What I wish I knew as an NQT/ECT

What I wish I knew with Richard Sutton-Smith

"Teaching is a great and noble profession and the sheer joy of changing lives and getting children to believe in themselves is magic. Great teachers are alchemists and have the power to turn something normal into gold."

So says Richard Sutton-Smith. And he should know. He's had six primary headships, was a national leader of education and set up one of the first Teaching School Alliances in the country. He was, briefly, an Ofsted inspector but hated it, and he was also head of school improvement for a local authority. He speaks with authority and passion about his lifetime in education. It's compelling listening.

In this podcast we discuss …

• How leaders have to empower staff to try things out without fear of failure and how this is particularly important for inexperienced teachers, because you don’t get greatness in anything without letting people fail.
• The importance of balance between very exciting learning experiences and the more mundane practice of knowledge and skills that are also essential for great learning.
• Having to chase a runaway child across a building site with the school's headteacher (who was wearing his brand new blue, wool suit) and having to rescue him from the muddiest of puddles during the chase.
• Having a conversation with the deputy head in his first year of teaching about planning. She told Richard she thought she could teach his class for 2 days without doing any planning and still provide great learning opportunities for his children. Then she said ... "But you can’t Richard, and I would like to say that your planning is what we call in education a bit crap!"
• What answer you should and should not give if you are ever called in to the Headteacher’s office during your training.
• QUARK. Not a secret sect, but the key elements for teaching effective lessons.
• The importance of having an agreed approach for working with parents, especially those who may be upset or annoyed, so teachers are absolutely clear about how to conduct the discussion.
• How the burdensome scrutineers (Ofsted) create a tyranny of orthodoxy that schools feel compelled to follow and how striving for an outstanding grade leads schools to try to get everything in for Ofsted, whether it matters or not.
• When Richard inspected a school in a hugely deprived area and the lead inspector told him before going in that the school had special measures written all over it, which was the judgement she reached. During the inspection one child told Richard that, “This school tells you that you can be anything you want to be. This school is an opportunity school.” Sadly, the children’s views were not taken into account. It was his last inspection.
• Always having a beginners mind. The search is the point, the flailing around is the point, the process is the point. So taking time to learn to become a great teacher is the point.
• Find a school that supports your aspirations, beliefs, ethos and culture. When you find it, buy in to it, commit to it and add to it. If your current school is not a good fit, look for another because there are plenty of schools around where alchemy is going on, so find the right one for you.

Happy Christmas everyone! Thanks for listening. See you in 2022.

What I wish I knew in 1952 as an NQT with Jean Crook

Jean Crook is 90 years old. Can you learn much about teaching today from a 90 year old? You sure can! If you were a great teacher in any era you would be great today and Jean was as good as anyone. And don't think that I'm biased because she's my mother, no not at all. When former pupils from 50 years ago are still visiting her and taking her out to lunch you know she was a special teacher and in this podcast she shares some of her great wisdom from the early years of her career.

In this podcast we talk about ...

• How Jean loved the relationships she formed with pupils and staff, and still meets them decades later.
• The challenge of teaching practice with ferocious lecturers looking for faults and every mistake she made and then being super critical of what she had done.
• Taking white rabbits and frogs on the London underground when teaching science lessons and how entranced the children were to see these living things, even though they were jumping all over the classroom!
• The difficulty of teaching PE when the children throw all the balls over the playground railings into the road.
• Working with vulnerable children, including those who sit under the table and won't come out.
• How you get yourself out of a tricky situation when you have forgotten that you have to teach a music lesson so you have to make it up on the spot and to your surprise the children love it!
• When a lecturer criticised a lesson and said she would show Jean how to do it. Unfortunately, when the lecturer taught the lesson the children went wild and locked themselves in the toilets and the Headmistress had to save the day!
• The importance of pacing yourself as not every lesson every day can be high energy. As long as the children are learning, good enough is definitely good enough, so don't be concerned when lessons don't always go as planned.
• How creative teaching can provide excellent opportunities for developing children's English skills and can even lead to a whole school musical, as it did with 'The Poisoned Apple'.
• Having a final Ofsted observation at age 78 and enthralling the inspector so much with the song 'Great Balls of Fire' that she demanded an encore so she could join in.
• The importance of taking your time to learn your job. Be enthusiastic, work hard and keep trying and you will become a very effective teacher.

