NQT starting this year!

[katie]

Hi,

I qualified last year and have been doing supply much of this year which although was mainly enjoyable was variable work and am pretty glad to be out of it!

I have been given a job at the school wher I did final teaching practice - only a years contract as school ear marked for closure next year :-(

Anyway, I know the kids (they were year 1/2 when I had them for Final TP) but now Year 3/4. I am confident starting with most aspects of the new year EXCEPT what to do the first day/ week!!!

Do I jump straight into lessons? Into a unit of work for literacy and numeracy or do we do a few assessment tasks like "what did you do over summer?"

I also have been told there will be a year 6 boy in my class on individual timetable (he came from special school at Easter and will return to one after this school closes) he has ADHD is violent, very aggressive both verbally and physically. Other staff have been trained in Team Teach - I haven't as wasn't at the school when they did it. Does anyone have any advice about working with children like this?

Oh....and 2 of my TAs are very strong willed and like to take charge - i.e. butt in during start and ends of lessons - any advice here would be appreciated!!

Maybe I'm not as sorted as I thought I was!!!
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xx

[janeb]

First of all Katie - well done for getting a job!
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As for the first week, it is useful to do assessments so you get to know where the children are and what they are able to do - children change a lot in the summer holidays!!
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I'd probably start 'properly' after this first week.

As long as the work you set will help you to assess their abilities, then I don't suppose it matters what you do - although I personally find the recapping of holidays a bit boring!
Try to make it a bit more exciting - e.g. each child could make a newspaper which could include:
- news items (what they did on holiday!),
- a celeb facts page (where they are the celeb and can share interesting facts about themselves - or the celeb could be another child in the class)
- a joke page
- a crossword or word search which they create themselves
- a sports report (their favourite sport)
- fashion news?!
etc etc
This doesn't easily cover numeracy so maybe you could do a mini topic here too

The year 6 boy sounds like a handful although he must have a one-to-one assistant. My advice
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? Don't be afraid to ask for support from your new colleagues. Lots of PSCHE sessions?!!! Be consistent! Large classes of wine on Friday evenings...

[audrey]

Hi and welcome to the site, well done on the job front. Have you looked at last years plans for the first few days back, that's what I've based my first few days on, although have changed some of the lessons. You can if you want do some maths games with them to include numeracy that's what I will be doing. The first few days are quite relaxed, not proper lessons until the first full week starts. As Jane suggested the newspaper sounds great or a poster of their summer activities that you get up on a display (that's quite important displaying their work as soon as you can really). Team building games, generally finding out about them. Also get the rules done within the first few days-the classroom rules/contract with them giving you
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s and you taking the best ones with some of your own thrown in. You could get them to sign the contract. Lots of PSHE also.

I will let you know if I have anymore info.

[jennyfleur]

Hi Katie and welcome. I'm not really a KS2 person, but congrats on getting your job, and if I can help...I will x

[NuttySupplier]

Hi Katie, welcome to the site!

Loads of advice already, but as far as your TAs go, keep them bl**dy busy! I usually set up a notebook at the start of a year, with a list of simple jobs (name tags on drawers, labels for displays etc.), but make the list as long as your arm... tell them it's a list of things you have to do, but obviously you'd like them to keep an eye on the list and whenever they have a minute, i.e. at the start of lessons when they only need to keep half an ear on what you're saying so they know what the kids have to do, you'd like them to work through the list too and cross off as they go along...

Hope that helps!!

[janeb]

Originally Posted by NuttySupplier
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Hi Katie, welcome to the site!

Loads of advice already, but as far as your TAs go, keep them bl**dy busy! I usually set up a notebook at the start of a year, with a list of simple jobs (name tags on drawers, labels for displays etc.), but make the list as long as your arm... tell them it's a list of things you have to do, but obviously you'd like them to keep an eye on the list and whenever they have a minute, i.e. at the start of lessons when they only need to keep half an ear on what you're saying so they know what the kids have to do, you'd like them to work through the list too and cross off as they go along...

Hope that helps!!

That's a really nice way of getting the TAs on board - some people are great at keeping themselves busy but others....!

A school I worked in recently had an elderly TA
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who comes in after playtime and then wanders off while you introduce lessons to the kids to get herself a cup of tea!! I think she's up for retirement soon so they are just letting her coast!

[audrey]

I will definetly be using Nutty's
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-love it and it will fill those gaps when they are looking for something to do
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Jane you
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e me
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with your description of the rather mature TA, I knew one like that who trained to be a teacher and instead became a TA
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Anyone got any good
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s for display boards to start the year off? I've mainly got my classroom organised with boards mounted etc but want some inspiring
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s if anyone wants to share?????????? I noticed one yr 5 teacher has put up a golden time board???

[Footiegirl]

Originally Posted by audrey
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Anyone got any good
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s for display boards to start the year off? I've mainly got my classroom organised with boards mounted etc but want some inspiring
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 1 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
s if anyone wants to share?????????? I noticed one yr 5 teacher has put up a golden time board???

I got my class on one of the very first days to do an 'About Me' poster, with their pictures in the middle (another great way of keeping TA's busy - taking pictures and printing them off, helping them stick them down etc!!) and stuck that up - great way for remembering names! Though I now vaguely remember you are teaching lower KS1...?

[audrey]

Aww thanks Footie. I was originally supposed to have reception but have instead got yr 4 and I'm going through emotions of excitement-anxiety etc etc (apparently it's perfectly normal)
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On the transition day I got them to do all about me posters and most of these have turned out to be brilliant so those are already up, obviously those that are unfinished will have to go up also on their return to school. I have seen some wonderful inspiring
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s like target boards, learning styles, etc etc and would love to do something that someone has already tried and tested with more detail for little ole me really
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How's the family by the way? Is Henry still being caring, patient and cute?

[NuttySupplier]

Have you got a jobs board? Many hands make light work, hands cut out with a kid's name and their job on it, instructions on when they are supposed to do their job i.e. Jamie, water plants, once a week, 50ml each.
A Star of the Week board? Piccie of kid in the middle of a silver foil picture frame, a wallet of pieces of card with blue tac on the back so the kids can write on there (registration time on Monday morning each week): I like Jamie because...
Challenge of the Month? Design a greener form of school transport. Can you make all the number to 20 using 1p, 2p, 5p and 10p coins? Put all the class's names in alphabetical order. etc.