NQT Teachers: Your first day in the classroom

The first day of anything can be nerve wracking and there is a need in us all to make the best first impression that we possibly can. For newly qualified teachers (NQT’s) that first moment of meeting your new class, tutor group and teaching your first lesson the anticipation and anxiety is magnified.

Controlling your nerves and ensuring the first 5 minutes, the rest of the lesson, day and term are manageable and enjoyable is doeable and the key is preparing yourself.

So you now have 5 mins until the bell rings and your career as a newly qualified teacher begins. Read through my top 10 tips for that very first part of your teaching career. It helped me and enabled me to form very positive relationships with the pupils in my class. It also gave me a personal code to work from and I used these very 10 points with all my classes during my time as a primary school teacher.

Ten top tips 

1. Show the children that you like them
2. Get to know their names and their characters; take time to speak with them individually and not just about their school work or their school life!
3. Allow them to get to know you; a little window into your life will work wonders
4. Make sure that you are well organised and prepared for each session, day, week and term; the better organised, the more confident you will feel
5. Make sure your environment is well organised and easy to use; not only by yourself and the other adults, but also by the pupils
6. Clear rewards and sanctions stemming from agreed class rules and code of conduct – link these to the school values
7. Be consistent and fair
8. Try to make your lessons Interesting by starting with what the pupils know and implementing a wow factor
9. Try to make your lessons pacy and full of learning; count pupils off the carpet, play music whilst they are tidying up and ensure that it is truly memorable!
10. Finally use humour and remember never say anything to a pupil that you would not say if their parent or carer were standing next to them…so be kind!