10 Things You Didn’t Know About Being an NQT


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shutterstock_107819666 Teacher smiling with arms crossed in a classroom

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Ross Morrison McGill founded @TeacherToolkit in 2010, and today, he is one of the 'most followed educators'on social media in the world. In 2015, he was nominated as one of the '500 Most Influential People in Britain' by The Sunday Times as a result of...
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What do we not know about (NQTs) newly qualified teachers working in schools?

During the summer, there will be 1,000s of newly qualified teachers embarking on their career in schools. I write to offer well-known facts about teachers starting their careers and hope that NQTs reach out to colleagues on Twitter, if they lack the support they may need in their own department/school.

Below are 10 things NQTs have to endure throughout their first year of teaching.

  1. Some but not all, will successfully gain their (QTS) Qualified Teacher Status, yet fail their induction period.
  2. Some but not all, will come from traditional BEd, PGCE and School Direct routes, others from Teach First and SCITT.
  3. Some but not all, will be told to plan lessons in detail, considering lesson activity by time, not by learning.
  4. Some but not all, will struggle with behaviour management.
  5. Some but not all, will be given their own classroom space to develop their repertoire.
  6. Some but not all, will smile before Christmas!
  7. Some but not all, will develop positive relationships with their colleagues.
  8. Some but not all, will manage their workload and well-being rather well …
  9. Some but not all, will be teaching beyond 5 years.
  10. Some but not all, will go on to become great teachers and school leaders.

shutterstock_274497113 Be first. Little pupils raising their hands during classes and teacher explaining new material.

Image: Shutterstock

Whilst we should recognise that teaching is really difficult, we should recognise that newly qualified teacher have an even tougher time and all need our support.

If you are an NQT and need support, contact me in confidence. I only wish I could have blogged and used Twitter when I was an NQT …

TT.


5 thoughts on “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Being an NQT

  1. Thank you in advance for your support @teachertoolkit. Am about to start my NQT year after working in school from June. Was great to get to be on my own, but suddenly mentors and observations lot once more. Looking forward to your updates.

  2. Wonderful article, its important to know what is coming your way when wanting to achieve a profession. I have been in university for over 2 years now and within a year I’ll be going on to a graduate scheme to become a [link removed] NQT supply teaching. I cannot wait.

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