You can connect with Jean on Facebook - Jean Crook | Facebook

What I wish I knew with ECT Hannah Darvill

Hannah is just 3 months into her teaching career and is still smiling ... alot. She always enjoyed school and had the pleasure of being taught by some really great teachers who inspired her immensely. She grew up with a mum for a teacher and so was surrounded by all things educational! Although she got fed up of the school environment in the 6th form and decided she didn’t want to be a teacher anymore, when she was away from it she missed it and this reignited her passion to follow teaching as a career.

In this podcast we discuss ...

• the importance of not letting the bad days get you down. All teachers have bad days and that is OK - it really is OK. Children will still be learning and so will you be as each day teaches you something new and useful.
• the new ECT framework is both good and bad and needs tweaking. It can be overwhelming so make sure you pick out the good bits and ignore what is unhelpful, like being told to learn the children's names!
• being a beginner and being comfortable with that. Everyone is a beginner whenever they do something new so accept it and embrace it, then you will get the most out of each experience.
• the picture of perfection that teachers have for each lesson they teach.  You will rarely achieve perfection but you will still be doing a good job. So focus on all the positive aspects, including how the children are progressing, and feel proud of each achievement.
• just how essential it is to have consistent expectations every minute of every day if you want to make the most of every moment in class. This makes more difference than anything else.
• the need to end flapping and the value of developing a legendary line.
• the value of creating a group of 'go to' people who can advise and support you as you go through your ECT year.
• taking time for yourself is not  optional it is a must. It is easy to have a never ending to do list as there is always more you can do, so you must know when to stop. Pick your going home time, prioritise what needs doing for the next day, and leave on time.
• Ofsted is a stressful time, even for an ECT, but it is great to see how everyone comes together and works for a common goal to show off the great things the school does.
• why you have to believe that you can do a great job at the start of your career and know that you will only get better and better as you gain more experience.

You can connect with Hannah on Twitter @primaryhannah 

What I wish I knew with Alastair Heath-Robinson

Alastair is the most positive person you will ever meet and in this podcast he shares the most important things he has learnt from his own teaching and from training hundreds of new teachers.

He has had a varied career since university that has taken him from car insurance, into primary schools, then to being head of IT in a college, then back to primary, including 2 headships, and now he is the Director of the Colchester Teacher Training Consortium.

He's one talented man and he loves talking even more than I do!

In this podcast we talk about ...

• the importance of remaining positive and seeing the best in everything you can. 
• how children have an infectious enthusiasm and a hunger to learn and how facilitating this is such an honour.
• why it matters that you understand the children you are working with, including their cultural heritage.
• how much easier behaviour management becomes when you have a genuine, trusting relationship with the children you teach and why finding something to like in every child will reduce, even remove, behaviour issues.
• the surprise of finding that the fantastic ideas you got at lectures didn't work in class quite as you had planned as you didn't have the skills to implement them.
• the stamina needed to teach for a whole day when you are trying to inspire children in every lesson.
• how you react when a child tells you he was late because his mum couldn't find the f...ing car keys!
• the importance of finding structures and strategies that save you time when planning and preparing.
• keeping 3 things in your mind when planning - what to recap, what the new learning is, and what are you going to get children to practice or apply.
• having a 5:1 ratio of positive to negative comments. And how this positive class ethos affects everything that happens in school and with the parents.

You can connect with Alistair on:

Twitter @colchesterttc 

What I wish I knew with Clare Armstrong-Morris

Clare still believes that teaching is the best job in the world, even though it is tiring and demanding. When you listen to Clare speak about teaching you will recognise why she loves it so much and also why she is such a great example of an outstanding teacher. If I had to go back to school then I would want Clare to be my teacher; she is an inspiration!

In this podcast we talk about ...

• How speaking on the podcast was more scary than cage diving with sharks! Really?
• Why children come to school looking forward to seeing their teacher more than anything else.
• Just how important it is to know the children you teach very well so you can get the very best from them.
• How children can be extremely supportive of you as a teacher as long as you are open and honest with them.
• The challenges of supporting a child whose parent has died. I think this part of the podcast is essential listening for all teachers of traumatised children as Clare's insight for how to support a child in this situation is inspiring.
• Creating a foundation of laughter in a classroom helps to build respect.
• The fact that butter comes from butterflies and the Titanic should not have sunk because it was being filmed as it happened, so the Captain could have been warned about the iceberg!
• If you can capture children's intrinsic motivation then children will switch on, skip through the door and eagerly await what the day brings.
• Why you must not overload yourself in your first year even though there is so much to get involved in that is so exciting.
• How you need to learn quickly that assessment is based on what children do in class every day; it is not just what they do in a one off test or in an end of unit assessment. Plus it is much more than just making academic judgements.
• The importance of knowing where the glue sticks are.
• Teachers are superheroes, yes they really are!

