Welcome Back to Term 3, NQTs

Welcome back to Term 3.  I hope you have all had a great Christmas and have returned to school refreshed and ready to go. 

There are a few things for you to consider this term. In Kent it is one of the shortest terms with only 29 days and it is also a benchmark term. This means at the end of this term (10th Feb), you will be over the half way stage which is great! That said, you all still need to be trying your best to stay on top of your game. 

The transition from student to teacher may take time but rest assured schools make allowances for this. Historically, this is the term where (a) expectations increase and (b) there is a difference of opinion between NQT and mentor, when it comes to the grading’s at the end of the term.

You can prepare yourselves so you are able to offer evidence to support your case by ensuring you continue to meet your mentor every week, for 20 minutes with the following three agenda items: 

• What went well? 
• It would be even better if…
• A single discussion point

If your mentor is not available than make note of this so you have it on record. (This is not snitching or telling tales, it is showing you are proactive and well organised).  

Ensure you keep your portfolio of evidence up to date and in some sort of order. Remember, in Kent we require at least one piece of evidence for each standard for each term so you show consistently how you are meeting the standards. If you have not started gathering evidence, you need to start. At the end of term, it is no good saying, “My mentor has said I am a D grade but I think I’m an A”, if you cannot back it up. 

Finally stop procrastinating, and regularly observe other teachers and magpie those brilliant ideas/techniques for your lessons. Look at the student’s books and progress data if possible to familiarise yourself and ask any questions you may have.

For those of you who are based in Kent and coming to the NQT Primary Conference on the 8th February 2017, I look forward to welcoming you. We have 17 different workshops on offer which cover just about everything. There are a few places left which can be booked via Kent CPD Online (Course Code SCH 17/190) to find more information.

Here's some advice on how to secure your first NQT role for September 2017.