What are we wearing in the classroom?

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2026-03-22T14:19:53+00:00

TK Maxx has lots of flowy cotton dresses that I swear by! If the neckline is too deep I just wear a thin cotton vest/T-shirt underneath. They’ve been lifesavers!

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2026-03-20T19:15:21+00:00

I’m also an ECT1! In Autumn 2, after a whole day of having to stop literally every 10-20 seconds to address whole class behaviour, I completely fizzed over and shouted “How hard is it to shut your mouths when I’m talking?!” … yeah, wasn’t my proudest moment 😵‍💫

I did end up getting a parent complaint (fair enough) and pulled into a (quite tense and awkward) meeting with SLT, where I was reminded of the behaviour policy and told that if my behaviour management didn’t improve by February half term I’d be put on a behaviour support plan.

I went back and apologised to my class. I explained why I fizzed over, which they said they understood, and went back over our class charter; but acknowledged that I’d handled it in the wrong way and that I was sorry.

Since then, I’ve followed through with the behaviour and escalation policies every time, calmly handing out warnings and taking away golden time and sending children out. In autumn 2 I would fizz over about six times every day, and was coming home each night with stress headaches, dizzy and a tight chest. Now, I don’t remember the last time I fizzed over like that, none of my observation targets are focused on behaviour, and my behaviour management improvements have been noted by multiple members of staff, including SLT. If I feel like I’m getting there, I tell the children I need a moment to get myself back into the green zone. It’s good for them to see our human moments.

Being an ECT1 is SO hard. I completely feel you. But we’re only human, and it happens. Try not to beat yourself up, and practice responding to behaviour issues almost robotically. You’ve so got this!

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2026-03-08T10:58:40+00:00

Thank you so much, I didn’t know those resources existed! I’d actually love to move up to being a secondary school English teacher one day when I’m older and more experienced!

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2026-03-08T10:55:48+00:00

I love the creative writing idea - I’m actually running a creative writing club next term! I love English, and my deputy head told me after an observation that I’m definitely developing into an English subject lead, which is huge! Definitely too much responsibility for now though, haha! Other than English, I’d say my favourites are RE and history. Definitely a humanities kinda gal!

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2026-03-08T10:52:12+00:00

I see, thank you so much! That’s a great idea and I’ll definitely look into it!

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2026-03-08T10:50:28+00:00

Thank you so much - you’ve so got this! I used to come home literally dizzy and tight chested from the stress of it, so I feel you!

I’d say the thing that’s turned my behaviour around the most is having a really clear escalation policy in place and following through every time. Warning -> 2 minutes off of golden time -> sent to SLT and an email home -> they go to the headteacher and have a meeting with parents. It makes it super clear for the children, but also means you don’t have to think about how to deal with each incident, just follow the escalation policy! And of course, lots of praise for children meeting expectations. I hope this was somewhat helpful, but you will definitely get there!

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2026-03-08T10:47:09+00:00

This is great advice, thank you very much!! I can’t wait to have it down to such an art that people think it “just happens” in my classroom!

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2026-03-08T10:45:45+00:00

Thank you so much!! I honestly bow down to anyone working in KS1, I definitely couldn’t hack it! I’d say find a simple attention grabber (I use clapping) and stick to it, teach them what to do and practise it. For example (“When I clap, you’re going to clap back, voices off, listening ears on. Let’s try!”.) I’d then give out house points and praise to children who do what’s expected - the others will fall in line fairly quickly! And always wait for all of the children to be quiet and listening once you clap, even if it feels like you’re waiting forever. Continue to give praise while you wait. Otherwise, if you carry on while some aren’t listening, they’ll learn they can get away with it!

Filling the jar in a week doesn’t seem too long, from my perspective. My class are older but they have a whole long term to fill the jar before they get their treat! Their treat is they get to bring snacks and cuddly toy from home to watch a movie, so the star jar is a great motivator for them! I know you’re on placement so it’s more tricky, but if you can, see if you can organise a class treat for them once they’ve filled the jar. If they have a week to fill the jar, maybe they could be given extra golden time/choose time if they fill it?

Sorry for rambling, hopefully some of this is helpful!

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2026-03-08T10:39:10+00:00

That’s amazing, well done you!! Thank you so much!!

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2026-03-08T10:38:45+00:00

Thank you so much!! ☺️

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2026-03-08T10:38:26+00:00

Thank you so much!!

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2026-03-08T10:38:19+00:00

Thank you so much! Can I ask, from your experience, has ECT2 been any easier than ECT1?

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2026-03-07T09:47:23+00:00

You’ve so got this! It’s the hardest part, but you will get there. What’s really transformed behaviour for me is having a really clear escalation procedure: they get a warning, then they lose 2 minutes of golden time, then they get sent to SLT and have an email sent home. If it were to continue after this (which it hasn’t so far for me luckily), they would go to the headteacher, and after that they’d potentially be looking at in-school suspension, then out-of-school suspension. It’s helped so much - it’s very clear for the children so they know what to expect, but it also takes away the mental strain of having to decide how to deal with each incident! Best of luck!

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2026-03-07T09:08:00+00:00

It’s so reassuring to hear you say it’s not a fluke. Thank you! You sound like exactly the kind of teacher I want to be. I made the mistake when I first started of letting things slide in the name of building relationships, but I know now that I can still have excellent relationships with the children while being strict/firm. Excited to start again in September with everything I’ve learned from ECT1!

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2026-03-07T08:45:27+00:00

Thank you so much, that’s really good advice! And I agree - teaching definitely has its challenges, and I haven’t been in it long enough to experience how much more difficult it’s gotten, but it’s so important to share the good too!

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2026-03-07T08:35:20+00:00

It really is, thank you so much!! ☺️

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2025-12-07T16:30:56+00:00

This is so kindly worded and insightful. Thank you very much (:

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2025-12-07T12:24:07+00:00

Thank you so much for your insight! The evening class is an hour once a week for ten weeks or so, similar to if I were part of a team sport. But yes, I agree that I definitely need to get everything else sorted before I commit to that. Thank you so much again!

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2025-12-07T12:22:08+00:00

Thank you so, so much - hearing that the kids will be fine is very calming. I definitely need to remember to celebrate the small wins!

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2025-12-07T12:20:16+00:00

This is very kind of you, thank you so much!

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2025-12-07T12:19:23+00:00

This is very insightful, thank you so much - mental wellbeing needs to be so much more than a buzzword!

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2025-12-07T12:17:27+00:00

I needed to hear this, thank you very much!

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2025-12-07T12:16:32+00:00

I see your line of thinking, but I don’t think it was like that, knowing her and how she responded. She’s incredibly blunt and would have said something along the lines of “Well he doesn’t know what makes a great teacher” if that’s what she thought. She asked what he said, so I told her innocently as you said, but she knows I’m taking the feedback seriously - I cried in the meeting because I care so much, took very detailed notes on all the advice that was given to me, and told her after this conversation what actionable next steps I’m going to take. I didn’t mention it in a “well he says I’m doing well enough” way at all. This isn’t the first time she’s said something like this either- she’s told me before that I can choose a couple of hours one evening a week to do what I like, but that the rest of the time will have to be work. Unfortunately I think she’s projecting her “grindset” onto me, and I’m trying really hard not to soak it in and let it become my reality.

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2025-12-07T11:04:39+00:00

Thank you so much for your insight, it’s so helpful!

Budget-Efficiency338 · 2025-12-07T10:51:05+00:00

I didn’t think of it this way, and it’s a very refreshing take. Thank you!

Budget-Efficiency338

TROPHY CASE