About to start teaching? Some tips

Hi all,

I completed my NQT year with everything all good, however I have left teaching now to start work in the private sector.

I decided to share some tips that will make your life easier if you are due to start working in teaching from this year.

1) Negotiate salary - never accept the first salary they give you. Negotiate higher (I was on close to 30k as an NQT). Schools will always offer you the lowest salary, therefore it is down to you to negotiate higher, especially if you are in maths/science.

2) Don't criticise how things are managed in the school, even to your own department colleagues - as a QTS/NQT you have pretty much no rights on the teaching ladder. Keep low and off the radar if you want to survive without problems. I have known 2 NQTs fail their NQT year under the "professional conduct" area. One of them was for criticising the lack of awareness on stabbings in the local area.

3) Make friends with your NUT rep - if sht does hit the fan then you will need your NUT rep to support you so it is best to get to know them early.

4) Never go to a meeting with SLT/Head without your NUT rep. So many problems could have been avoided had the NUT rep been at meetings with the teachers. Bring them along as they will prevent anything unfair being placed on you.

5) Never overwork - avoided taking on extra projects, even if you get told it is helpful for xyz teaching standard. Don't overwork as this can result in you becoming ill and once you start taking sick days off, it could put you on the radar.

If you follow through with those tips, you should be okay even in a tough school.

Feel free to ask any questions.

Hi all,

I completed my NQT year with everything all good, however I have left teaching now to start work in the private sector.

I decided to share some tips that will make your life easier if you are due to start working in teaching from this year.

1) Negotiate salary - never accept the first salary they give you. Negotiate higher (I was on close to 30k as an NQT). Schools will always offer you the lowest salary, therefore it is down to you to negotiate higher, especially if you are in maths/science.

2) Don't criticise how things are managed in the school, even to your own department colleagues - as a QTS/NQT you have pretty much no rights on the teaching ladder. Keep low and off the radar if you want to survive without problems. I have known 2 NQTs fail their NQT year under the "professional conduct" area. One of them was for criticising the lack of awareness on stabbings in the local area.

3) Make friends with your NUT rep - if sht does hit the fan then you will need your NUT rep to support you so it is best to get to know them early.

4) Never go to a meeting with SLT/Head without your NUT rep. So many problems could have been avoided had the NUT rep been at meetings with the teachers. Bring them along as they will prevent anything unfair being placed on you.

5) Never overwork - avoided taking on extra projects, even if you get told it is helpful for xyz teaching standard. Don't overwork as this can result in you becoming ill and once you start taking sick days off, it could put you on the radar.

If you follow through with those tips, you should be okay even in a tough school.

Feel free to ask any questions.

Great advice for those going from trainee to NQT or NQT to RQT.

My advice would is to be careful when negotiating salary. Whilst it is not uncommon to get away with really high starting salaries in the private sector, you risk the possibility of having a job offer withdrawn in the public sector.

I agree with keeping a low profile in your NQT year. Once you're an RQT, feel free to criticise but don't go all scattergun Having said that, it's really difficult to fire a teacher. Especially if you're in a union.

The last point is a great one too. You can always say no. I remember when I did my NQT year many moons ago. They wanted me to do a physics course in the same year alongside my normal teaching timetable. The answer was a no.

My advice for those going into an NQT position is to be consistent with behaviour management. It can be difficult, even for experienced teachers to do this. However, if you set your stall out properly, you are firm but fair, then most students should be okay for you. I remember a teacher from my training year telling me to say 13 positive things for every negative thing you say in the classroom. Positives as you greet students at the door are easy wins and I find they often set the tone of the lesson. Once you have behaviour management squared away, everything else seems to fall into place.

Just out of interest (and if you don't mind sharing), why have you left teaching?

This is all really great advice too. I've seen quite a few questions about behaviour management on the forum this year. As well as the "positive things" strategy, what else did you use? Would you mind sharing your subject as well, as I guess this can be relevant to behaviour management?

Sure! I'm a science teacher with chemistry specialisation. Practical subjects can often be the hardest to practice behaviour management due to what could be the war zone nature of the lesson.

