If you have a student in your classroom (not mentoring) were you given additional time to help them plan etc?

[TrotEsio]

I have a first year student in my class (I'm not her mentor).

She has several tasks to do and some upcoming lesson planning that will require a lot of input from me.

I'm wondering whether it would be reasonable to expect time away from the classroom to assist her?

I'm an NQT in a single mixed form entry in a school with a new curriculum (non LEA) so I'm doing all planning independently from scratch and can't really afford to give up my own planning time.

I appreciate if she's teaching it'll be less for me to plan but the area she needs to plan for I have already done the MTP and mapped out learning and it would take me twice as long to explain to her what needs to be done than actually do in myself.

We also have x2 staff meetings a week and I run an after school club on another day, so not a lot of time after school.

[Jayblue]

I agree a day with an observation for you and then an observation for your student but with you leading the class doesn't sound great. However, this might be a good time to raise formally with the mentor and the uni tutor that you don't feel able to give the student the support she needs.

FWIW I agree she should be completing her own lesson plans- it's different if you say something needs to be changed or don't like what she's done, but she should really be coming to you with something, and it's certainly not your job to sit there and help her fill out the form.

If she is mainly attached to your class, I think it's fine to be really clear with your expectations to her. For example, at the start of this placement my mentor asked for all lesson plans 24 hours in advance, then she'd give me feedback and we could work on them together if she thought it was necessary. Now I've been in placement for a while, she mostly looks at them and says she thinks they are fine and sometimes suggests ideas or shows me a resource she thinks will be useful, but it doesn't usually take more than 15 minutes- she spends much more time giving me feedback.

I would suggest something like formally agreeing she sends you a plan 24 hours in advance, you will look over it and check it's ok and make suggestions, but you won't write the whole thing with her. If she wants further support in planning, suggest she asks her mentor for advice. If she's not happy, I'm sure she will raise it with someone, which gives you the ideal opportunity to explain about workload and tell people this isn't sustainable.

In the nicest way possible, if I was placed in a class with an NQT, I'd be complaining to my university, as I just don't think it would be the right environment for anyone.

[WhenIsTheEasyBit]

Can'tkeep is right, if the school is so small it needs an NQT to run a club, it is surprising that it can afford a deputy who doesn't have a class. The role of KS2 coordinator would usually be done by a class teacher, or perhaps an assistant head who shares a class.

However, none of that is your problem. Charitably, the school may have felt that giving you a student was being generous- an excellent student can indeed add value and give you more time for catching up, getting stuff done while they teach. But as you are finding, that is definitely not always the case and many students need a huge amount of support, which is time- and energy-consuming.

Are you having regular meetings with your mentor to discuss your induction? That would be the place to formally state that you are finding that the student is creating an intolerable additional workload and that you need to focus on the development of your own skills. You might say that you look forward to mentoring students when you have more experience yourself, but that you feel it is not appropriate now.

There must be another teacher who could take her, and it is far from unknown for a student to switch classes during a placement.

[TrotEsio]

No we're not part of a MAT, he's solely based at my school.

He's also SENCO and KS2 coordinator (I think).

[cantkeepawayforever]

Anon classroom-based deputy head in a very small school sounds like a very expensive luxury!

In the small schools I have worked in, everyone except the head has been classroom-based - so deputy if they exist, SENCo, subject co-ordinators etc - and in some cases the head has also had a teaching commitment, typically e.g. PPA cover. Or is this part of an academy chain or MAT where the deputy is essentially the 'local' head and the actual head covers more than 1 school so is mostly based elsewhere?

[TrotEsio]

My mentor doesn't have a class, he's the deputy head and is not classroom based.

Re the after school club, it's just something that is expected at the school. It's a very small school so all teachers (whether they're NQT, graduate or experienced) are expected to run a class and also be a subject lead.

[WhenIsTheEasyBit]

This is not on. And why are you doing an after school club?! This year should be about you consolidating your teaching skills, with support from a more experienced teacher. An hour supporting a student with her planning is a poor use of your time and therefore will have a negative impact on your class.

The student needs to be in your mentor's class.

[TrotEsio]

Excuse typos etc.

[TrotEsio]

Thank you all.

I need to vent...

It's not the easiest week, I spent almost an hour after my after school club today writing uni plan with student (pretty sure I never had help from mentor / class teacher doing these, we were expect to complete independently).

Tomorrow my mentor is observing me teach in the morning and then in the afternoon he and the students uni mentor will be observing student working with a small group but they'll be in for the duration of my lesson, which makes it feel like a double observation for me.

