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The government have announced plans for all children on free school meals to be given access to an AI tutor, which begs the question, are we already on the way to humans being replaced by robots?
"Am I cut out for this?" It's a question almost every new teacher has whispered to themselves, and this week Ellie says it out loud. She moved from teaching assistant into a Year 6 class as a trainee, left very much to work it out on her own with no additional adults. The regular meetings and observations she was promised haven't happened, and she's had praise maybe twice all year. Now she's worried that if this is what teaching is, she might not be cut out for it. Dylan and Hayden take this one seriously, because the real question isn't whether Ellie is good enough. It's whether she should ever have been put in that position without support.
It's a mailbag full of early career pressure this week, and a lot of you will recognise yourselves in it. One ECT in Year 1 is staring down the phonics screening check with an 86% pass rate expectation hanging over them. They've been told anything less isn't good enough, so it's daily interventions in the afternoons and constant mock screenings. The lads talk about where that pressure actually belongs, and whether drilling children towards a number is really the point.
Then there's the teacher whose headteacher wants them to go for Year Group Leader in only their third year, before they've even changed year groups. Flattering, yes, but is it a genuine vote of confidence or a sign of a school that's run out of other options? Dylan has a view on what good leadership development should look like.
And following the recent episode on setting, a Year 1 ECT writes in feeling stretched far too thin. They're set for every core lesson, then splitting each set further into different inputs and worksheets, effectively teaching three ways at once, and trying to cram it all into a 45 minute slot. To top it off, the one TA in the key stage keeps getting pulled for cover. How are you meant to give every group the support they need when you're spread that far?
Honest, a little raw, and a real look at what we're asking new teachers to carry right now.
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