Always be explicit with instructions. Don't just give them verbally, have them up on the board as well. Then students have no excuse for not knowing what to do. This includes using extension tasks. Your high achievers will finish first and with then either sit there doing nothing or will start to disrupt the rest of the class. Extension tasks are a good way of keeping them occupied.

Always follow through with threats. If you say you're going to do something, do it. I threatened to phone a student's parents this year and he told me that I didn't have the time to phone anyone. I told him to sit down and I phoned his parents in front of him. No problems with this student since. Harsh but effective.

Try and be happy! It can be difficult, especially with workloads but the students can sense that you're stressed and they'll play on it. Likewise, try not to be too abrupt. Keep shouting down to a minimum otherwise you'll have nothing to fall back on when the **** really does hit the fan. The more the students become acclimatised to your shouting the less effect it has, which is not good. There is a link with teacher positivity and focusing on positive things and good behaviour.

If you're in a practical subject, make sure you develop a strategy to get all the students to stop when you need them to. Make it clear why you might need them to stop. Make clear what behaviour you expect. For example, in science, safety glasses are used to protect your eyes, not your forehead - they're not a fashion accessory. Make examples of the student that do ignore safety related advice.

The death stare. Self-explanatory.

Always, always, always follow your school's behaviour policy. We live in a day and age where parents and students know the policy back to front, and if you get it wrong, you'll be in trouble. Be consistent with the policy - don't let students off here and then but follow the policy to the letter with others. You'll set yourself up to fail.

Above all, you need to make sure that the students know you're the teacher (even as a trainee), that it's your classroom (even as a trainee), and that you're in charge (even as a trainee). What you say goes. If students want to argue, invite them to take a step outside. Let them calm down and then invite them back in. If you ask the class to be quiet so that you can talk to the class - if they continue to talk, one of the best approaches is to not say anything further and to just stand there in silence. Eventually the class with shut up. When the last person shuts up, stand in silence and count to 30 in your head, then continue. It might seem daft but its quite effective and it shows you're in charge and you're not impressed.

Don't call students out as liars in front of a class when the challenge you for a behaviour related sanction. When they're in the corridor or class on their own however, all bets are off.

Most importantly, get to know your students! The more you understand them, the more you understand their behaviour.


There is so much more but this could go on forever! One last thing from me and from personal experience when I was a trainee:

Teaching assistants are great to have around. There are only 2 parts to the spectrum however. They are either worth their weight in gold or are complete sewage. Don't take any **** from them, even if you're a trainee. Schools are very hierarchical places. Teachers at all levels are above teaching assistants (I know that sounds snobby).

Do not let them try and run your classroom, do not let them try and tell you what to do in front of the class as this undermines your authority. Do not let them give instructions to the class or students when it contradicts one of your own instructions. If this happens, you either need to have a word with the teaching assistant in private or speak to your head of department. I have lost count of the amount of times I have had to reel in students because of something they have done under the instruction of a TA and in doing so, they have totally ignored my instruction. I have also lost count of the number of times I have had to speak to TAs about their conduct in my classroom. This is especially important for trainees as they try and find their place in a school. Don't let TAs walk all over you, you are in charge. That being said, don't ignore advice given to you by TAs as sometimes it can be very useful. Some of them know the students better than you.

Wow, thank you! This is all super useful advice. I'm going to be starting a Biology PGCE in September, so this is all really applicable to me. So much of this is so good.

Can I ask you a bit more about shouting? Some of the behaviour management advice I've seen seems to make it sound like shouting is the worst thing you can ever do. However, in my last job I worked with groups of children/teens in a non-school setting which had some inherent dangers and occasionally I would have to shout because it can be the only way to get someone's attention. I can see this also being the case in a school science lab- which sounds a bit like how you might use shouting/a raised voice. I can see why you want to keep it to a minimum but I'm guessing in a potentially dangerous situation you would always shout if you felt it was needed?

Not so behaviour related, but I've also read/heard a lot about gender differences in science classrooms- that often girls will observe/record while boys do the actual practical work. Have you seen this as well? Do you use any strategies to combat it?

No problem!

