Lots of discussion about NQTs about today.
In my opinion, this last term is where many students come into their own - everything starts to fall into place a little more and becomes easier. It means that they feel ready for taking on a classroom alone the following September. 1/

Myself and my Teach First trainee spent her whole review saying 'If we had had 6 more weeks, this would have been nailed.' It was really sad to think she didn't get those last few weeks to see her hard work pay off and it all come together. That being said... 2/

... she has also experienced something in her FIRST YEAR that has shook the profession to its core & seen the resilience, motivation and LOVE for the job that has been shown in the last few months. She's also risen to the challenge; working well with key worker bubbles and... 3/

... creating innovative tasks for students to do 'maths at home' and helped plan for next year.
So yes, her classroom experience was cut short. But I don't think this makes her any less QUALIFIED. She knows her role as a teacher is more than just her delivering maths lessons. 4/

It DOES mean that she has less experience of the 'traditional' classroom set up. But as a school we are working on a programme for our NQTs and RQTs that means they they will have extra suport next year; making sure they have a good mentor, a good spread of CPD available...5/

... and chances to see brilliant teaching, to learn from it. Being honest, having your own classes for the first time is daunting, even if you have the 'full' ITT year.
This has just given us the chance to boost our provision, and in some ways think about the ECF early. 6/

And let's face it, we have no idea when teaching is going to look 'traditional' again.
The next year or so is going to be a learning curve for us all. 2 hours in school yesterday showed me that I had forgotten what it was like - my brain was exhausted, but it was wonderful. 7/

So don't focus on the negatives - it doesn't help. Instead focus on the resilience they have already shown and create a brilliant programme for their development.
Our job is to make sure they are 'looked after' and help them to unlock the potential we saw when we hired them. 8/8