My First Week in a New School

Starting in a new position is nerve-racking enough without having to manage over 120 students in one day, trying to absorb over 80 odd new staff members' names, let alone trying to find your way around the school corridors. It can be a really tough time, even for the seasoned professional, so we have developed a checklist for you to guide in your first week.

For the majority of schools, answering these questions will be automatically part of your induction, but just in case, please refer to the below prompts:

• Who is your direct report?
• Timetable & Room Access
• How to deal with minor and major accidents
• Location of medical boxes and accident report book
• Fire Drill procedures
• Break time procedures/rules
• Whole School Behaviour Management Policy
• Classroom Assistants Responsibilities
• Who is the Special Needs Co-ordinator
• Identification of students with specific special needs or medical requirements
• Absence arrangements - Teachers
• Absence arrangements - Students
• Staffroom protocol
• Staff Routines / Staff meetings etc
• Protocols for dealing with Parents
• School Reports - Due dates
• Policy for communicating with students outside regular hours
• Extra curricular, Events, Special Occasions
• School Excursion Co-ordinator
• Excursion Organisational Procedures
• Security
• Student Dress Policy
• Student Record keeping
• Confiscation Rules

Remember that you are the manager of your classroom and you are responsible for what happens in it. It therefore your responsibility to ensure that you create a learning environment that is conducive to learning and meets all legal and non-legal responsibilities assigned to you as a teacher.

Building Relationships

It is vital that you build great relationships with your colleagues and students as soon as possible in your new role. Make time to meet your department and members of the senior leadership team (SLT). Try and find out about your students before you meet them in the classroom. Visit student services or speak with your Head of Department (HOD). This will help you to tackle potential issues before they even start. For example, if you know a particular student has behaviour issues or a learning disability you can plan in advance how you are going to deal with this.

It is also important to utilise the support of your colleagues and the resources available to you. It is common practice in UK schools to have teaching assistants working in the classroom alongside the main teacher. This can seem strange at first, if you are from a country where this does not happen. However, a teaching assistant is a great resource and you should try to involve them in as much planning, preparation and assessment as possible. Many schools will also assign you a mentor to help support you in the initial stages of your employment.

You should expect to have your lessons observed in the initial weeks of your employment by your HOD or a member of the SLT. This again is common practice in the UK and an ongoing process.

Ongoing support

Teaching in the UK will be a challenging experience and many of our teachers find the first term in particular, pretty tough going. Try to keep things in perspective and try not to be too hard on yourself. After all, you have just moved half way across the world and started a new job in a new education system.

Bluewave will always be here to support you and offer advice. Please just pick up the telephone and give us a call. Sometimes just having a listening ear helps to offload a bad day. We have helped hundreds of teachers make the transition in the UK and we may be able to pass on advice from other teachers who have been in a similar situation.

Respect for all

Stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination are as often implicit as they are explicit or overt. To promote a more open and understanding society, one that values diversity and challenges racism, awareness-raising must run hand in hand with positive action.

Many overseas trained teachers may not realise that the cities and regions of England are quite diverse and each offers something distinctive. Despite the relatively small size of the country; local geography, history, industry and traditions mean that differences are apparent even over short distances.

For most visitors and permanent residents this diversity is part of the rich tapestry of life and is something to be celebrated. Teachers who have not taught in ethnically and culturally diverse schools will need to know what support is available and consider a range of teaching strategies that they could implement.