before quitting but it's hard to know which schools before starting! they implemented a new hmk method where every class does an exam q booklet with random topics in so will probably struggle with some topics not yet covered this year but are encouraged to go to maths club for help, that's marked over the weekend with scores for each question on a spreadsheet which is colour coded, Mondays lesson is going through the homework answers and the next week's hmk is to go over their 2 worst sections as highlighted on the spreadsheet by watching a set maths video and example questions, this is in books so a chance to tick and flick through the book every other weekend, hod is actively encouraging tick and flick no need to read it just check it's done, This saves so much time setting hmk, marking and one lesson planning per group per fortnight. This is an outstanding maths department who have quickly risen since being taken over, they really care about teachers time and I think bc of that there's so much positivity and the want to do well in the department. Also he only has 6 classes (5 proper ones plus maths help and 1to1 sessions) 7 seems like a full timetable? Although I guess you may have shorter lessons or less lessons per group?

Teach First grooms you for leadership doesn't it? teach first isn't FOR anything, it is just way of getting bodies into the classroom as a temporary stop gap. The clue is in the name, teach FIRST,-BEFORE you start your career, in whatever. Its supposed to give you life skills and boost your CV with real world experience, etc. It isn't expected to start people of onto a long term career in teaching, I think the commitment is only two years, so its just the same as anyone else doing a PGCE, except you have a bigger workload from the first day, and it is paid. Its the same as the old fashioned teacher licencing, in that respect, which stopped being used around 20 years ago.