The NQT Survival Guide: 6 top tips to nail your first year of teaching

Your NQT year is a monumental step in your path as a teacher.

It is the year you will find your feet, the year you will form your identity as a teacher, and the year you will finally have your own class. It is a year of learning, of growing, and working out where you want to be.

Here at Class People, we are constantly looking for new ways to make your journey to teaching better and brighter, and we are committed to finding the right schools for you. However, as an NQT, it can be difficult to know where to start!

With that in mind, we’ve collated the following top NQT support tips and advice for you so that you get the best possible experience from your NQT year...

6 top tips to nail your first year of teaching 

1. Find the school that’s the best fit for you

Finding the right school to complete your NQT year at is a big step, it’s important to weigh up your options and look into the school from a teacher’s perspective.

At many schools, tours are common practice for NQTs and joining teachers, but how useful are they really? Usually everything is polished and prepared in a way that the tour doesn’t give a realistic insight of what it’s actually like to teach there.

It’s worth reaching out to the school’s current teachers, or teachers who have worked there previously. What do they think of their time with the school? Why did they leave? Try to find out what you can online, for example you should read the latest Ofsted inspection reports.

As an NQT, it’s important to not feel pressured to fit any one school. Even if you think everything else about a particular school is perfect, if their culture doesn’t blend with yours or you will have to drastically alter your teaching style, look for somewhere else.

It may seem like a small thing at the beginning, but throughout the year it will drain your enthusiasm and leave you questioning your decision to teach. It is much better to pass up on one opportunity than to be worn down before you have even finished your NQT year.

2. Consider working as a supply teacher in the interim

Working as a supply teacher before or during your NQT year gives you invaluable experience. It’s a great opportunity early on in your career to experience many different environments at many different schools to explore what suits you best.

With lots of experience across a range of schools under your belt, going to an interview for your first long term position will elevate you above other NQTs going for the same position. Nobody expects NQTs to have a wealth of experience, but it will certainly make you stand out from the crowd, as well as giving you a higher level of confidence going in to the interview.

Another benefit of undertaking supply work is that when schools see teachers performing well in a classroom, it isn’t uncommon to be offered a long-term position.

Whether you haven’t yet secured a full time post, or you’re looking to ramp up rather than dive right in, supply is a great option for you.

3. Decide what kind of teacher you want to be

When teaching, having a personal approach is crucial. Everybody has a teacher or two they remember from their time at school; who was that for you? What were they like?

Of course, your favourite teacher might not line up with the kind of person you are, so also consider things like how your friends would describe you.

It is important to be authentic within yourself, don’t try to be someone you aren’t – there’s no point giving yourself more work to do.

If you use humour generally, use it in the classroom too! Your identity as a teacher will naturally develop as you grow and learn, however at the beginning it is good to think about who you want to be as a teacher.

4. Make the most of your support networks

Remember to lift your head above the classroom, make the most of your mentor and pay attention to what the teachers around you are doing.

Be sure to join a few teaching groups on social media sites; there’s lots of NQT support available from other NQTs and experienced teachers who happy to share their knowledge. It is a great way to ask questions or pick up tips to make you a more effective teacher.

An NQT overseeing her pupils working, to represent NQT support from Class People.

5. Remember to take time out for yourself

Make sure to enjoy your free time, invest yourself in hobbies and plan nice things for yourself. This year will feel overwhelming at times, so having something in place to help you unwind at the end of a long day or something to look forward to at the weekends will prevent you from burning out.

6. Manage your expectations

One of the most important things for you to do as an NQT is to manage your expectations. You will have good days and bad, but it’s important to remember you’re making a difference. The industry faces constant challenges with recruitment and retention of teachers, particularly teachers beginning their careers.

Having to adapt to the schedule, planning lessons, learn student’s names, managing behaviour and everything else all at once can be daunting to say the least, so much so that almost a third of teachers (32.3%) have left the sector five years after qualifying (edexec.co.uk).

It’s important to not expect yourself to be the best teacher in the world straight away, don’t worry about needing time to find your feet; it’s completely normal and expected.

To conclude...

Whether you haven’t yet secured a full-time post, or you’re looking to ramp up rather than dive right in, supply is a great option for you.

As stated above, it can present a great chance to gain a variety of experience in several different environments, while allowing flexibility and reducing the workload at the start of your career.

Prepare yourself as much as you can for the challenges and opportunities of life as a new teacher. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel going in to your first position – you will quite often find that things are done a certain way for a reason.

At Class People, we want to provide you with NQT support in every way we can. We will have more blogs surrounding support for NQTs coming soon.

In the meantime, be sure to register with us to access the latest NQT job opportunities: