Starting out as a teacher is both exciting and daunting. Three early career teachers open up about what has helped them most in their first year in the classroom – and what keeps them motivated during challenges.
Phoebe, Annabel and Maya teach at Langford Primary School, part of United Learning Trust. They share their experiences of their first year of teaching, and the support they’re getting through Ambition’s Early Career Training Programme.
1. Having a mentor makes all the difference
For Phoebe, the support of a mentor has been essential. Mentors are more experienced teachers who guide and support early career teachers through regular observations, feedback and advice.
“The biggest thing that I’ve really appreciated in my first year in teaching since qualifying is the support from my mentor. Having that person that’s almost like an anchor to you who will give you guidance and support in the chaos of the first year of teaching is amazing.”
“I've really valued their specific feedback and not feeling overloaded with so many different areas to work on. It’s great to have the opportunity to speak with them and hone in on those skills with my own class in my first year of teaching.”
Mentor support goes deeper than offering feedback on classroom practice; it extends to pastoral support too. “I’ve really appreciated also having those weekly check-ins to see how I’m doing mentally as well,” says Phoebe.
2. Practical resources help with new challenges
Annabel moved from teaching Year 6 pupils as a trainee to teaching Year 1 pupils as an early career teacher – and found resources on the programme supported this transition.
Teachers on the Early Career Training Programme use our MyECT platform to track their progress, and access online modules and resources – like videos, reflective questions, evidence summaries, diagnostic checks, and tailored examples – on the learning platform Steplab.
“It was such a big transition and a really big change,” Annabel explains. “The platform has helped me adapt my teaching for younger learners, especially the example videos. It’s something that I can put into practice in the classroom straight away, which has really helped my confidence, especially as a younger teacher.”
She also values how the programme supports her to think deeply about her practice: “The platform really helps encourage reflection, which as we know, is the most important way that you’re going to learn and develop.”
3. A clear training structure makes workload manageable
For Maya, the programme’s structure of bite-sized steps helps her plan her workload. “The first year of teaching can be really overwhelming. But in terms of how the programme is organised, it’s so clear with the reminders that we receive every week about what is expected from us.”
Early career teachers on our programme develop through online modules that are released termly and completed on a fortnightly basis. In the first year, they have weekly sessions with their mentor based on what they have learned in the modules. Mentors observe their mentees teaching, then set action steps which teachers practise in a safe space before putting them into action in the classroom.
Maya continues, “I’m getting so much out of the training and the weekly mentor meetings because we discuss really specific targets each week and then I’m observed in that specific target the following week.” She adds, “The online training is really manageable. I’m really taking in that information and applying it to my practice.”
“We're coming across things that we've learnt in our first year of training as well,” says Maya, referring to the way the platform allows early career teachers to revisit and build on core knowledge at any time. There’s also a built-in diagnostics tool to help teachers and mentors assess areas for development. “The symptom checker is so useful. It helps with the specific things that we find tricky so we can really apply the training to our own practice.”
4. Quality support helps early career teachers to see a future in teaching
Starting a career as a teacher brings challenges, but having the right resources and support early on makes all the difference.
Phoebe says, “Teaching can be stressful, but having this platform and having my mentor in school and every day being different – it excites me rather than panics me. I can definitely see myself in teaching for a long time.”
Annabel agrees: “Having such a strong support network with Ambition has just been really helpful. There are lots of times you think ‘Oh, I’m not sure if this is for me’. But having that support this year so far has been amazing.” She adds: “I do have difficult days, but I never leave school or wake up in the morning thinking that I don’t want to do this. I know that teaching is for me and I’m in the right job because I really do love it.”
5. Seeing how their training helps children flourish is its own reward
The support they get on our Early Career Training Programme ultimately helps Pheobe, Annabel and Maya to give children the best start in life – something they’re all proud of.
Annabel shares a recent “magical moment”: “I had a child that joined from China in September with absolutely no English. We’ve got the phonics screening check at the end of Year 1, and I was able to celebrate the success with her mum at parents evening that she’s definitely on track to pass it.” She adds, “It’s moments like that as a teacher that you really have to hold on to. You know you’re making a tangible difference.”
Maya has found the step up to having her own class a “special” experience. “In springtime, when we have parents evening, we’re looking back at where the children were in the autumn. The children that were finding something really difficult, you see them making progress throughout the year and you know that’s because of all the hard work that you have been putting in. That just makes it all so worth it and it’s just so rewarding.”
Like Annabel and Maya, Phoebe is “having the most amazing time” thanks to the support she gets to help children flourish. “I have so many different characters and walks of life in my classroom. And honestly, I truly mean every single day is different and I love that aspect of teaching.”
Nurturing early career teachers
Find out how Ambition’s Early Career Training Programme supports new teachers and their mentors.
