My Advice to an NQT at this Time of Year

May 17, 2019
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0 minute read

I am qualified five years since April so I am no longer an NQT teacher! It feels like I still am to be honest! I sometimes look at teachers who are teaching 15/20 years plus and I just admire them so much, they’re always so knowledgeable, so calm and so good at what they do. Teaching is definitely one job where you never stop learning. I like to think I have learned a lot since I first qualified back in 2014. Here’s my two cents worth..

Applying for jobs:

Summer 2014- the most stressful of my life. Tom was travelling around South America while I was at home applying for jobs everywhere and anywhere! I was working seven days a week between my summer job, summer camps and giving grinds to children. We were trying to find an apartment in Dublin, with both of us being as green as the day is long and not knowing one side of Dublin from the other! Jobs in 2014 were still hard to come by, so in September we moved to Dublin and I didn’t have a job. I wasn’t too worried though, I set off armed with my CVs to as many schools as I could reach. When I think back now I walked through some really dodgy areas and got completely lost so many times, but some how it was meant to work out and I got my first long term subbing stint in a school for the first term. I loved it and learned so much while I was there. I was so sad to leave that school, but then my current school popped up on Education Posts , I applied and I am still there now!

So back to the advice, don’t get disheartened. Don’t worry if you don’t get a job straight away, subbing is worth its weight in gold and you’ll make great contacts this way. If you’re working on your application form, do one and do it really, really well. Then just change the last three sections to make it suits each individual school you’re applying to. Have copies of all your degrees, courses , results etc ready to go and scanned on to your laptop.

January 2015:

The year I started my DIP! Advice? Be organised and prepared! Have your folder with you EVERY day. The best piece of advice I can give is to learn from the other teachers in the school if they longer qualified than you. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice from teachers who had your class before. Also, be creative and enjoy your class.  I didn’t really enjoy teaching until my first inspection was over because I was just a bundle of nerves waiting for the knock on the door!

It is easier said than done but do try stay on top of your plans. Keep them short and sweet if you must but keep them up to date!

Try get the NQT workshops out of the way in your first year. I didn’t and they were just constantly hanging over me.

Find someone who inspires you in the world of education!

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