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Tomorrow means the last week in my first school! The past 2 years have been amazing & I feel so grateful for the ITT&NQT experience I’ve had - thanks @TeachFirstNE! Here’s 5 things that helped me in case you are just about to start, or about to welcome ITT/NQT to your dept! (1/6)
1. Weekly mentor meetings with a supportive & inspiring mentor! Having an hour each week protected to ensure we could both sit & talk through feedback etc made a huge difference to me. Communication is key & the only way to do that is to ensure communication is possible (2/6)
2. Read & Research! So many ideas/strategies will be thrown at you and while it’s best to give them all a go & see what works for you, it’s important to see what else is out there. Get on Twitter & follow some great people, read their books & experiment with their strategies(3/6)
3. Observe & Visit! See as many lessons as you can and take a positive from each one. Choose something to trial yourself. Visit other schools/depts where possible, it’s important to remember that your school isn’t the way all schools work (& it’s a great way to steal ideas)(4/6)
4. Time! Don’t allow yourself to be stretched too thinly. If you commit to too many things, everything will suffer. The only way to make your students a priority is to make yourself a priority first. Self-discipline is important & do not let anyone make you feel bad for it(5/6)
5. Build a network! Teaching is such a small world and you never know when those connections will be needed. Stay in touch with other trainees, use them as your support network. Whatever you are feeling, someone else will have felt it before!
