This is a website version of the Suffolk NUT's Guide for Newly-Qualified Teachers in 2001-2002.
Guidance for Newly Qualified Teachers
Congratulations and welcome to Suffolk! Your first year in teaching will be hard work, but it should be a happy, positive experience. Suffolk LEA supports you well but things can go less smoothly than hoped. This leaflet explains what you should expect and what to do if you run into difficulty.
Newly Qualified in Suffolk?
Your induction year is of course very important to you personally, but there is also a great responsibility on the school and LEA to do everything to help NQTs, particularly whenyou meet any difficulties with your first post.
The LEA helps by:
• Providing a Handbook for NQTs 2001-2002and induction packl sent directly to you
• Providing your school with £1000 per term to meet the costs of your induction.
• Providing for a reduced timetable (90%).
• This release time to be in addition to any normal non-teaching periods
• Providing special courses for NQT induction.
• Providing access to a named LEA contact (pro tem. Gil Riley 01502 40570), to specialist advisers and an administrative officer, Nadine Peakall (01284 352701)
• Providing a framework for induction monitoring, support and assessment.
Non-standard contracts
The procedures work best for permanent full-time contracts. If you are an NQT on a temporary, fixed-term or part-time contract you should contact the NUT straight away for your position to be checked out.
Your school must:
1 Appoint an induction tutor (mentor) to guide you through your first year
2 Follow the procedures in the Handbook for Newly Qualified Teachers
3 Give you a timetable 10% lighter than if you were not an NQT
4 Negotiate with you an agreed personal induction programme: what is to happen when, and who is responsible.
5 Plan, in consultation with you, which LEA training sessions of the NQT induction programme you attend.
6 Plan with you which other, school-based training you would like
7 Consult you throughout the year on any further supportive training needs, including observing experienced teachers
8 Explain the criteria against which you will be assessed, the monitoring and assessment arrangements
9 Make sure that you have all the information you need.
The School should provide:
• The Staff Handbook, including information on daily routine, organisation and administrative arrangements (e.g. what to do if you are ill, delayed)
• The School Prospectus or Brochure (information to parents and pupils)
• Timetables, schemes of work and relevant curriculum documents (e.g. all relevant national curriculum documents)
• The calendar of meetings and any other events which you are directed to attend (i.e. within the 1265 directed hours of your contract) and any voluntary activities to which you are invited
• The pastoral and tutor programme (including parents' evenings)
• The behaviour policy of the school, including how breaches of the school rules by pupils should be handled, and the "chain of referral" for poor work or behaviour
• Copies of the Disciplinary, Whistle-Blowing, Harassment, Capability and Grievance Procedures.
The Induction Year in Practice
Your Handbook for Newly Appointed Teachers explains how the Assessment criteria uses your Career Entry Profile as the starting point, and the national induction standards for your assessment. You will need to show that you can consistently meet the standards required to be "fully registered" as a teacher.
Your teaching must be observed regularly (at least once every 6 to 8 weeks, and once in the first four weeks) and there must be full feedback and discussion, with a planned, supported approach to any improvements sought. Each observation and feed-back decision should be recorded by an agreed memorandum. If you disagree with anything, or request further help, you have a right to say so in writing.
There must also be a termly formal assessment meeting after which an induction assessment form has to be completed by the school and forwarded to the LEA. It should accurately reflect what has been observed and discussed with you and will include a summative judgement.
What support can I expect?
The procedures expect a high standard of professional support and planning from the school to ensure that you get the kind of induction programme that addresses your needs. You should help identify the needs and make sure that they are addressed by your planned induction programme. You have the right to point out, in writing, any failure by the school to do what they must do for you.
What if I feel unsupported?
Heads, Advisers and Induction Tutors are all busy people and there are many demands on their time. So, occasionally, NQTs find themselves facing a formal assessment for which they have not really been prepared or where previously identified areas for improvement have not been addressed through no fault of the NQT.
On occasion, there are serious break-downs of trust between NQT and those charged with advising and supporting them. If that happens, the NUT will help you to retrieve the situation. This could happen if an induction tutor was insufficiently prepared or trained, or did not have the required experience or skills to do the job well. It is most important to report this as early as possible and as soon as you feel that unhelpful mentoring may prevent success.
In view of the importance of each formal assessment, if you feel that your progress is affected because you are not getting the advice and support you need, seek advice from the NUT. We would normally wish to alert the Head and/or LEA that the procedures are not working as intended. It is important to seek advice as soon as possible, rather than wait until an unhelpful formal recommendation is made.
Satisfactory progress?
On the first two termly Induction Assessment forms the Headteacher has to tick one of two boxes to indicate whether you are, or are not, making sufficient progress to meet the requirements for the satisfactory completion of the induction period. If the recommendation is that you are not making satisfactory progress, the reasons for this should have been clearly outlined to you in earlier observation feed-back sessions and the formal assessment meeting. As soon as there is any suggestion that your progress is deemed "unsatisfactory" you should contact the NUT Division Secretary straight away.
Your salary level
If you have previous industrial, commercial or teaching experience while unqualified, there could be some discretion to include extra "experience" allowances. If in doubt, check it out with the NUT straight away. If you are to make a claim for extra incremental credit for previous experience, the earlier you do it the better.
Website
This Suffolk NUT website provides a free local and national up-to-date information service for members. Check it out!
Published
by Suffolk NUT August 2001