Helping new teachers thrive

Encouraging early career teachers (ECTs) to take control of their own professional development doesn’t just improve teaching quality, it also boosts confidence, writes Emily Hainsworth, Deputy Headteacher at Enderby Danemill Primary School which is part of the Discovery Schools Academy Trust.

With nearly a third of new teachers leaving the profession within the first five years, it’s clear we need to change the way we support early career teachers so they can develop into long term contributors to this vocation.

At Danemill Primary School, we’ve found that if we create an environment where ECTs can take charge of their own professional growth it really makes a difference – not only to their teaching ability but in their ability to stay connected with their original passion for teaching.

Creating a foundation for open communication 

New teachers can often feel isolated and overwhelmed when balancing the needs of their students and their desire to do a great job. This can lead to burnout and ultimately see them exiting the profession.

We recognised early on that we had to create a space where ECTs could openly share their classroom experiences, ask for advice, and receive feedback without fear of judgment.

Each of our ECTs has a mentor and they have scheduled check-ins with their mentor every week. During these sessions, ECTs are encouraged to speak candidly about the areas where they feel they need more support, so their mentors can help them come up with solutions to their problems.

One ECT struggled to connect with a student who was frequently disengaged. Through discussions with her mentor, she realised that the student needed more active participation in group activities. She implemented small group tasks where students were assigned specific roles, ensuring that the disengaged student could take on a leadership or decision-making role within the group.

By giving the student a sense of responsibility and ownership in these activities, she saw immediate improvements in both engagement and participation from the student, as they naturally became more involved and invested in the group’s success. And the ECT’s confidence grew as she was involved in coming up with the solution in conjunction with the mentor.

We make clear that communication isn’t just about problem-solving though, it’s also about testing new strategies.

Another ECT initially felt uncertain about deviating from her teacher-led lessons. But through regular discussions with her mentor, she was encouraged to give students more freedom in their learning by letting them choose between different types of projects, such as writing an essay or creating a presentation.

With ongoing support from her mentor, the ECT grew more confident in giving her students more autonomy like this, and as a result students became more motivated in class.

Simply by having a supportive space to share her ideas she became more comfortable experimenting with innovative strategies.

Building confidence through self-reflection

Equally important for ECTs is the ability to review and reflect on the way they teach.

We do this by giving ECTs the option to video record their lessons using ONVU Learning lesson capture system. The system which just sits passively in the classroom ceiling can be switched on at any point in the day so the teacher can choose to record the lesson.

The decision over which lessons to record and what to share with whom, is entirely at the teacher’s discretion so they remain in full control which is something that is incredibly important to the SLT. There really is nothing like it in terms of being able to get under the skin of your own teaching practice. It enables ECTs to watch back their own lessons and identify opportunities for progress.

Upon watching one of their lessons back, one ECT discovered that their instructions for an activity were rushed and therefore unclear. Students seemed confused and repeatedly asked for clarification.

She adjusted her approach and the next time she gave instructions, she slowed down and modelled the activity to ensure everyone understood before starting. With clear directions students could focus on the task itself rather than worrying about what they needed to do. This boosted their engagement, helping the teacher to feel more in control.

Another ECT noticed that her feedback to students wasn’t personalised enough. She said things like ‘well done’ rather than providing specific, constructive feedback like, ‘I noticed you worked hard to spell each word correctly, that shows a lot of determination.’ By seeing this in action, the teacher was able to adjust her feedback making it more meaningful.

By watching a lesson recorded earlier in the term, teachers can compare it to more recent lessons to witness first-hand how their teaching is developing. One teacher noticed how much they had significantly reduced their ‘filler’ words, such as ‘um’ and ‘like’ and improved the pace of their lessons. They may have missed this improvement had they not been able to reflect in this way.

The impact of effective classroom management

Classroom management is another area that causes ECT’s additional stress and with a greater number of students with additional needs this is only increasing. We have found that ECTs who reflect on their classroom management techniques with their mentors or by watching the videos often gain the insight needed to make small adjustments that lead to big improvements in the overall atmosphere of their classroom.

One teacher at Danemill struggled with disruptive behaviour in class. After reviewing lesson footage, she realised that every time she turned their back to write on the board, a small group of students began to talk or distract others.

The teacher changed positions and directly faced the class while giving instructions and was side on when writing on the board and things immediately improved.

Another teacher found herself constantly saying "shush" to quiet the class. After reviewing her classroom management technique in one of her video recordings, she realised that she had been relying on verbal cues too heavily, which weren’t proving effective. Instead, she experimented with new strategies like using hand signals, setting clear expectations at the beginning of lessons, and giving students leadership roles to encourage self-discipline. These strategies led to a reduction in noise levels and a more focused classroom, helping her feel more in control.

A path to retention

Effective classroom management and self-reflection do more than build confidence – they also play a critical role in teacher retention. When ECTs feel confident in their ability to manage a classroom, it reduces their stress, allowing them to focus on what they love most, teaching. This sense of control and fulfilment can help prevent burnout, a major factor that causes many early-career teachers to leave the profession.