[WhenIsTheEasyBit]

I would speak to your local NQT coordinator (appropriate body). This is not a reasonable requirement for an NQT as it will not contribute to helping you evidence you meet the teachers' standards. Working with a TA employed by the school is one thing; an entirely unknown quantity of a trainee teacher is totally different. Plus, no offence, but she is also getting a raw deal as she should be learning from a fully qualified, experienced teacher.

[qumquat]

I've been a mentor a lot and never been given extra time for it. However as an NQT you shouldn't be put in the position of having to essentially do some of the mentoring for a student.

[apacketofcrisps]

If I was the trainee I would be complaining and asking to be moved if I was expected to be a free TA!

[TrotEsio]

Thank you all.

As the student has only been with me 2 weeks, I'm going to see what the workload is like once I'm expected to support her more before I decide whether to say something re extra time.

I don't know if her uni tutor is aware @Jayblue, it will be interesting to see if they have anything to say about it when they come in to observe her.

As a student, I would not have been too happy being placed with an NQT.

[Jayblue]

I'm training in secondary so it may be a bit different but I'm not supposed to be placed in a class with an NQT and ideally not with an NQT + 1.

The trainee should definitely not be being used to replace a TA, that is very unfair on her.

Is her university tutor aware of the situation and happy with it?

FWIW my class teachers who aren't my mentor don't spend that much time planning with me, although they usually check my plan before letting me lose with their class.

This doesn't sound like an ideal situation for her or you so I would be aiming to get it changed if you can.

[cantkeepawayforever]

I think, in your case, I would ask for extra time for the planning. It may not be the norm BUT you shouldn't have a student at all so you should ask for the extra time / additional support because of your own inexperience.

[TrotEsio]

The student and I have the same mentor.

The mentor has been actively meeting the student every week and I am not taking on any of his mentor duties.

However, the student has a long list of 'areas to discuss with your class teacher' that I need to go through with her each week, as well as discussing each area of the curriculum.

Over the next couple of weeks I'll be expected to help her plan using the ridiculously long uni planning template.

Yes, I have allocated NQT time in addition to PPA.

[cantkeepawayforever]

(I am anticipating, btw, that the student's mentor won't WANT to spend time with the student and is expecting you to do all of that. Your aim is to make then realise that this is unreasonable to expect an NQT to do it, and ensure that as much as possible of the burden is passed on to them.)

[cantkeepawayforever]

Are your NQT mentor and the student's mentor the same person, or a different one?

If they are different, you should probably ask your NQT mentor whether it is appropriate for you to have a student, and how they - your NQT mentor - can support you, as obviously you are not yet experienced enough to be coaching a trainee.

I would also suggest talking to the student's mentor, basically saying that, as you are an NQT, please could your mentor spend the time needed with the student to support them with their tasks and their planning. You could ask for this time to be mutual - ie that all 3 of you sit down together so that you can 'observe' and 'learn how to support a student effectively' and 'come up with solutions that both cover the absence of the TA while ensuring that the student gets the experienes that they need' - if you don't just want to say 'no'.

Just checking - you are getting your NQT time as well as normal PPA time as non contact already?

[TrotEsio]

I agree @PurpleDaisies.

Apart from EYs, mine is the only class with a TA so I assume that's why she's been placed in my class.

It seems it's not common practice for CTs to be given additional time, so I won't mention it to my mentor.

[Rosieposy4]

NQTs shouldn’t have students, no way will you get extra time to support her though.
She needs placing elsewhere

[noblegiraffe]

Eh? They’re taking away the TA of an NQT and replacing her with a student (and a beginning one at that) to supervise? What the hell is wrong with your school?

Some experienced teacher should be losing their TA and gaining a student, not the person least able to cope.

[PurpleDaisies]

I'll be losing my TA to the Y2 SATS so the student is there to 'cover' the TA.

That’s really not appropriate. The student is there to learn, not be a TA.

[Pieceofpurplesky]

I agree with Noble an NQT should not have a trainee in their class. As for time - as a class teacher or subject mentor in my school there is no extra time. Only the school mentor gets time.

[TrotEsio]

My mentor placed her in the class with me.

I'll be losing my TA to the Y2 SATS so the student is there to 'cover' the TA.

[thebookeatinggirl]

I've never been given extra planning time for having a student in my class. Years ago I used to get an additional one off payment, part of the money the school were given to support the student, but that never ever happens now. It has always been seen as part of my duties as a UPS teacher. Or it's seen as a tick in the box thing for someone about to apply for UPS. An NQT would never have a student in my school. You have enough to do sorting out your own practice, let alone supporting a student. That's no help though, I'm afraid.
What does your NQT mentor say?

[askingalways]

I agree with @noblegiraffe - I wouldn't allow it with my NQTs as it is an unnecessary additional burden on an already stressful workload.

It's not really appropriate for the student either in all honesty.