Thousands of Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) will be spending a hot and uncomfortable summer wondering what awaits them in June, when school starts. New job, new environment – their unease will increase day by day! The first months in a new job as a teacher can be very tiring and especially so for the newly qualified teacher.  Working in an unfamiliar environment they will have the huge task of getting to know their new colleagues and their students.

The key to being successful and easing the stress is to get to know your environment before the beginning of the term. Go into the new school and talk to the Principal, if you are able to. Sit in the library and look around and observe what resources are at your fingertips. Meet the Head of Department, if at all possible and discuss the demands of the school day. Talk to any teachers who might be on the campus during the holiday. The school should provide you with information before you start.  This might include the staff handbook, class lists, the school’s development plan, timetable details, information about the resources which are used and copies of the school curriculum which you will be teaching.  Look at homework policies, and rules/conditions about tutoring after school. 

In the first week you need to get to know your students. Names are always the biggest hurdle.  You will not be able to learn all the children’s names in the first day, so give yourself a few goals for the first week.  Make and impose seating plans for all your classes. This will help you get to know the names of the children. Listen to how the child pronounces his/her name and say it the way the child says it. Aim to cement a few names into your mind each day.  A good way to do this is through some memory game that you play yourself; either by the position of the child in the class, or some trait that they display.  If you make a mistake with a child’s name, apologise and laugh at yourself, children like that.

Take time to read the school records and get to know the students, before you enter the class.  Ask relevant staff if there are any specific pieces of information that you need to have about the students. Have any of the children Learning Difficulties, or have some children behaviour problems that you need to be aware of?  Ask about medical conditions. Remember school policies for the talented and gifted children. Ask about discipline in the school and what methods are used to instil good behaviour.

Make sure you know where to leave your personal belongings. You will most probably be given a locker, lockable drawer or a secure area in the staffroom. Do not rely completely on the resources of the school, take in plenty of your own resources like pens, pencils, tissues, and notepads.  You need to have a book which will act as your lesson planner. Most schools will provide a lesson planner for your needs, however have your own personal records in which you write down relevant information. Make a note of anything you are not sure of in the first few days and get these doubts clarified. Post-it notes, which you stick on books are a great memory aid.   
 
Mentally you need to be prepared for stress. You are in a new place, with new colleagues, doing a new job and the children can be very unforgiving and watchful for your mistakes.  Remember that children in a class will try and take advantage of someone new to their school and you must expect them to ‘try it on’, so beware!
My final words of encouragement for NQT’s is to not be afraid to ask for help from more experienced teachers. Try to observe an experienced colleague teaching – this gives you ideas for positive modelling. Have a look at all the resources in the school; this will prevent wasting time making or buying something which is already in the school. Keep a personal notebook and enter notes about individual pupils.  This helps when the time comes to write reports on the children, or for meeting parents.

On the subject of reports and parent meetings, do try to be constructive in your comments. Obviously, you cannot be positive about every aspect of a child’s work, but remember, this is their ‘golden child’ and they want to hear good things. Seek advice from your experienced colleagues; there are ways to write reports of even the worst children that will make them look better than they are!

Teaching is a wonderful, fulfilling profession, but remember, careful preparation is the secret of success.

ASK FOR HELP 

Help is always available in schools.  NQT’s need to appreciate that asking for help is not admitting that they have failed. Start with other teachers in the department or those working alongside you. Remember you are not alone in your problems – other teachers do not lead perfect lives. They also experience problems and stress. Remember a problem shared is a problem lessened.

Making a mistake is common; however, making the same mistake over and over again is foolishness!  Learn from your mistakes; take small steps and focus on making changes a little at a time. Gradually the little pieces will fit together like a jigsaw and you will see change in the way you approach the job.


Reflection

When your lessons go well, applaud yourself.  You will know when your lessons are a success. You will probably be alone with your sense of satisfaction.  Others will not necessarily celebrate with you. 

All teachers, but especially newly qualified teachers, need to think about their successes and acknowledge their failures. This is called Reflection.  A lot of teachers think that Reflection is about reflecting on the children’s work, it is not, it is about reflecting on your own performance. 

Reflection is more than thinking hard about what you do.  Reflection is a state of doubt, followed by the act of searching for a solution to resolve the doubt.  It is far more than thinking hard, what to do; it is about looking deeper into a situation and finding solutions to resolve difficulties. Collaboration with other teachers about reflection will enable NQT’s to clarify areas of difficulty. Reflection requires the teacher to analyse and prioritise issues and develop a plan of action to deal with the issue.  Reflection is not about a single event during school hours, it is a developing state which needs to start from the moment a teacher walks into the classroom.


Establish your authority

One of the biggest mistakes that teachers make is to try to make friends with the children; you are not there for this purpose. There is nothing wrong in being nice to children, but overstepping the boundary between professionalism and friendship is a grave mistake. The children will become too familiar with you and over step the rules that you laid down. The problem here is that the children will have got to know that you are a very nice person so they will expect you to continue like this, even if you have to reprimand them. You need to establish your authority over your class – if the children cooperate then you can relax, but always be on your guard.  Do not create an image that you are a weak teacher and easily influenced.  Be firm but fair, children respect a teacher who is like that because they know where they stand.

Some strategies to deal with behaviour problems might be as follows:

* A points system, where children get a mark out of three every day, based on their behaviour. 
* Other ideas are giving the child three choices:
* Return to the task, 
* Do the task later, or
* Leave the classroom.  
* Involve the child in their own behaviour management. Do not let the child see you getting stressed. 
*Keep smiling positively at all times. Give them the choice and see what happens.

Plan

The first rule of the NQT is to PLAN.  Without a plan, the children will plan for you! If you want a group of children planning for you and making choices for you, that’s fine, however, it is also the recipe for disaster.  If you do not plan, your lessons will be from hell. You need to reduce the risk of disaster by planning what you are going to do ahead of time. The plan needs to include all the details of your lesson, including classroom management for disruptive behaviour.

From the beginning, establish yourself.  Lay down your rules. If you accept bad behaviour then you will get nothing but bad behaviour. If you have low expectations of the children, that is what you will get. If you demand a certain type of behaviour from Day One and challenge anything else, then you are in control. Take charge and decide what routines are to be followed.  Give out YOUR rules and tell the children this is what they live by.  Do not let the children dictate to you. Getting this established at the beginning makes the start a great deal easier.  If you make a threat of punishment, do not back down, always carry it through. Try to stay cool in a situation; take a few moments to compose yourself.  An agitated, angry, frustrated teacher is one the children will love to play up with.

Manage your time

Be particularly wary of time and management in the first term. Do not be afraid to say ‘no’ when asked to do something you have not the time for. Never leave the staff room without a spare board marker, spare pencils and pens. 

Always have a range of photocopied material ready in the form of puzzles and work sheets in case you are asked to cover for a class with three minutes notice!

The first year of a NQT is all about finding out and making sure. This means finding information before-hand, which makes your life a lot easier.  It also enables the other members of staff to regard you as a teacher who is prepared and willing to ask for information.

Never leave things to the last moment, because the chances are that you will get side tracked and your planning will not be effective. Ensure that all your work is planned and organised, this will guarantee your success and enable you to be confident about where you are going.