You can connect with Clare on Twitter @clarepmorris.

 

NQT/ECT top 5 tips with Andy Taylor aka @MrTs_NQTs

We've already had education royalty on the podcast (aka Maria Rumsey). Well now we have an icon of the online education world, Andy Taylor. And why is he a star? It's not just because he has more than 28,000 followers on Twitter (@MrTs_NQTs) but because he is arguably the most generous tweeter there is. He freely offers endless advice, support and guidance to everyone who needs it as they take their first steps as teachers. The education world, indeed the world in general, would be a better place if there were more folk like Andy.

In this podcast we talk about ...

• Day 1 of his teaching career when the Ofsted brown envelope was brought into the staffroom by the headteacher.
• The Ofsted visit came and went, but an inspector with great humanity recognised that Andy was going to make his mark, and a big one at that, in the educational world. See, inspectors can be right in their judgements.
• How teachers make a difference to the lives of many people, so be proud of what you do and don't take for granted the impact you have.
• The importance of being positive about being a teacher and trying not to moan as it depresses you and those around you.
• What to say to a student who asks you on a cold winter's day, "Do you like my muff?" whilst warming her hands in her furry fashion accessory as her mother watched on laughing.
• The value of developing social capital with parents and the local community; it's well worth the effort.
• Little moments becoming significant when you do the right thing at the right time over and over again to make sure that everyone (students and colleagues) can achieve as much as they can.
• Being good enough. Do not pressurise yourself to be the finished article immediately as no-one ever achieves that in teaching, and never doubt your ability to do the job.
• Knowing the expectations people have of you and the ones you have for them. As an ECT you do not need a folder of evidence - your day to day work is enough to prove what you do.
• Looking after yourself at all times. Teaching will take what you give to it and there is always something else you could be doing, so you have to learn when to stop. You must prioritise replenishing yourself, as you can't pour from an empty cup.
• Building relationships ... with everyone ... endlessly.
• Seeking support when you need it. There is so much available in schools but you've got to ask for it, so don't be afraid to do that.

You can connect with Andy on ...

Twitter @MrTs_NQTs 

What I wish I knew with Amy Jeffree

Did Amy always want to be a teacher? No. She did a degree in Fine Art with Art History and thought about going into museum and gallery education. But after university she volunteered in a school, the teaching bug bit, the classroom beckoned, and 6 years later she is still teaching and absolutely loving every minute of it ... well almost every minute.

In this podcast we talk about ...

• How training to teach was a baptism of fire but so enjoyable.
• The cyclical nature of schools means each year is highly motivating as there is always a new challenge.
• Why finding a school that matches your personality enables you to be the teacher you want to be.
• Setting up your classroom at the start of the year and getting the tables in just the right places is not easy!
• Winging it isn't a bad thing, it shows that you have developed into a confident, knowledgeable teacher and it is a key component of reducing workload as you become more experienced.
• What do you do when the hamster has escaped! Should I tell the Headteacher?
• The importance of coping with feelings of being overwhelmed not just accepting them as part of the job.
• How much credibility you gain with the children when you let a tarantula crawl on your head!
• Why creative chaos is not really chaos at all but essential for productive learning.
• The value of learning alongside the children when working in areas where they may have more knowledge than you, such as using certain Apps in computing.
• Realising every teacher has insecurities even if they don't show them and how essential it is to discuss yours with someone you trust who works in a school setting.

What I wish I knew - SEND with Nicky and Rachael

In this podcast I am talking to 2 SENCOs.

Nicky Vangalis qualified in 2008, teaching first of all in Basildon and then returning home to Southend in 2012. While EAL lead she took every opportunity to increase her knowledge of SEND and became school SENCO in 2018. She has achieved many other things, including being EAL and MFL lecture for the Thames SCITT and writing various articles for The EAL Journal. 

Rachael Marlow had a big decision to make. Houses of Parliament or school? School every time was Rachael's decision as children are much more interesting than MPs. After a quick trip to Costa Rica for 3 months, Rachael returned to England and started her SCITT training. She spent 5 years as a class teacher, then became a SENCo, an Assistant Head and Early Years Leader before deciding to focus full time on SEN in her school in Rayleigh. 

