Celebrating your impact

It’s time to applaud the impact that you have on pupils every time you step into the classroom

Teachers literally make the world go round: every profession exists thanks to the education that teachers give young people at the start of their lives. Despite how important your role is to communities, you are not alone if you feel disheartened after a particularly hard three years.

Pressures of workload, increasing class sizes and more people leaving the profession has left school communities around the country in a difficult position even before the pandemic came into play, but the last three years have brought new stresses and issues with them. The court of public opinion over pay deals, pupils who don’t always express their appreciation for what you do, a teacher staffing crisis and local authority budget cuts affecting education settings around the country may leave you questioning your role. In NASUWT’s latest The Big Question Survey, published in January 2023, 77 per cent of respondents admitted they have considered leaving their current job, and 66 per cent have considered leaving the profession entirely.

If you find yourself having these thoughts, remember why you joined the profession in the first place. Countering these challenges is the invaluable impact you have on each pupil you see on a daily basis, helping young people to form ideas, gain knowledge, and understand who they want to be in the world.

Thank You

We want to say thank you for everything you do, and acknowledge that teachers deserve to be celebrated every day. On 21 June 2023, people around the UK will mark National Thank a Teacher Day, but the awareness date is more than a chance for greeting card companies to make some extra money: this is a chance for others to highlight the incredible work you do, and for you to say thank you to the teachers, other education staff and supportive people around you that make your job easier or better. If you want to celebrate someone in your school, head to the day’s dedicated website and go to the schools page. Here, you can access free lesson and assembly plans, send a thank you card to members of staff, find activities to do with your pupils, and download resources to spread the word about the day in the local community.

This year, people are encouraged to celebrate the day by going back in time and using #UsThenUsNow on social media. Anyone can get involved, sharing a photo of them on their first day of school and one now, giving a mention to a member of the school community who helped shape them as a person. This could be an opportunity to share your own experiences with your pupils, to talk about a favourite teacher you had in your own school days, and to tell them why got into the profession – some of them might even want to be teachers themselves thanks to you.

After an extremely difficult few years for teachers and the whole school community, clicking on the hashtag and reading people’s stories could also act as a pick-me-up and an important reminder of why your role is so essential to young people and their future.

Impact

Your impact as an educator and a positive role model will influence every pupil you teach, even if it’s just for a few hours a week over the course of a year. You might inspire their future career or help them learn something new about themselves, or yours might just be the lesson they look forward to most in a day.

This impact can support some groups more than others, like young people who face additional challenges. This could be difficulty learning or the need for additional support, or challenging factors outside of school that are impacting on their wellbeing. The cost of living crisis and the rise in the cost of heating and food, the loss of a loved one, family changes like divorce and mental health problems can all affect the way a young person is able to focus at school.

Creating a supportive, nurturing environment in the classroom can make a bigger difference for these young people. If you want to take this impact further, you could help out with extra-curriculars or your school’s breakfast club, or simply by introducing important themes into your lessons while highlighting resources young people can access for support.

Whether you feel fully appreciated in your school, or you are struggling with some of the daily challenges that come with a teaching role, remember you are changing young people’s lives every day. While they might not always express their appreciation, your impact will be long-lasting, setting them up for a positive future.

Celebrate the impact you have and the achievements of fellow teachers around you on National Thank a Teacher Day (www.thankateacher.co.uk).