Help to support our trainee teachers is so important

Training to become a teacher can be a huge adjustment. Even though I grew up with teachers and knew the pressures and expectations nothing could have prepared me for starting my own teaching career.

In order to give trainees teachers the best possible start I provide sessions not only to give them strategies and techniques to use in the classroom with their students, but perhaps more importantly, I give them simple, fast techniques to use to support their own wellbeing.

These sessions have been incredibly well recieved by the trainees who have already participated and the lecturers have seen improved retention since we began the sessions.

With huge numbers of teachers leaving the profession and many in training not making it to the end of the course it is essential that we equip our future teachers to handle the stresses and strains of the job.

With a quarter of new teachers leaving the profession in the first 3 years and 10 % of teachers leaving the profession in 2017 we are heading for a crisis if these figures don’t improve soon.

By giving our trainee teacher some support during this stressful time and then during their transition into their NQT year we can make a dramatic difference to their experience and show them they are not alone.

“Engaging and relatable,… interesting and beneficial. This was the best session we’ve had so far.”

Secondary PGCE Student

Thomas Telford College

OFSTED has increased its focus on wellbeing and mental health.

Society has changed and the stresses our children are subjected to have increased. As a result a basic understanding of relaxation and anxiety relief becomes more and more important in our role as teachers. It is vital that we equip our teacher and trainees with the knowledge and strategies needed to implement an effective but manageable programme in schools.

Work with Kate to help your trainees

If you are interested in working with me to support the needs of your trainee teachers, get in touch today to discuss how we can work together. We must ensure that our children have calm, happy teachers to impart wisdom and knowledge for years to come. 

Whether you are looking for someone to teach them how to implement relaxation and mindfulness techniques in the classroom, or you want to support the wellbeing of the trainees themselves, I can help you. I want to help you. 

 

I have worked with Kate to develop a bespoke on-going programme of support for our primary and secondary trainees to help them to recognise the causes and symptoms of stress and, more importantly, to help them to develop effective strategies and the necessary resilience to enable them to manage these so that they do not impact on their work life balance or their relationships with children, colleagues, family and friends. We have tried to ensure that the timing of these sessions is carefully matched to the recognised ‘pinch points’ in our trainees’ programme in order that we are able to provide the right support at the right times. As Kate herself has said, she provides ‘something magical’ to help them in the early stages of their career – and beyond.

As a former teacher herself, Kate is ideally placed to provide a diverse range of training sessions which are credible and well-matched to the cohort’s needs. They focus on the trainee’s own personal well-being and provide a range of strategies that quite simply work. The feedback received from our trainees – and from our Quality Assurance Advisor – has been incredibly positive and the impact on withdrawal rates has been marked. I cannot recommend Kate highly enough, especially as I believe that, as providers and headteachers, we have a responsibility to support the next generation of teachers in developing the skills and strategies needed to enjoy a long and continued career in the teaching profession. 

Su Plant

Director of ITT, West Midlands Consortium

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