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Whether you're a permanent teacher, supply teacher or student teacher, you'll find others in the same situation on our Staffroom forum.

Original poster

Drama llama NQTs - a moan

34 replies

PastTheGin · 25/09/2019 18:05

Before you have a go: I know, I am probably turning into a grumpy old woman but this year’s NQTs are a bunch of drama llamas!

I usually smile and ignore when they know everything there is to know about teaching fresh out of uni and try to be kind and supportive. I was young and enthusiastic once ok a million years ago , too.

Our new intake, though, are different! They complain non stop about SLT, colleagues and students disrespecting them. They take absolutely everything personally. Not chatty enough with them in the staff room? You hate them!!
Nobody acknowledges their superhuman contribution to school life and nobody thanks them daily/hourly for their wonderful work.

I am mentoring one of them, as I have been for quite a while, but this year I am tired of it already. Toddler tantrums are easier to navigate than this fresh hell! Wine Wine Wine

OP posts:
lululup · 25/09/2019 18:06

Wow really? They sound very cheeky for a month in. My 2 are little mice in comparison.

SabineSchmetterling · 25/09/2019 18:10

Oh wow. That would drive me mad. I was NQT coordinator for a bit and that would have been my worst nightmare. Luckily ours were lovely.

Original poster
PastTheGin · 25/09/2019 19:27

I can deal with the usual NQT crises but spending an hour or more after school every day, saying things like “Maybe x didn’t say hello to you today was just x thinking of something else rather than their expression of disdain for you. Maybe hold off on telling the head about it.” is absolutely exhausting!

OP posts:
noblegiraffe · 25/09/2019 20:07

Why on earth are you giving up an hour after school every day?

Can’t you just say ‘look, in this job everyone is busy and harrassed and thinking of all the things they’ve got to do so they might sometimes be brusque or stressy or a bit blunt. We all understand this, and you need to too’.
And ‘if you take everything personally, you will never make it in teaching. You need to put on a concrete overcoat when you come into school’.

absopugginglutely · 25/09/2019 20:19

Maybe you’re too stressed for the job and need to hand it over to someone with a little more empathy?

Milkstick · 25/09/2019 21:18

Yikes. Can I blame social media? Coz I wanna.

Original poster
PastTheGin · 26/09/2019 06:40

A telling off from either side! Grin
Tells me I’m probably alright somewhere in the middle. Although I will put my foot down a bit on the time and energy drain and set a time limit on our chats.

OP posts:
LolaSmiles · 26/09/2019 16:32

Maybe you’re too stressed for the job and need to hand it over to someone with a little more empathy?
There's appropriate empathy and then being sucked on by emotional vampires (which I experienced one year) who take, take, take, offload, whine and so on but never stop to reflect. It's very draining and needs a big girl/boy pants conversation about what is reasonable friendly and professional support and what needs leaving at the door if they're going to survive and thrive in teaching.

monkeytennis97 · 26/09/2019 16:38

Agree with lolasmiles. Had many PGCE/NQTs who I thought weren't up to it over the years only to be passed by their unis and uni pressure to pass them too. Stopped doing it... all take for very little back. Not all students/nqts by a long way, some were fantastic but when you have a weak one they are so so draining!

TimeforanotherChange · 26/09/2019 21:50

Don't have an anxious NQT but I have a quite draining member of dept with about 5 years experience who is constantly getting indignant, stressed or dramatic about pointless shit that you need to let go. Big indignant at the moment is complaints about SLT letting in Y12s who are fairly weak. She keeps demanding "can't we refuse to have them? Do we get NO say?"

" No you fucking Muppet we can't. And no, we don't. It's about money". I'm getting tired of the naivety. Grow up and accept it.

TimeforanotherChange · 26/09/2019 21:51

Sorry...typing on phone!

DrMadelineMaxwell · 26/09/2019 21:56

I don't have an NQT. We don't have any in school at all - every member of staff has a minimum of 5 years experience. Most have 10 and quite a few have 15 or more (I'm 22 years in!)

What I do have is 2 a partner teacher and a yeargroup TA who are both just a couple of years from retirement and are quite obviously counting down. They also moan about SMT - which I'm part of, so that's fun!

CuckooCuckooClock · 28/09/2019 07:58

I’m surprised an nqt has time to worry about people smiling at them in the staff room. Our nqt is absolutely exhausted just delivering lessons

larrygrylls · 28/09/2019 08:08

Teaching is a funny profession in that the first couple of years are REALLY hard and then it gets a lot easier.

