Find your pressure points
Schools can be pressurised places at the best of times. But you may find some times in the school year are particularly hectic, when you may have to contend with report writing or marking coursework in addition to your usual workload. And if you’re involved in running extra-curricular activities, such as drama or sport, you may find yourself rushed off your feet in the run up to the end of term production or school sports day.
Being aware of potential ‘pressure points’ can help you plan ahead, so you don’t become overloaded. At the beginning of the school year, spend a couple of hours filling in your diary.
Make a note of any important deadlines, such as reports and coursework marking and aim to start at least three to four weeks before each deadline.
Setting yourself manageable daily or weekly targets is an effective way to ensure big projects, such as writing reports or coursework marking get completed on time. It will also help prevent you from feeling overwhelmed.
Wherever your pressure point lies, make sure you plan well ahead to avoid feeling overloaded later.
Planning is a priority
As a trainee or NQT you will bring some great, fresh and innovative ideas to the classroom. This is welcome in schools, but planning lessons does take time. Remember that you will not be expected to reinvent the wheel for every lesson. There are plenty of existing schemes of work, school and online resources which can be adapted to suit the needs of your students.
Assessment or marking is a real bugbear for many teachers. Giving quality feedback to students is very important, but it doesn’t always have to be time consuming. Talk to your mentor or induction tutor about different types of assessment, such as peer marking, students marking their own work or verbal feedback. Using a variety of assessment will keep students on their toes and help ease your marking load.
As part of the National Agreement put in place in September 2005, all teachers in England and Wales are entitled to a minimum 10 per cent of their timetabled teaching time guaranteed for planning, preparation and assessment (PPA).
All teachers, including headteachers with timetabled teaching commitments, whether employed on permanent, fixed-term, temporary or part-time contracts, have an entitlement to guaranteed PPA time within the timetabled school day.
This entitlement can be weekly or fortnightly depending on the school timetable, but it must constitute at least 10 per cent of teachers’ timetabled teaching time and not be part of contact time. NQTs should receive both the 10 per cent PPA time and their 10 per cent NQT induction time.
Make sure that you are being given this time and if you feel you are not receiving your PPA time or if you are only being given ad hoc time away from teaching or periods too small to be able to benefit, speak with your headteacher or approach your trade union representative for advice.
Extra-curricular work and time
If you are a new teacher without a partner or children, beware of people assuming you have no out-of-work commitments and giving you all the out-of-school hours’ activities to manage.
Running extra-curricular activities can be great for:
- Building relationships with pupils.
- Working with and learning from colleagues.
- Extending your knowledge and experience in the particular focus of the activity.
- Showing your commitment and enthusiasm.
- Contributing to the school personality and culture.
However do be aware of the following difficulties:
- Your manager or Head of Department does not endorse the activity.
- You are in school after hours without support and an accident or sensitive situation arises.
- You have plenty else to do.
- It impinges on your work-life balance.
So, before you commit:
- Discuss the opportunity with your mentor and other appropriate members of staff. Gauge where you can expect support. Look out for clashes with other clubs or societies.
- Be sure you know what the demands on your time will be, what your resources are, who else may help. Be realistic.
- Find out what the rules for being in school after hours are. Know the fire and emergency procedures.
- Make clear your expectations of pupils’ behaviour, as you would in normal school hours.
- Be aware of expectations people may have of you when they are trying to find people to take responsibility of extra-curricular activities.
Remember, don’t be afraid to ask if you need advice or help. It takes an intelligent, committed person to know when they need support. You’re not invincible. Recognise your limitations and take time out when you need it.
Take care of yourself
As a teacher, school will often occupy your thoughts even when you are away from work. It is important to be organised and leave time for interests and hobbies. Achieving a good work-life balance will help minimise stress levels and will benefit your overall professional effectiveness as a teacher.
It is worth considering what areas of your life are important to you and help contribute to your personal wellbeing. For example, spending time with your family and friends or just having time to yourself. Try to make sure you still do these things and continue to reflect on whether or not you are still happy with these areas of your life.
If you find that your work commitments are beginning to infringe on them try to think of some easy steps to get back on track. For example booking a baby sitter so that you can spend some quality time with your partner or calling a friend you haven’t seen in a while. Sometimes the smallest changes can make a real difference.
