Starting with Teach First in September? Your Essential Guide to an Incredible Journey
So, the confirmation email arrived, the initial training dates are in your calendar, and the reality is setting in: you’re starting with Teach First in September! That flutter in your stomach? Part excitement, part nervous anticipation? Totally normal. Stepping into the classroom through Teach First is embarking on a truly unique, challenging, and profoundly rewarding path. Whether you’re fresh out of university or shifting careers, this guide is here to help you navigate those crucial early weeks and months.
First Things First: What Exactly Are You Starting?
Teach First isn’t your standard teacher training route. You’re joining a movement aimed at tackling educational inequality head-on. From day one in September, you’ll be placed in a school serving a disadvantaged community. You’re not just learning how to teach; you’re immediately stepping into the vital role of being a teacher, making a tangible difference for young people who need dedicated educators the most.
The initial phase involves an intensive Summer Institute before you hit the classroom. Think of this as your bootcamp – intense sessions on lesson planning, behaviour management techniques, understanding safeguarding, and core teaching strategies. It’s demanding, but it’s designed to give you the foundational tools you’ll desperately need once you meet your class. Absorb everything you can, ask endless questions, and connect with your fellow participants – they’ll become your essential support network.
Walking Through the School Gates: Your First Few Weeks
That first Monday in September arrives. Deep breaths. Your first few weeks teaching through Teach First will likely feel like drinking from a firehose. Information overload, new names and faces (staff and students!), unfamiliar routines, and the sheer emotional weight of responsibility. Here’s what to expect and how to cope:
1. Focus on Survival and Observation: Don’t expect perfection immediately. Your primary goals are learning names, understanding the school culture, and establishing basic routines. Watch experienced teachers like a hawk. How do they start lessons? How do they manage transitions? How do they interact with students in the corridors? This observation is gold.
2. Build Relationships, Build Relationships, Build Relationships: This is the absolute bedrock of effective teaching, especially in challenging contexts. Make a conscious effort to learn your students’ names quickly. Show genuine interest. Smile. Listen. Building trust doesn’t happen overnight, but consistent, respectful interactions start the process. The same goes for colleagues – introduce yourself, be humble, ask for advice.
3. Master the Basics of Behaviour Management: This often causes the most anxiety. You’ll learn specific strategies during training, but key principles include: being consistent with routines and expectations, setting clear boundaries from the outset (and calmly reinforcing them), using positive reinforcement authentically, and learning the school’s specific behaviour policies inside-out. Your Teach First mentor and school-based colleagues are vital resources here.
4. Prioritise Ruthlessly & Embrace “Good Enough”: You will feel overwhelmed by the workload – planning, marking, emails, meetings, training sessions. Learn to identify the absolute essentials for tomorrow. What must be done? What can wait? Don’t try to create Pinterest-perfect lessons every night. A solid, clear lesson that achieves its core objective is far better than an overly ambitious one that collapses. “Good enough” is often perfect for survival mode.
5. Lean on Your Support Network: This is non-negotiable. Your Teach First Development Lead (mentor), your school-based mentor, your subject tutor, and crucially, your fellow Teach First participants are your lifelines. Share your struggles, ask for help without shame, celebrate small wins together. No one expects you to do this alone.
Navigating the Emotional Rollercoaster
Starting with Teach First in September brings immense highs and inevitable lows. Witnessing a student finally grasp a difficult concept? Unbeatable. Facing persistent disruption or feeling ineffective? Incredibly tough. Remember:
It’s Normal to Feel Overwhelmed: Everyone does. Give yourself grace. This is one of the hardest things you’ll ever do.
Celebrate Tiny Victories: Did you get through a lesson without major disruption? Did one student participate who normally doesn’t? Did you finally understand the photocopier code? Celebrate it! These micro-wins build resilience.
Practice Self-Care Like Your Job Depends on It (Because It Does): Schedule downtime rigorously. Protect your sleep. Eat properly. Move your body. Find healthy outlets for stress (talking, exercise, hobbies). Burnout is a real risk if you neglect yourself.
Reframe Challenges: When things go wrong (and they will), try to see them as learning opportunities. What can you adjust for next time? What support do you need? This growth mindset is crucial.
Remember Your ‘Why’: On the hardest days, reconnect with the reason you joined Teach First – to make a difference for children facing disadvantage. That purpose is powerful fuel.
Beyond Survival: Growing into Your Role
As the initial shock wears off (usually around half-term!), you’ll start to find your rhythm. You’ll know your students better, understand the systems, and feel more confident in your classroom presence. This is when the Teach First Leadership Development Programme really kicks in, focusing on developing you not just as a teacher, but as a leader committed to educational equity.
You’ll delve deeper into understanding the complex societal factors impacting your students and your school. You’ll develop skills in coaching, influencing change, and driving initiatives beyond your classroom. The programme is designed to equip you to be an effective leader within education long after your initial two-year commitment.
The Long-Term View: More Than Just Two Years
While the September start marks the beginning of your two-year commitment, the Teach First experience often shapes careers and lives far beyond that. Alumni go on to become outstanding senior leaders within schools, work in educational policy, found social enterprises, or apply their leadership skills in diverse sectors – all carrying that core mission of tackling inequality.
Embrace the Journey
Starting with Teach First in September is the launchpad for an extraordinary adventure. It will test you, stretch you, and transform you in ways you can’t yet imagine. There will be moments of exhaustion and doubt, but there will also be moments of pure joy, deep connection, and the profound satisfaction of knowing you are directly impacting young lives and challenging an unfair system.
Go into it with eyes wide open, a humble heart, a resilient spirit, and a commitment to learning. Embrace the support, prioritise your well-being, celebrate the small steps, and hold onto your purpose. The journey you begin this September has the potential to shape not only your future but the futures of countless young people. Get ready – it’s going to be incredible.
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