The RQT Thread (Recently Qualified Teachers)

Hi all! How's everyone feeling as we near the end of term?

Christmas madness has well and truly decended for me. 3 Christmas performances and a whole school trip to the local panto pretty much accounts for my entire week next week.

Somewhere in amongst all of that I need to try and get my class to do a piece of writing to use for assessment as well... Should be interesting... My literacy this term has been pretty rubbish if I'm honest. We do talk for writing and if I'm honest, the text I chose this time just didn't work for the purpose. It took an entire week and A LOT of teacher input for them to plan their own stories. Oh well, live and learn!

Reply 142

Christmas madness has not yet descended - got another week of trying to finish off assessments etc., then a week of keeping kids busy when they really just want it to be Christmas already.

We've already done Y7 reading and writing assessments and Y10 reading and listening mock exams. Now Y7 are working on a nice end-of-term project which is still proper work but a bit more creative.

Next week I've got Y8 Speaking assessments, Y9 writing assessments, Y10 writing assessments and Y11 reading and listening mock exams.

I'm also trying to get my Y11 FCSE candidates (7 lower ability pupils mixed into a class of 16, the remainder of whom are doing the GCSE course) through as many assessments as possible so they can be freed up for Maths and Enlgish intervention after Christmas (and stop disrupting everything for my GCSE candidates who have no chance of passing until this happens).

I've decided not to mark any more exercise books after this weekend. I've been putting too much pressure on myself with marking lately (last week I marked 2 sets of Y8, 2 sets of Y10 and 2 sets of Y11, plus 130 Y10 exam papers) and it's not doing me any good. On Sunday night/Monday I had symptoms of anxiety which I've never had before and it really freaked me out. So I've got 2 sets of books to mark this weekend, then that's it (other than assessments). I'm up to date with KS4 and will mark the KS3 ones (which have still been marked relatively recently) over the Christmas holidays.

Reply 143

Agree on marking - going to do some year 8 assessments tomorrow but no more this term. Had to give books back to SLT this week after 'not passing but not failing' their scrutiny. I think they've passed me this time but haven't had it confirmed.

Like you I think I experienced anxiety/mild depression this term because of marking and scrutiny. It sounds ridiculous but I've never ever felt so miserable. I felt like I'd worked so so hard to do my best for the pupils only to be told I wasn't good enough.

The pupils are manic at the minute. As a school we 'know behaviour dips' during these weeks but nothing is really put in place to deal with it. I'm really worried I'm not going to get through all the content for year 11 - we have 4 months to study a book and a play and some poetry before their GCSEs. Going to have to offer some after school revision so at least the eager pupils can get some additional content.

Apparently we fear Ofsted are coming this week as well which would be bloody horrendous. So tired right now.

I need the break to rest and plan ahead as I have no idea what I'm doing with some classes.

Reply 144

Original post by Steveluis10

Apparently we fear Ofsted are coming this week as well which would be bloody horrendous. So tired right now.

We're waiting too, but I've heard all the inspectors have been called to London for a massive training conference. We've been told my SLT that they'll likely not come until after Christmas now.

Reply 145

lantan

Not coping really. And crumbling. Caught yet another cold, feeling absolutely shattered and with no possibility of a day off as we are in assessments. :frown:

Reply 146

Carnationlilyrose

Original post by Steveluis10

I need the break to rest and plan ahead as I have no idea what I'm doing with some classes.

Original post by lantan

Not coping really. And crumbling. Caught yet another cold, feeling absolutely shattered and with no possibility of a day off as we are in assessments. :frown:

Wish I could do something other than say I understand and sympathise. :frown:

Reply 147

outlaw-torn

I'm not coping either really! Spending all my spare time either planning for A-Level which I'm still struggling with or marking y11 mocks. They only did the mock last Monday so it's not as if I'm slacking or anything.. Just want to get it done with!

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Reply 148

3 more get ups, folks!

Reply 149

lantan

Christmas concert done, the Assessment madness is on this week, I'm flat out.