In this podcast we talk about …

• The challenge posed not by children losing a year of academic learning but by losing a year of emotional development and how some children have missed key developmental stages so they need support in this more than anything else.
• Dealing with the anxiety that has been created by the last 18 months and accepting that it is a very different year this year to other years, so teachers must be gentle with themselves.
• How the difficulty posed by Ofsted inspections is the main thing that makes being a teacher unpleasant, but there is little point being anxious about it because, whatever anyone says, they are not terribly important in your career, so just do your best.
• How you must make time for yourself and set this time aside every week (even write it on the calendar) so you have a proper balance between work and the rest of your life. Exhausted teachers cannot teach to their best.
• The small actions, comments and behaviours from children that show they value you and care about you as much as you care about them.
• The importance of making sure the mic of the sound field for hearing impaired children is switched off when you are not in class, otherwise children can hear everything you are doing!
• SEND support gives all children the chance to achieve and succeed whatever their needs are. Avoid judging them and aim to form great relationships to get the best from them.
• How SENCOs are like dogs with a bone or a pitball fighting for their children.
• In SEND never worry about not knowing everything, as what works for one child may not work for another, but don’t let this dishearten you. Just steadily increase your knowledge of what works by talking to others.
• Creating small steps on individual learning plans or one plans are what is needed so children can achieve them in the set time. Be ambitious but not too ambitious.
• Always tell parents you will do the best for their SEND children and that you are on their side fighting to get the best for them.

What I wish I knew with Kerry Tokley

Kerry Tokley has a degree in Musical Theatre, performed at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games and in 2017 became the freestyle dance national champion, which was the year before she qualified as a teacher! Prior to that she had spent 3 years as a 1:1 SEN LSA and it was during that time, as she gradually took on more responsibility in the classroom including covering a class every week, that she knew she wanted to pursue a career as a teacher. Having retired from competitive dancing, Kerry now enjoys learning aerial acrobatics and martial arts, which must be the perfect combination for energising a flagging class of children!

In this episode we talk about ...

• The sparkle in the children's eyes when Kerry was teaching dance and drama at a special needs school.
• How success in one area of the curriculum helps children achieve in other areas.
• Never measuring your progress, as a child or teacher, using someone else's ruler.
• Why getting to know your class really well leads to children who feel listened to and respected and creates a family like environment.
• Planning lessons that incorporate children's interests as this ensures they are highly engaged and motivated by the learning.
• The fact that what happens in the classroom is so much more important than everything that happens outside the classroom.
• Why changing schools if work-life balance is not prioritised is immensely beneficial for a teacher's wellbeing and how important this is if you are to teach well.
• How energising it is to take learning outside and how much children learn beyond the the main focus of the lesson when doing this.
• The importance of essentialism - only doing what really needs to be done. If in doubt as to the value of a task then ask and see if there is a good reason for what you are being told to do.

You can connect with Kerry on ...

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kerrytokley

Instagram: @kerrytokley 

You can find Kerry's YouTube timetables songs at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuQ8JWDmKcj3KQbKSDQqiOQ

What I wIsh knew with Sara Trickey

Sara Trickey is a highly successful secondary teacher who writes a terrific blog called Teach with Mrs T, which is full of great advice on pedagogy and practice for trainee and newly qualified teachers and is highly relevant for primary and secondary colleagues. Sara is currently Head of Faculty for Business, Computing and Media Studies. She is also a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teachers, has an MA and has just started studying for a doctorate. She enjoys reading Stephen King books, plus she is an expert builder of Lego masterpieces, though how she finds time for that I don't know!

In this podcast we talk about ...

• How Sara forced her younger siblings and cousins to be her school pupils, with no playtime until the work was done!
• The teachers who inspired Sara, made learning fun and her school experience phenomenal.
• The importance of explaining to students that not everything can be really exciting but by building foundations future learning will be highly rewarding.
• The need to raise student aspirations and how essential this is to enable them to see where their learning can take them, both in their school career and afterwards.
• How positive reinforcement for what you expect from your students can help develop their enthusiasm for a particular subject or for learning in general.
• The excitement of using Super Mario to grab students imaginations in order to motivate them and give them a clear purpose for their learning.
• How important it is not to be fooled into following the latest educational fads.
• Realising that the fundamentals of great teaching have not changed over the years and understanding that new ideas and initiatives are very often a re-hash of teaching approaches that have been used successfully for decades.
• The challenge of dealing with parents who are older than you when you are a young teacher, but by demonstrating your professionalism and expertise consistently you will gain respect.
• The value of Socratic questioning and the need to constantly ask students to explain more deeply by asking 'Why?' or 'So what?' when they give short answers.
• Sara's fantastic blog Education | Teach With Mrs T

You can connect with Sara on ...

Twitter @teachwithmrst

Instagram @teachwithmrst

LinkedIn Sara Trickey | LinkedIn

You can read Sara's blog at www.teachwithmrst.com