For more tips on relaxing and your wellbeing why not read the following factsheets:
Looking after your voice
Like actors, singers and other professional voice users, the voice is one of your most valuable tools, but many teachers underestimate the importance of looking after their voice.
Don’t accept sore throats and husky voices as an occupational hazard. Putting the voice under continual strain can lead to long-lasting damage. Fortunately, there are many steps you can take to ensure you look after your voice.
Ways to take care of your voice:
- Drink plenty of water during the day to ensure your throat is lubricated.
- Stand up straight and keep your eyes forward, when speaking, creating a 90 degree angle between your spine and line of vision.
- Rest your voice whenever it is possible.
- Avoid shouting – quick changes in volume can put a strain on the voice. This is also important for behaviour management, as if you shout, it is impossible to become any louder should the need present itself. If you do have to shout, try to drop the volume as soon as possible.
- Vary the tone and speed of your speech. Speaking quickly all the time indicates tension and can affect the voice.
- Use non-verbal signs that your pupils recognise in order to reduce the use of your voice.
- Take regular breaks during the day.
- Keep plants in your classroom, with water around the base to help combat dry air.
- Ask if your local authority offers any Inset training with regards to voice training and care for teachers.
Avoid these:
? Constant talking, possibly in a dry atmosphere, takes its toll.
? Avoid dairy products – they can encourage the secretion of phlegm, which interferes with the vocal cords.
? Avoid smoking, smoky atmospheres and hot, dry air.
? Avoid medication, such as anti-histamines, that can have a drying effect.
If you continue to feel worried about your voice, visit your GP and seek his or her advice.
Dealing with stress and learning to take it easy
You’ve chosen a brilliant and rewarding career which will have many high points. There will also be tough times. The important thing is to recognise this and look after yourself.
Stress will not only affect your life as a teacher, but also your home life. Remember, stress is not a weakness, and you are not failing if you feel stressed.
Dealing with stress
- You have a professional responsibility to monitor your health and wellbeing.
- Recognise your stress, and be aware of the issues you face at work and at home.
- Take action. Deal with one thing at a time, and ask for support. Involve your colleagues if the issue is an organisational one.
- Change your thinking. Step back and take a fresh look at the situation.
- Make boundaries – something produced in three hours will be different from something produced in one hour, but is it any better?
- Keep fit. Exercise regularly and make sure you’re eating healthily. Try to avoid increasing your intake of alcohol and caffeine and, although smoking may seem to help, it really doesn’t. A healthy lifestyle makes it easier for our bodies to cope with the effects of stress.
- Rest and relax. At your busiest times, keep at least one day of the weekend free and try to avoid taking work home on at least one evening.
- Make sure you get sufficient sleep each night.
- Avoid paper shifting.
- Visit your doctor if things aren’t improving.
Tips for maintaining a healthy work-life balance
Speak up when work expectations and demands are too much. Senior staff need to be aware of pressures in order to address them.
- Others will not expect you to know everything or have all the answers - so don’t expect this of yourself.
- Prioritise - try to ‘work smart, not long’. Set yourself a certain amount of time per task and try not to get caught up in unproductive activities.
- Take proper breaks. This can sometimes be difficult when you have responsibilities out of the classroom, but do your best to break for lunch at least, and get out of the classroom.
- Draw a line between work and home. If you do need to bring work home, make sure you have a designated working area on which you can close the door.
- Try to ensure that family, friends, exercise and leisure activities don’t suffer because of long working hours.
- Assess your work-life balance in collaboration with your colleagues if you can. The more visible the process, the more likely it is to have an effect.
Since the implementation of the Government’s Remodelling Agenda in England and Wales, work-life balance will be an important consideration for any school’s management team. You are entitled to the support you need to do your job effectively and all trainees are entitled to a ‘reasonable’ work-life balance.
Teaching is a demanding job! Sometimes it may feel as if there aren’t enough hours in the day, as if you’ll never get on top of your workload or that difficult class. When you’re feeling like this, it is vital to remember that you are not alone. Most new teachers find their first year challenging. Don’t be afraid to voice your concerns with trusted colleagues or friends, as they may be able to give useful advice or simply offer a sympathetic ear.
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