what’s next? Get all the tips and advice you’ll · need before you land your first job as an NQT! If you are a Newly Qualified Teacher, congratulations! Like most NQTs, you are

Feeling confused or uncertain about

what’s next?

Get all the tips and advice you’ll

need before you land your first job

as an NQT!

If you are a Newly Qualified Teacher, congratulations! Like most NQTs, you are probably

applying for a permanent position or long-term posts.

At Connex, we have placed thousands of NQTs in teaching positions. Supply work is an excellent

way to bridge the gulf between university life and the realities of full-time teaching...

While we’ve been placing teachers for a very long time, we have also amassed a

wealth of handy information from both schools and your fellow Newly Qualified

Teachers who are looking to start their induction—so who better to share this

information with than you; an NQT fresh out of training?

With the assistance of our handy sources, we’ve compiled a helpful list of the

most important and frequently asked questions about being an NQT.

In this handbook, we’ll touch base on issues

including:

Preparing for an interview

Job hunting

Working as an NQT with Connex

Thriving in your first year of teaching

You’ll have everything you need to kick-start your career

as an NQT!

With so much competition for teaching positions, landing a job can be challenging. It

can be especially daunting for newly qualified teachers (NQTs) who are new to the

game!

If you're looking to go for long term or permanent roles, these tips will help you to avoid

the classic interview pitfalls so many people get caught out on...

A tour of the school: This could be conducted by anyone the Headteacher chooses,

so in secondary schools, don’t be surprised if this is done by pu-

pils in Year 13.

Helpful tip: Interact with them and ask questions! Pupils will give feed-

back to the interviewing panel, so be engaging and genuine in your

interest…

Teach a lesson: The interviewing panel are going to want to see

you in action. You may be provided with a sample lesson title of a

subject they wish to see you teach.

Helpful tip: Observers will be looking for a number of things, including

lesson planning, differentiation, creativity, interaction with your pupils,

classroom control and behaviour management, flexibility and so much

more...

Giving a presentation: Usually based on a topical subject or pri-

ority for school improvement, presentations can be expected.

Helpful tip: Practise, practise, practise! Tell them what you’re going to

tell them and tell them what you’ve told them! There is a difference be-

tween the two!

Competency based interview: This is a series of questions structured around the spe-

cific competencies required for the post.

Helpful tip: Use the STAR structure to answer these questions effectively…

SITUATION—the background of the problem (10%)

TASK—what was necessary to solve the problem (10%)

ACTION—what plans you made, who was involved, what action you took (70%)

RESULT—the outcome, benefits, and feedback received (10%)

According to the Department for Education’s website, “9 out of 10 new

teachers who want to teach find teaching jobs in the first 12 months”.

Here are some useful tips on how to be successful in your own search:

Start your research at the earliest convenience. Attend recruitment

fairs as early as the autumn, before you qualify. Schools will start advertising

their vacant roles early in the new year and, by the spring term, applications are opened to

teacher registration schemes and databases

Teaching jobs are advertised in a variety of different ways. Some

schools recruit directly or use pool applications, others use teacher

registration schemes and databases.

Recruitment agencies are becoming increasingly popular for plac-

ing NQT posts. Not to toot the horn, but we have placed thousands of

NQTs and will provide invaluable insider advice, tips and access to ex-

clusive job listings. We’ll do all the legwork so that you can focus on

being the best teacher you can be.

Other useful sites where you can source a new teaching role include

TES, or you can use your local authority website too.

You must include a personal statement with your job application.

This is a big chance for you to sell yourself by explaining in your own

words why you are applying for the role, your teaching experience and

strategies, your thoughts on education, and so much more

References are crucial. You must ensure that your referees have

agreed to assist you and are ready for potential reference requests

The personal interview is your chance to shine. Research your role thoroughly before-

hand, by reviewing Ofsted reports and Department for Education achievement tables, for

example to help familiarise yourself with the school’s educational environment

Acing your teaching interview and landing the job is only half the battle —

now you have to teach! As an NQT, you want to thrive in your first year of

teaching; here are some tips from our previous NQTs that will help you

along the way:

Learn about your students by watching and learning —

Accommodate different learning styles, abilities and language

proficiencies

Learn to say no — Straight from the mouth of a previous Newly Qualified

Teacher, “don't be afraid to say no to colleagues who will see you as a keen

NQT and will (often unintentionally) add to your work or commitments”.