Reply 150

Got all my main assessments done and most of them marked. Books are pretty up-to-date so I'm only taking Y8s home over Christmas.

Currently working like crazy with my Y11s because the weakest 7 pupils are finishing their FCSE portfolios then going elsewhere for extra English/Maths intervention after the holidays. It will be so so worth it to have just my GCSE candidates and no longer teaching 2 different courses in the same room at the same time, but its absolutely insane at the moment because they all have different assessments which they've missed (due to absence, truancy, behaviour incidents, etc.) so I'm having to put together personalised resources for each pupil to get them through. 2 more lessons to go!

With everyone else I'm now in Christmas mode. Did my first Christmas lessons today with the groups I only see once per week, then doing more tomorrow.

Reply 151

One more 'teaching day' for me. Friday is a half day and I'm not teaching any lessons.

I haven't marked anything in 2 weeks. After my book scrutiny for department and SLT I just couldn't face marking any more.

I'm going to take 2 sets of year 8 books, 2 sets of year 10 and then year 11 mocks to mark.

Lots of planning to be done as well.

As usual I'm going to have a solid 5 days at least of doing absolutely nothing then probably 3-5 days of on and off work.

We avoided Ofsted this term meaning we're now over a year overdue. I'm quite glad they didn't come in a way as I can ensure I'm more prepared for when I come back but it would also have been nice to get them out the way.

Reply 152

Original post by Steveluis10

Apparently Ofsted are really stretched thin at the moment because of all the inspectors they sacked a few months ago. So they've got a backlog of schools to work through and have to focus on the ones which are really doing badly.

We were expecting them to descend upon us immediately once the GCSE results were published (my school's first ever GCSE results as we only recently became an 11-16 school, and they were pretty poor) but somehow we've avoided them thus far. No doubt they'll be upon us before the end of the year but we seem to have had a few months reprieve.

Like you, I was thinking it would be pretty good for them to come quite early in the year when books are up-to-date etc. But from the school's perspective it's good to have more time to show we've responded to last year's shortcomings and taken action to improve things.

I've just got a TLR for coaching teachers who are struggling, to raise the standard of teaching and learning in the school, so am hoping to make some headway with that before they turn up.

Reply 153

All enjoying the break?

4 more days left.

I've managed to mark year 11 mocks and one set of year 8 books.

Planned year ten and 11 lessons as well as a year 7 scheme of work.

Still have another set of year 8 books and a set of year 10 to get through as well as data and Ofsted impending nonsense to get ready.

I remember this next half term being ok last year but the one after the February half term being possibly the worst one in terms of workload and running out of time.

Hoping jobs start to come up in the next couple of months.

Reply 154

I've had a lovely break and done absolutely no work whatsover. :smile:

This does mean I've got to pack it all into these last 4 days but I think it's totally worth it. I was starting to feel quite stressed and anxious towards the end of term (like a general sense of things not being right, even though I was reasonably on top of stuff) and I really needed this break.

I've deliberately not brought home a huge amount of marking (just a couple of sets of Y8 books) so my plan for the next few days is:

-trip admin (really need to get pairings for my exchange sorted so pupils can start emailing one another).
-mark 2 sets of books
-plan as many lessons as possible for the 1st week back
-tidy up the Y9 SoW for the next module, in light of when their exam week is this year and new styles of assessment now there's finally an approved specification for the new GCSE.
-update my folder of seating plans, data etc.

Reply 155

pgce2013

I have done no work at all - I have enjoyed the break :smile:

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Reply 156

Original post by pgce2013

I have done no work at all - I have enjoyed the break :smile:

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Same here! I have about 20 literacy books to mark, but they're all half marked already (getting better at whizzing round with my highlighters as they're working!).

I need to do all of my planning though as well. We're not back in until Tuesday though, and that's a training day that ends at 3, so I can leave some stuff to do on Tuesday afternoon.

We all deserve a break - well deserved after a long Autumn term!

Reply 157