NQTs often do need a lot of support and some turn out to be brilliant teachers.However, arrogance is never acceptable.

And as for SLT, on average they are very poor managers. They are promoted because they are good at managing children and tend to use the same techniques on independent graduate adults, with predictable results. These include obviously fake ‘praise’ coupled with tips to improve, generally called passive aggression in the adult world and a ridiculous degree of micromanagement.

mnahmnah · 28/09/2019 08:11

Blimey! I usually have to deal more with the ‘know-it-all’ variety. Just last week I had an NQT, who had been teaching a grand total of 2 weeks, telling me how to deal with a particularly difficult student in my tutor group. I just need to ‘pump him up’ apparently because he’s ‘absolutely fine then’. Aaah, that’s where me and my fellow colleagues, all very experienced, have been going wrong for two years! He’s near suspension, with massive police and social services interventions, but we just need to pump him up! Brill. Thanks.

mnahmnah · 28/09/2019 08:13

*permanent exclusion rather, not suspension!

donquixotedelamancha · 28/09/2019 08:14

Maybe you’re too stressed for the job and need to hand it over to someone with a little more empathy?

I would have little empathy for an NQT who moaned that someone didn't smile or say hello, or who thought their contribution more important than others. There are many very valid challenges to being an NQT, but not this sillyness.

Getting on with colleagues and being independent are standards they have to meet. Being overly indulgent is not kind, in the long run.

mnahmnah · 28/09/2019 08:16

I do wonder if i’m one of the teachers giving funny looks to these NQTs in the staff room. This is only ever because i’m often gobsmacked by the clothes they think are appropriate for work as a teacher. They look like they’re going clubbing and have spent three hours in front of the mirror that morning. They are often very loud in the staff room, talking about inappropriate things in the setting, using inappropriate language. Other staff are never amused at this either. Is that the case with any of yours who are complaining about unfriendly colleagues?!

LolaSmiles · 28/09/2019 08:21

mnahmnah
I find those situations frustrating so just nod and smile.
I picked a class up from an NQT because they were struggling with behaviour and progress with that group. They then started giving me advice on how they had cracked some really tough characters.

Then for weeks after they'd keep asking how I was getting on with them. I don't want to play the sexism card but it did feel like "I'm a cool young male teacher who has banter, and you're a small, petite woman who doesn't raise her voice often so you couldn't possibly be able to have good classroom management over some naughty boys".

Queenofpi · 28/09/2019 09:24

It's not a new thing - we had one about 6 years ago. EVERYTHING was about her, she fell out with members of staff on a daily basis and despite not being her mentor (or even in her department!) I was the recipient of all her woes. It was so draining. Thank goodness she was only doing a maternity cover!
Definitely time limit the chats. And I'm sure you are not lacking in empathy or you wouldn't be in the mentor role in the first place.

worstofbothworlds · 28/09/2019 09:31

I am a lecturer so I had those NQTs about 18 months ago. They tend not to bring the "nobody smiled at me" to me but there is a lot of "but we were supposed to do this next week and we don't have everything for it yet" (yes, and it's not next week yet) and the clubbing gear and 3 hours makeup - funny how attendance at my 9 am lecture isn't that great.
But they are still a tiny bit scared of us. Maybe practice your forbidding look, and be grateful nobody's mum has come in yet (I've had that, 3rd year too!)

PlaymobilPirate · 28/09/2019 09:36

Ah - we have 2 this year. One is lovely. One is doing my head in... trying to tell teachers with 15+ years experience how she'd manage this that and the other differently. Her opening line is "when I'm teaching I...."

She's been teaching for precisely 4 weeks!

PlaymobilPirate · 28/09/2019 09:37

Oh and I'm not mentoring this year. I had to get rid of my student teacher last year as he did NOTHING. He was on a 26k bursary and read / wrote / prepped nothing despite encouragement and warnings. That scheme is terrible!

teddyneedsawash · 28/09/2019 09:46

And the TeachFirst participant and the incessant #whyiloveteaching. Spent a LOT of hours on a display this week. Came to me 2 minutes before picking up the class from the playground and said "PHSE - what did you do?" (there is a plan, on the shared drive). When I replied that I hadn't yet as I'm a lesson behind, moaned that he'd be told off for not being prepared...

mnahmnah · 28/09/2019 09:46

Yes - we should acknowledge that some of them are fabulous!