Settling into a teaching practice placement – it’s a bit like staying at your Auntie’s house.

Photo by Nicole Michalou on Pexels.com Nothing quite prepares you for the feeling of being in, but not of, the school where you on Teaching Practice Placement. But for the majority of beginning teachers this is the reality. So many aspects of the placement school are familiar, but you have entered a new ecosystem with … Continue reading Settling into a teaching practice placement – it’s a bit like staying at your Auntie’s house. →

Recalibrating Your Teacher Identity: When Your Past Success Doesn’t Fit Your Current Experience

Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com I feel like a failure At some point every year I will have a conversation with a beginning teacher who confesses that they feel like a total failure. "I just don't think I'm up to the job," they say. “I just don’t seem to be able to do it”. … Continue reading Recalibrating Your Teacher Identity: When Your Past Success Doesn’t Fit Your Current Experience →

You Don’t Have to Be a Natural: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome in Teaching

Photo by Gratisography on Pexels.com “Great teachers are born, not made” is one of the great myths of teacher training. Unfortunately, it is also a myth which makes its way into the subconscious of prospective teachers. As we prepare to begin a new academic year in initial teacher education, I know there are soon-to-be beginning … Continue reading You Don’t Have to Be a Natural: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome in Teaching →

Serving Up Success: Helping beginning teachers to embrace change and growth

Photo by saeed basseri on Pexels.com Back in March, British tennis player Jack Draper secured his first Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells, the biggest title of his career; securing a Grand Slam title now seems likely. I’m not an avid tennis fan but my ears pricked up when I heard Annabel Croft's radio analysis … Continue reading Serving Up Success: Helping beginning teachers to embrace change and growth →

Moving Schools: Finding your footing in a new school as a teacher

Photo by Victoria Strelka_ph on Pexels.com One of the first blogs I wrote for the mentors of beginning teachers explored why mentees find changing teaching placements so hard. This blog contextualised the feelings that beginning teachers (although this is also true of more experienced teachers) can have when beginning roles in new school settings. It … Continue reading Moving Schools: Finding your footing in a new school as a teacher →

Festive Countdown: Teacher positives to head off the January blues

Photo by Binti Malu on Pexels.com Every newspaper/ magazine article I read at the moment seems to be a countdown of one sort or another: 10 best fiction books of the year, 20 top gifts for the men in your life, 10 best Christmas movies you should absolutely watch now. Last week, as the first … Continue reading Festive Countdown: Teacher positives to head off the January blues →

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 →

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 →

Self-care habits to help beginning teachers move from surviving to thriving

As a beginning teacher you hear about the necessity of self care A LOT. It can, however, quickly become yet another thing on your ‘to do’ list and feel like a burden rather than an act to strengthen your well-being. Mindfulness, exercise classes and sports clubs, religious worship, time with friends, hobbies and time for … Continue reading Self-care habits to help beginning teachers move from surviving to thriving →