NQTs have mixed experiences, with some schools failing in their responsibilities. A report by The TES editorial team.
Tamsin Page, an English teacher at Hinchingbrooke School in Huntingdon, is one of the lucky ones: a newly qualified teacher who gets the support and free time to which she is entitled by law.
Yet elsewhere, NQTs are denied mentors and reduced timetables. They face the worst classes in schools which offer them no structured programme of support.
The NASUWT teachers’ union has written to Jim Knight, the schools minister, to tell him what is happening in schools that don’t meet their obligations to new staff.
Chris Keates, the union’s general secretary, has called for fines to be imposed on offending schools.
Ms Page, 29, a teacher in Hinchingbrooke’s English department, said: “I can’t even imagine not having my induction and the half-day marking and preparation time. Schools are stretched but NQTs shouldn’t suffer because of that.”
Di Beddow, deputy head of Hinchingbrooke, which has 14 NQTs this year, said the new staff made a vital contribution.
Since 1999, new teachers have had 10 statutory entitlements, including a 10 per cent reduction in teaching workload and extra time for lesson preparation. They should not have to teach outside the age range they have been trained for or be assigned classes with particularly challenging behavioural problems.
The union has been tracking a batch of young members. Half of the 50 teachers who came to a feedback session this month said they had no mentor or structured programme of support. The majority were given classes that were openly acknowledged to be difficult. And some only had temporary contracts “to ensure they were suitable for the job.” Excessive classroom observation was also a complaint.
Other new teachers who spoke to The TES said they had been plunged in at the deep end.
Other research suggests a more mixed picture. A survey of nearly 2,500 new teachers last year by Nottingham and Leeds universities and the Ipsos Mori Social Research Institute, found that the majority enjoyed teaching. But nearly a quarter had fewer than two hours’ non-contact time a week.
Mick Brookes, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers said: “It is important not to blow this out of proportion: there are some counties running excellent NQT induction schemes.”
Sarah Bubb, an induction specialist at London’s Institute of Education found a positive correlation between NQT's first year in teaching, their enjoyment and their school’s adherence to the key statutory elements. Ofsted inspectors do not always give induction the priority it deserves, she added.
