How to Prepare For The School Year as a First-Year Teacher

Guest Post by LTF Recruitment

Congrats! You are now prepared to start your teaching career in the classroom because you have the necessary credentials. Despite the fact that you might be eager to get going, there are a few important things to keep in mind to make sure you are fully prepared for your first year. Many new instructors enter the classroom unprepared and uncertain of the problems they will encounter.

This need not be the case, though, and with a little bit of research, you can get familiar with what to anticipate from your first 12 months. Here, we’ll provide you with the direction you need to feel secure and ready for your teaching career’s initial steps.

Making The Transition From Undergraduate To A First-Year Teacher

Become Acquainted With Other Teachers

Getting to know as many of your coworkers as you can as soon as possible is the best approach to settling into a new job. Make every effort to establish solid professional bonds early on, and don’t be shy about approaching other teachers to grab a cup of coffee.

This will not only make it easier for you to adjust, but it will also provide you a terrific chance to discover important details that can simplify your job. If you have any questions about lesson planning, time management, dealing with challenging kids, or anything else, ask. These kinds of professional connections will serve as a crucial source of support for you during the first year of your teaching career.

Prior To Starting, Ask For Your Relevant Work Documents

Making things more difficult for yourself is guaranteed if you arrive on your first day without anything you need. Before your first day of class, it’s a good idea to get in touch with the school to make sure you have everything you need.

Your employment contract should clearly outline the obligations and requirements of the job. You should also receive a copy of your schedule so that you can start organising your time before class even starts. You might receive additional paperwork during the first week, but if you have any questions, always get in touch with the school.

Maintain A Calendar And Organize Your Workload

One of a first-year teacher’s biggest challenges is managing their workload, and at first, it could seem impossible to juggle all of the various tasks. You need to be able to handle everything extremely rapidly, including teaching, lesson planning, event organising, school trips, parents’ nights, and marking.

The secret lies in preparation, organisation, and effective workload prioritisation. Ineffective time management will lead to burnout and can have an impact on your mental health as you start to feel overwhelmed. Go through tasks in the appropriate order based on their relevance. If one is not already provided, it is a good idea to get a calendar and make a list of all the important professional dates for the upcoming year.   

Review The Curriculum And Standards

Before your start date, complete curriculum overviews should be made accessible to you so that you may start creating your lessons. Get a sense of the topics and subjects you will be teaching by thoroughly reading the curriculum. You will become more familiar with the subject more quickly the more time you put into the preparation. In order to fully understand what is expected of you as a teacher, be sure to look over your teacher manual as well.

Parental Communication

Being a teacher can be challenging, and if your parents are not supporting you, it will become much tougher. It’s a terrific idea for first-year teachers to start developing relationships as soon as feasible. This will help you understand exactly what is expected of you and gives parents the chance to see right away that you are a trustworthy, well-organized professional.

Establish recurring times for communication with parents so you may inform them about their child’s development. Think about your future communication strategy with them as well. Popular media include blogs, newsletters, and emails. It need not be difficult, but it is a powerful method to demonstrate to the parent that you value their child’s education.

A Mentoring Program

You’ll likely have no prior classroom experience when you begin your profession, so you’ll be depending entirely on the knowledge you’ve acquired via your courses. Even while it’s still helpful, there are occasions when observing someone with experience is the best way to learn. Learning the subtle, finer elements of the teaching profession through mentoring is a terrific method to advance your career.

The transition to full-time teaching will be made easier with the assistance of senior instructors who can help with work-related concerns. They contain valuable knowledge on the essential abilities required, such as problem-solving, lesson preparation, and cultivating a successful attitude.

Many institutions will assign you a mentor to help you get started but don’t be afraid to seek out more advice. Maintain your professional connections and always check to see if you can receive more assistance when you need it. Most educators are eager to assist and impart their knowledge.

Get Some Training 

Particularly when you’re first starting out, training is the key to a prosperous teaching career. In order to feel secure in your job during your first term, you must quickly acquire the skills and knowledge you require. The majority of the time, training will be provided to you during your initial weeks in your new position, but if you feel like you need further support, there are several options available.

Even after you have obtained your qualification, a variety of free instructional courses are available from educational recruitment specialists like LTF Recruitment to support your further education.

Interested In A Teaching Position?

When applying for teaching positions, you want to make sure you distinguish yourself from the other graduate teachers. To do this, highlight your interpersonal abilities, extracurricular activities, and any other experiences you’ve had that will help you in the classroom. Never undervalue the value of your inherent abilities and life experiences. Reach out to a recruitment agency for schools to help you get your dream teaching position.

If you found this post helpful, check out some of my other posts:

Keeping track of parent contact

25 Buzz words you need to know

Recommended reading for future/new teachers

Or Start Here to check out my posts curated by theme.

Make sure to pin, post, and tweet this post to share it with other new teachers who might also benefit from it!