Teaching is demanding — Don’t forget to look after yourself mentally,

physically and emotionally! A healthy work-life balance is VERY important

here.

Plan, plan, plan — Create exciting, engaging and challenging lessons. It's

your chance to put into practice everything you’ve learnt, don’t let it go to

waste! Share your passion for the subject and take risks with strategy and

technique.

Don’t be so hard on yourself — We all make mistakes. You’re just starting

out, and you’re going to get better! Take time to reflect on your mistakes

and work on developing yourself as a teacher.

Use the help that’s given to you — If you choose to work with an educa-

tion recruitment agency like Connex, friendly and dedicated consultants will

help you with every step along the way, including finding jobs, managing

your time and providing additional support and advice.

Being an NQT at Connex

As an NQT with Connex, not only will you receive support and advice, you’ll also get:

· Your own personal point of contact

· A wide range of assignments all matching what you want

· Flexible work hours

· A huge variety of schools and nurseries (many of which only work with us)

· Competitive pay

· PAYE payroll - No payroll fees that are so common with other agencies

· Holiday pay and a unique choice of monthly or weekly payroll

· CPD training

· Healthy work-life balance

· On-the-go app for managing your work life

More and more NQTs are thinking more widely about their teaching roles—the very different

opportunities are quite appealing, including the advantages that a period of working on supply

offers.

Working on Supply

Supply is an excellent way to bridge the gulf between uni-

versity life and the realities of full time teaching...on day to

day supply, there are no meetings, no targets, no additional

responsibilities. You just teach.

Supply gives you flexibility to decide when and where you

work.

It is a great option if you want to move to a new area after graduation (and with 19 of-

fices nationwide, we’ll be nearby wherever you are going).

Because you are working in a range of schools, supply

broadens your experience and helps you identify where you

want to work before you commit to a permanent or long-

term role.

Best of all, supply is an excellent way of getting your toe

in the door of lots of schools to show them what you can

do, without the additional stress of interviews.

Demonstrating your ability to a school sets you apart from others.

Applicants and NQTs we match and place within our client schools

frequently end up being taken on as permanent members of staff.

This is a source of great pride for us at Connex because it is unde-

niable proof that we can - and do - serve the needs of our client

schools and our NQTs very well.

Get paid PAYE

Also, as part of the commitment to our staff, we took the major

step to move all of our supply staff onto our own payroll from 1st

June 2016, a move that we understood would not be straightfor-

ward, but would end up proving beneficial to our school staff.

After our big move, we're proud to say that our teachers have responded positively and our staff

numbers have increased. Teachers want to be rewarded, not confused - which is why this has been

such a great move for Connex.

Don’t believe us? Take a look at the next page to see what our teachers said about being paid

PAYE...

If you decide that working on a supply

basis is the right path for you, please

let us know.

We’d be very happy to help you find

your very first teaching job and you’ll

reap the benefits too. All you have to

do is come and say hello to one of

our friendly consultants in a branch

near you.

We have offices based in:

Birmingham

Bradford

Coventry

Derby

Leeds

Leicester

Liverpool

London

Manchester

Nottingham

Preston

Sheffield

St. Helens

Stockport

Stoke

Warrington

Wigan

Wolverhampton

Worcester

You can find more details about our offices on our website: http://www.connex-education.com/contact/

If you like what you saw in our NQT guide, you can always register today—fill in our registration form

and one of our friendly consultants will be in touch very soon: http://www.connex-education.com/

candidates/mydetails.aspx

Alternatively, you can call us and we’ll point you in the right direction: 0845 266 0650

Thank you for taking the time to read our guide, we hope it proves useful! Below, we’ve found

some very, VERY motivational quotes to help you when you’re feeling anxious about starting

your new and exciting teaching job:

“Teachers can affect eternity; no one can tell where their influence stops” -

Henry Brooks Adams

“Success is not a good teacher. Failure makes you humble” - Shah Rukh Khan

“A good teacher is a determined person” - Gilbert Highet