What I wish I knew with ECT Hannah Darvill

Hannah is just 3 months into her teaching career and is still smiling ... alot. She always enjoyed school and had the pleasure of being taught by some really great teachers who inspired her immensely. She grew up with a mum for a teacher and so was surrounded by all things educational! Although she got fed up of the school environment in the 6th form and decided she didn’t want to be a teacher anymore, when she was away from it she missed it and this reignited her passion to follow teaching as a career.

In this podcast we discuss ...

• the importance of not letting the bad days get you down. All teachers have bad days and that is OK - it really is OK. Children will still be learning and so will you be as each day teaches you something new and useful.
• the new ECT framework is both good and bad and needs tweaking. It can be overwhelming so make sure you pick out the good bits and ignore what is unhelpful, like being told to learn the children's names!
• being a beginner and being comfortable with that. Everyone is a beginner whenever they do something new so accept it and embrace it, then you will get the most out of each experience.
• the picture of perfection that teachers have for each lesson they teach. You will rarely achieve perfection but you will still be doing a good job. So focus on all the positive aspects, including how the children are progressing, and feel proud of each achievement.
• just how essential it is to have consistent expectations every minute of every day if you want to make the most of every moment in class. This makes more difference than anything else.
• the need to end flapping and the value of developing a legendary line.
• the value of creating a group of 'go to' people who can advise and support you as you go through your ECT year.
• taking time for yourself is not optional it is a must. It is easy to have a never ending to do list as there is always more you can do, so you must know when to stop. Pick your going home time, prioritise what needs doing for the next day, and leave on time.
• Ofsted is a stressful time, even for an ECT, but it is great to see how everyone comes together and works for a common goal to show off the great things the school does.
• why you have to believe that you can do a great job at the start of your career and know that you will only get better and better as you gain more experience.

You can connect with Hannah on Twitter @primaryhannah