Shouting isn't the worst thing you can ever do, and I'm sceptical of the teachers who tell me that they've never shouted. It's part of the job and has to be done. It's a control mechanism to assert your dominance and authority over the students. Whilst I agree it should be used as a last resort, we are human and we do lose our temper. I've reeled in full classes numerous times and had them working in silence. Sometimes shouting is the only way to get a students attention - particularly in situations where their behaviour is dangerous. Very applicable in the lab.

In terms of science, I think it's best to demo any practical before getting the students to do it. Particularly with the younger students, and mid to low sets. Top set students you can usually set them off and they'll be fine. That way there can be no illusions as to what the students should be doing and anyone that is doing other than what you have shown is clearly in the wrong. It's harder to sanction students when they had no idea what to do in the first place and as a trainee, you'll definitely get picked up on that.

Depends on what they're doing that's dangerous. You may have to step in and pull them away, even if your school has a non-contact policy. You should always refer these incidents to the relevant member of SLT.

I haven't noticed this. In fact from what I've seen, girls are just as enthusiastic to get involved as the boys. You'll tend to find that the girls will just get on with it as well whereas the boys will piss around. You can either let student chose their own groups and you put them in groups. The latter is harder to do and takes up a lot of time. A good seating plan will sort that out. Work with the person sitting to your right etc. Make sure you walk the classroom to keep on top of the students and give them frequent reminders about the amount of time left. You can embed timers onto your powerpoints so students can see this and keeps up the pace.

Most teachers will either struggle with pitch or pace during their training year. Pitch is easier to fix than pace. Problems with pace can be because of behaviour issues, not timing tasks/activities correctly and general other unaccounted problems. Pitch is solved by knowing your kids and differentiating appropriately. I generally teach to the top and differentiate down with my worksheets and by providing roving support while they are working. My top ability kids sit at the back of the room and the weaker students towards the front. You could also arrange them so that they are sitting high-med-low-med-high and so on and have a rule in your classroom where if they students get stuck, the first read the task and info again, then ask the person sitting next to them, then they ask the teacher.

This is all really great advice too. I've seen quite a few questions about behaviour management on the forum this year. As well as the "positive things" strategy, what else did you use? Would you mind sharing your subject as well, as I guess this can be relevant to behaviour management?

I have had a few behaviour problems this year. The thing that occurred to me near the end of my NQT year was that behaviour comes first, then teaching. Without good behaviour, there can be no teaching. I was doing it the other way round and my management style was of the "Please stop interrupting the lesson I spent ages planning..."

I am looking forward to September when I can set out my stall. We have a good behaviour policy that I intend to stick to but I am going to make it very clear what my expectations are and the students need to understand that if common sense does not prevail they could see themselves sanctioned without any warnings.

Good luck!

Not setting them out formally lets you keep it fluid and the students will be constantly wary of your boundaries so to speak. I always encourage my trainee's to jump straight in without setting their expectations formally and to just use the school behaviour policy firmly.

Hi all,

I completed my NQT year with everything all good, however I have left teaching now to start work in the private sector.

Feel free to ask any questions.

This is all so useful, thank you!

I will try and bare all of this in mind when I start my placements

I have had a few behaviour problems this year. The thing that occurred to me near the end of my NQT year was that behaviour comes first, then teaching. Without good behaviour, there can be no teaching. I was doing it the other way round and my management style was of the "Please stop interrupting the lesson I spent ages planning..."

I am looking forward to September when I can set out my stall. We have a good behaviour policy that I intend to stick to but I am going to make it very clear what my expectations are and the students need to understand that if common sense does not prevail they could see themselves sanctioned without any warnings.

Good luck!

Please don't - most of it is terrible advice.

I think this is the worst post I have ever read. You do one year of teaching and you think you are an expert?!

I'm glad you did not apply to my department. For example, there is more than one union and so many things you say are dubious advice,

Well perhaps you could also share some advice?

Do you teach secondary science as well?

I teach Maths ... a lot of advice needs to be individual, subject or school specific. Part of my senior role is working with struggling teachers in other schools as well as my own; there is not one common 'fix'.

Please don't - most of it is terrible advice.

Please enlighten me to the parts of the teaching experience and the plate spinning I’ve posted to be bad advice? There are many ways to manage a classroom and some of what I have posted are very valid methods.