Experience and the educational ecosystem: why retention of experienced colleagues matters for beginning teachers

Photo by zhang kaiyv on Pexels.com A little while ago I had the opportunity to chat with a teacher who is 20 odd years into their teaching career. As they spoke about their Trust’s approach to curriculum, the demands being placed upon their department through whole school initiatives and the challenges that come from a … Continue reading Experience and the educational ecosystem: why retention of experienced colleagues matters for beginning teachers →

Tough teaching interviews: reflections on intentions and impacts

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com I was recently in a conversation with a beginning teacher who told me about an interview question they had been posed. Then they laid down a challenge: “I’m interested what you would have said”. The interview question was interesting, and not one I’d heard before: What three substantive historical … Continue reading Tough teaching interviews: reflections on intentions and impacts →

Get’cha head in the game: Building beginning teacher resilience and ability to act on targets

Photo by Bolarinwa Olasunkanmi on Pexels.com Recently, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about basketball - identifying the potential of a match on the journey to the venue, sat observing on the edge of the court, and analysing the state of play on the way home. In all these conversations I have been … Continue reading Get’cha head in the game: Building beginning teacher resilience and ability to act on targets →

Noticing the positives of beginning teachers’ practice: Supporting the transition between teaching practice placements

Photo by Binti Malu on Pexels.com Recently, I encountered this tweet passing on wisdom to mentors about to receive a new Initial Teacher Training/ Initial Teacher Education (ITT/ ITE) student for their second teaching practice placement: I have previously talked about why it can be difficult for ITE students when they change placement during their … Continue reading Noticing the positives of beginning teachers’ practice: Supporting the transition between teaching practice placements →

Anton’s wisdom: Finding the joy in mentoring beginning teachers

Regular readers of this blog will know that I have a soft spot for Strictly Come Dancing. During Saturday evening’s (2023) final, Anton Du Beke uttered the following words, when addressing Ellie Leach following her final dance of the competition: “I’ve danced where you have [for] many years, and the joy of sitting here is … Continue reading Anton’s wisdom: Finding the joy in mentoring beginning teachers →