You might return to work with a new haircut, shiny new stationery, and new expectations for yourself as an early career teacher. But whilst we reflect on areas of potential improvement, it’s important to do so in a way that stays true to yourself and your own teaching style.
We’ve rounded up some small pieces of advice directly from our Scholars. Some might resonate with you, and others might not (which is perfectly fine!) – the important thing is to consider other people’s advice through your own lens.
1. Ways to stay organised
“Don’t keep everything in your head,” Danny, a Year 6 Scholar, advises. “I use my planner constantly – my planner is my bible. For school duties, I make sure I log these on my phone so I have something that’s notifying me when I need to be somewhere.”
Lucy, who graduated from the programme in 2023, prefers not to use planners or apps. “Personally, I’m not really into using technology. I have a draft email open which I’m constantly editing to add to my to-do list.”
2. Don’t reinvent the wheel!
Though you might feel that you should be creating new learning assets for your lessons, this often isn’t necessary – and will only increase your current workload.
“Don’t do everything from scratch,” advised Jaden, who completed the FTS Programme last year. “Especially for maths and physics, there are so many resources online and in your department that other teachers have created that there’s almost never a lesson you’ll need to make from scratch.”
Recently, FTS launched its Teaching Complex Topics video series. This series features sessions devised and led by alumni Scholars on various complex topics in maths and physics, such as Particle Theory and Hypothesis Testing.
3. Setting achievable boundaries that you can follow
Whilst you have just returned from the summer break, we would advise you to try and (re-)establish consistent work/life boundaries as early in the academic year as possible.
“I try to do as little at home as possible,” commented Annie, a Scholar who completed the programme last year. “I prefer to stay a little longer at school. If I work too much in the evening, I don’t actually stop working – so I try to draw a line under my workload when I get home.”
4. Let the positive outweigh the negative
It’s crucial not to feel like a bad teacher after one bad lesson. FTS Programme Director, Nina Dhillon, previously gave this advice to Scholars:
“I think when the nights get darker, it’s easier to focus on the bad days rather than the good. So, what I would say is: be kind to yourself as [teaching] is not easy. Even on the bad days, remember the good ones and keep going.”
5. Don’t be shy about asking for help
Tia, who completed the programme in 2023, shared that the most useful piece of advice she received was to not be afraid to ask for help from other teachers.
“It took me a long time to take that advice,” Tia said, “but it is definitely beneficial going to any teacher and asking for help – about students, lessons, or your wellbeing.”
