Teacher training year...

[reassureme7600]

Can anyone reassure me that it gets easier? 8 weeks in and I'm having so many doubts, feeling stressed already and I'm only doing starters at the moment!

[noblegiraffe]

Not really, tbh. It gets easier in about 3 years?

[Sewingbea]

It gets easier but it never gets anywhere approaching easy....

[missmapp]

Have you spoken to your mentor ? Talk about your worries. When you say things out loud and break them down, things can seem a lot less overwhelming

[fedup21]

I agree with Noble-3 years.

Pgce is hard. NQT is harder and the year after that is the worst. Then it slowly improved for me for a fair few years. Then, well....Gove.

[monkeysox]

Fedup21 hit nail on head.
Gtp was hard. Nqt was more of same.
Couple years later gove stuck his boots in

[Ounce]

Nah, it doesn't get easier really. You just learn to care less.

[Sotiredofthislife]

It is tough at the beginning. After a few years, you’re teaching the same thing again so you know you have go-to resources as a starting point for planning as opposed to no resources at all. Life is easier if you work where people routinely plan together and share resources. 3 years is a turning point, by year 5 I would say I knew what I was doing and then my life went to pot so I shifted to supply.

[likeafishneedsabike]

Hi @reassureme7600 are you training primary or secondary?

[ValancyRedfern]

I definitely gets easier! I cried nearly every night when I was training. It did take me three years for the nerves to wain and my confidence to build. Now it's like riding a bike. (Still stressful school politics stuff, but the classroom is great).

[SansaSnark]

What aspects are you struggling with? Some stuff does get easier (e.g. having the confidence and skillset to deal with certain situations). But my PGCE definitely got harder before things got better- the spring term was the worst for me.

I'm an NQT now, and I'm finding some aspects of that easier, but other aspects harder.

I'd second the suggestion to talk to your mentor, or else chat to your uni tutor- they will be better placed to tell you if what you're feeling is normal!

[BelleSausage]

It does get easier.

Part of that is that you are taught in training to be reflective. And while that is important, it is easy to be too hard on yourself. It takes a while to have the confidence that you’re doing the right thing.

[fedup21]

Agree with the reflective comment. You are almost taught to pull apart everything you do which can lead to torturing yourself over your practice.

I don’t actually think it is necessary or helpful!

[zgaze]

I did School Direct last year - low point was November but it got easier, I loved the rest of it. The end couple of weeks is quite pressured making sure your paperwork is complete before final assessment and grading, so my advice from the other side is to force yourself to stay on top of it as much as you possibly can. I had my own class from day 1 so it was a huge learning curve but that does force you into being a competent teacher quickly, I think. I’m finding the NQT year a breeze after last year - so much less paperwork!

[Hattie78]

It does get easier. I'm 19 years in the job now and I remember the first few years being really tough. Hang in there.

[fedup21]

It does get easier. I'm 19 years in the job now and I remember the first few years being really tough. Hang in there

Hmmm, though stats suggest most people don’t hang in there. I am 21 years in and wish I’d chosen a different career.

[Joopy]

It does get easier! What are you having problems with? What subject are you?

[LolaSmiles]

I does get easier but easier over time in different ways

Training year:
Tends to get easier into your summer term as you've still got mentors, a lighter timetable, but you feel more like a "real teacher"

NQT
Feels like you've gone 10 steps backwards from the summer of your training year as you're on an NQT timetable, on your own so to speak and your mentor (whilst a place of support) is very different to the training year mentor set up.
You tend to feel a bit more at home in the classroom and lesson planning is easier, but that's offset with the fact that you're on your own with data and admin etc.

NQT +1
Is easier than NQT because you've found your style, are more established in the school and you can start to reuse planning. It's harder because you're on a proper teacher timetable with 3 PPA a week.

NQT+2
You're still on the normal timetable but you're more in the swing of things. At this point it starts to get easier.
Caution is needed here as some schools will start suggesting you pick up extra bits here and there. Beware of people passing their stuff down to you.


Everyone is different though. I think I started to feel more confident and settled as a teacher in my 3rd year whilst being very much aware I had lots to learn.

[Rathkelter]

Lesson planning takes ages for the first few years. When you get quicker at that, life is easier. But usually by that point you'll have been pushed into some kind of responsibility role so any free time you create by planning less is sucked away in an abyss of admin!