5 Ways To Make NeW Teachers Feel WelcoMe With recruitment and retention such an important issue for schools, it matters even more than ever that new staff are able to settle quickly into their new schools. A significant part of that is how they are welcomed in the first place, according to Claudi BenDavid. By Claudi BenDavid
Like many teachers around the country, at the beginning of September I started a new job. It’s essentially the same role as before, just at a different school, and technically my job title is “Teacher of Chemistry” instead of “Science Teacher” but it’s all much of a muchness. Those who know me, know I hate change. During one particularly stressful week mid-pandemic, I came back after teaching double Year 9 to find the entire Science office had been rearranged and it completely threw me off my game. I prefer to be prepared for change, and I don’t think I’m alone in that. I’m also both queer and Jewish, so starting somewhere new always comes with a fear that I’m walking into a minefield of prejudices. And yet, I felt confident about this change, this new beginning, and my confidence was far from misplaced. Almost all of it is because of actions taken by my new school, my new team, and my new HoD. They weren’t actions that were particularly special, or impossible to replicate, and I’m sharing them with you today so that perhaps the new 1 4 // H W R K M AG A Z I N E // M AY 2 0 2 2
starters who join schools in the upcoming “transfer period” can feel welcomed and comfortable, just as I did and still do.
needed, to asking whether I’d prefer Sir or Madam. It was, as I said, unexpected. But it very much set the tone for September.
1. Sufficient Contact
All in all, communication wasn’t overwhelming and I didn’t feel like I was trying to work for two places at once. It was more that if there were questions, they were answered and if there were things that were relevant, they were shared.
Contact came from a variety of sources: from HR, the Head, my department directly and it was just the right amount. Despite the September start date, I got the job way back in February. This meant that there was potential for a lot of “dead time” between employment and starting. HR were fantastic, and were very clear in exactly what was needed, when it was needed and also when all the various cogs would turn. This meant I wasn’t left worrying “I’ve not had X, yet” or “Should I have sent them Y?” A week or so after the induction day (more on that later) I got an unexpected text from the Head. He was contacting all of the new starters, and he asked if I could drop him a line. I said yes. He then rang me and we discussed what September would be like. He was absolutely fantastic about making sure they were doing everything necessary to make me feel comfortable, from checking I had what I
2. Early Setup
We received our email addresses and login details on the induction day in July and they worked. Often when you start somewhere new you get given these things, but they haven’t been activated yet and won’t be until September. By having functional emails and logins before starting at the new school, it meant that we could more easily liaise with our new department and find out what we’d be teaching. As well as the IT information, most of the new starters also got their ID cards, which means they could rock up on that first day of term and not have to ask to be let in. There’s little that makes you feel less welcome than having to wait around for permission to enter! @hwrk_magazine
