Set boundaries: You are not a machine and cannot work long hours for sustained periods. Accept that you can’t do everything and there are times when it is better for you, your health and your students to say no. Get into the habit of defining what your boundaries are and sticking to them. Can you delegate a task? Is it in line with your own professional priorities? Have clear boundaries between your work life and home life.
Be kind to yourself: You will make plenty of mistakes and you will learn from them – that is an essential part of this year and your early career.
Make time for your life and to relax: Easy to say but put it in your diary – plan your down-time and protect it at all costs. Do the things that you enjoy outside of teaching to boost your wellbeing. Aim to spend one night a week and time at the weekend doing something that makes you feel like yourself. This isn’t selfish. Taking time for yourself helps to prevent burn-out.
Prioritise your preparation: If difficult behaviour is likely to be a particular issue, spend some time rehearsing likely scenarios and how you might deal with them. If you have a heavy workload, prioritise preparing for the next day – everything else can wait! Prioritising in this way will help you to feel much more in control.
Get feedback and marking right: Give verbal feedback in classes to reduce marking and make it more effective. Other strategies like whole-class feedback and peer marking can make a great difference in reducing workload too. SecEd has written extensively about many of these approaches: https://bit.ly/4296KP0
Celebrate the wins: Don’t dwell when things go wrong – with teaching things will go wrong and no-one is perfect. Celebrate the wins and look at these successes when you need a boost.
Remember your ‘why’: You are who you are because you made a decision to work in a school. And there will have been reasons for this. Taking time to reflect on your day, your practice, and your reactions can help you maintain your joy in teaching. For a useful reflective exercise, see this Education Support resource: https://bit.ly/3I9QRAH
Ask for help: The bravest thing you can do is to ask for help. And it is 100% okay and normal to do so. Talk to your peers, your ECT or another mentor, or a trusted friend if you are struggling with workload, behaviour or something else. And if you are struggling with your mental health, make sure you call or contact Education Support.
Support: Check out the resources and support available via Education Support and SecEd. SecEd carries hundreds of articles every year including advice on staff wellbeing and workload and teaching tips.
Sleep! Remember – everything feels better after a good night’s sleep.
SecEd Early Career Teacher Supplement 2023: These tips first appeared in SecEd's annual Early Career Teacher Supplement, which was published earlier this month and which features 20 pages of advice, guidance, ideas and hacks for new teachers. Download the supplement for free by clicking here.
Education Support: These tips were compiled with support from the teacher wellbeing charity Education Support. The charity offers help or advice on any issue facing those working in education. Contact the free 24-hour helpline on 08000 562 561 or www.educationsupport.org.uk