Tips for Early Career Teachers (ECTs)

Congratulations, you have completed your initial training and secured your first teaching role to start in September as an ECT! Along the way you will have been into many classrooms, met many pupils and observed many teachers, and now it is time for you to create your own learning environment for your very first class.

Setting Up Your Classroom

You will have lots of ideas about what you want your first classroom to look like and it can be easy to get carried away at the planning stage.

Displays

A good place to start is to think about what you want on the walls. Your new school may have a display policy, detailing expectations for every classroom. Find out if your school has one of these policies and fulfil the requirements of this first. These could include things such as:

• having a display board ready with the title of your first term’s topic, complete with key words and related images,
• a visual timetable displayed at the front of the room,
• a display board set up as a working wall — this could be to display current English and Maths working for that week.

It’s a good idea to make one of your smaller display boards into a noticeboard to display things like a weekly timetable, groupings for English and Maths and seating plans. These will be useful for you, especially in the first few weeks, but will also help any other staff who will work in your room when you are not there.

Try and ensure that some board space is left clear for pupils’ work created in the first few weeks of term.

Reading corner

Most schools encourage the setting up of a reading corner, and this could be where you really allow your imagination to run away with you, providing cushions, bean bags, rugs, posters and generally making your class reading space a welcoming, calm area in which your pupils can settle down and get lost in a good book.  

Label everything!

Labelling pegs, drawers and any equipment boxes is a great way to ensure your new pupils know where to place their belongings and where to find classroom equipment when they need it. When cutting and sticking labels, it can be tempting to go down the route of laminating anything that doesn’t move! Many people nowadays try and keep this to a minimum – it’s a good chance to set an example of cutting down on plastic use in your classroom.
 

Table layout

Schools may have a policy guiding the layout in classrooms, for example, some schools prefer that the tables are set out in rows whilst others will prefer groups or a mix of the two. If your school has one of these policies then, obviously you will need to apply it but as far as possible try and ensure that all pupils can see the front of the classroom. They’ll need to see where you and the board will be without them having to become expert contortionists!
 

Your first day

All teachers will remember the final 5 minutes leading up to the arrival of their new class with varying degrees of panic. However, they all made it through, and you will too! Take a deep breath, make one final check of your resources and you are ready to go!

Seating

Hopefully, you will have met your new class on Transition Day, so you will not be completely new to each other. On Transition, it is wise to carry out some kind of ‘getting to know you’ activity such as these ones for Reception, Years 1-2, Years 3-4 and Years 5-6. Extra questions along the lines of, ‘Who do you work well with?’ and ‘Who might distract you?’ are an opportunity for your pupils to reflect on who they work well with and who they might not act so sensibly around. You can also use this information, along with any intel from their previous teacher, to work out a seating plan for at least the first few days. Placing name cards in each place can help speed up the time it takes for you to learn 30 new names too!
 

Setting expectations

Children are always excited to be starting a new school year but will be extra thrilled by the prospect of being in the class of a brand-new teacher! It is important therefore, to set your expectations regarding behaviour very early on, maybe with a class discussion along the lines of, ‘How can we ensure everyone in our class is happy, safe and learning effectively?’. 

Try and set a purposeful atmosphere straight away, with clear boundaries and a ‘firm but fair’ approach, using praise rather than admonishment where possible. Work through the activities you have planned, making sure that you have planned too much, rather than not enough! Ice-breaker style activities are always a good idea on the first day.

Make sure you know your new school timings and the times of any whole school events taking place on day 1 — the last thing you want to do is arrive 5 minutes late for the first assembly of the year!

The end of the day

Before you know it, your first day with your new class will be coming to an end and you will be urging your pupils to pack away and collect their coats and bags. Depending on your school and the year group you are working in, you may be expected to walk the children outside to their parents/carers. If this is the case, it is a good idea to have a small notebook and pen to hand just in case any of your pupils’ parents/carers ask you anything or tell you something that you need to follow-up on once back in your classroom.

Once your pupils have left… relax… but not for too long, it’s time to get ready for day 2!

Other things to think of

Use your first few weeks of term to continue to set and reinforce your expectations consistently with your class. Expect pushback from some of them — it won’t all be plain sailing, but as they get to know you and you them, you will find that a positive relationship between you will emerge.

Your initial training will have given you opportunities to experiment with planning formats, record-keeping and assessments with guidance from your mentor, but having your own class and being solely responsible for these things can be daunting, so don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it.

Remember, teaching is a very rewarding, but increasingly challenging career, and all teachers are continually learning, developing and adapting. No-one will expect you to get everything right all the time, so if you make a mistake do not be afraid to admit to this, learn from it and move on.

Good luck!

More resources

CGP+ has lots more useful resources to help your first day go with a swing. Check out this fantastic selection designed to help you and your new class get to know each other better.

• Common Interests Ice-Breaker Activity (Years 3-6)
• Create a Class Mosaic (Years 3-6)
• All About Me – Fact File (Reception)
• Classroom I-Spy (Years 1-2)
• My Dreams This Year – Complete the Sentences (Years 3-4)
• Team Building Activity Ideas (Years 5-6)

 
I have been a teacher for just over 22 years, working mainly in Upper Key Stage 2. More recently, I have worked with Key Stage 1 children as part of the National Tutoring Programme, which has been very enjoyable, giving me a great insight into younger children’s unique view of the world! I have always enjoyed writing resources but often did not have time as a full-time class teacher. Teaching part-time and writing for CGP+ offers the perfect balance.

To see CGP+ resources written by Cathy, click here.