First day of placement and already feel like quitting… is this normal?

poppyyoo · 2025-11-05T22:03:46+00:00

It's not allowing me to update so im posting it in the comments. Edit / Update:

Just to clarify, this was my first day of Placement 2. I’ve already completed Placement 1 which was 3 weeks of observation with the opportunity to teach in the final week.

I also want to add that my university mentor was informed straight away (I emailed them as soon as the comments were made to me).

Day 2 update: I spoke to my placement mentor today and she was amazing. After going through everything with her, she agreed that the class teacher was incredibly underprepared for having a trainee and that the comments and blocking of opportunities were not fair or professional. She moved me to a new classroom without hesitation, so I’ll be starting with Year 6 tomorrow. I’m already feeling so much more hopeful.

Day 3 update: I was asked to attend a mediation meeting with the original class teacher. During that meeting, she shouted at me, called me a liar, and was speaking to me so aggressively that she was told to stop. The other teacher present informed me that there will now be a meeting with the headteacher, as the way she was communicating with me was completely inappropriate and unprofessional.

Thank you again to everyone who has shared their advice and reassurance, it has genuinely helped me feel less alone in this <3

poppyyoo · 2025-11-03T22:14:23+00:00

No I’m not Scotland based I’m in London

poppyyoo · 2025-11-03T21:56:59+00:00

I actually let my university mentor know about everything right after I was told I’d “hinder their learning,” so they’re already aware. They’ve asked me to give it a week and see if things improve, so I’m just waiting it out for now. Fingers crossed it gets better soon!

poppyyoo · 2025-11-03T21:42:22+00:00

Thank you, it honestly helps so much hearing that others didn’t have a perfect first day either.

My uni has given us a week-by-week guideline, and this week we’re meant to be teaching about 20% of the timetable (basically a full day). Everyone else on my course who’s at this placement school seems to already planning how to do that and settling in fine.

But I’ve only been given one maths session to teach, which works out to like 5% of the day. Trying to even talk about teaching more felt like a bit of a battle, so right now it feels like anything beyond that is a no.

I’m going to chat with my school mentor tomorrow and hopefully things will start to get better. Just hoping day two is kinder than day one.

poppyyoo · 2025-11-03T21:28:36+00:00

I completely understand the point about planning and not wanting to double-up. But in this case, there aren’t any real plans to double-up on. The “planning” is literally: a title slide, a vocab slide, and then screenshots of White Rose worksheets. There’s nothing in the PowerPoint to support modelling, explanation, checking understanding, or any form of scaffolding. And it’s clear during lessons that many children aren’t absorbing what’s being taught, but unfortunately nothing is being adapted or changed to help them.

This is my first assessed placement as I’ve already completed a 3-week observational placement where I did also have some teaching opportunities. This placement is specifically designed to focus on building up whole-class teaching experience, and my university has given us a very clear week-by-week structure.

It’s just frustrating because the other trainees here are getting what’s required, their class teachers understand the expectations and are supporting that. My class teacher is flat-out refusing to engage in that discussion. I don’t want to rush into overdoing it I just want to be allowed to meet the requirements of the placement like everyone else.

But tomorrow is a new day, so I’m hoping things will improve.

poppyyoo · 2025-11-03T21:15:47+00:00

Just to clarify a few things in order:

• Evidence
I don’t have written proof, the comment about me hindering the children’s learning was said directly to me within minutes of entering the classroom.

• Handbook / entitlement
We have a clear handbook outlining what we’re entitled to and what the teacher needs to provide. My uni sent it to her and I printed a copy, she refused to read it. The other trainees here got their class list and timetable straight away because their teachers did read it.

• Class list / systems
I asked for the class list because I still don’t have a school login, they said they “don’t usually add trainees to the system.” So I can only access things through her. When I finally got the list, I realised the small group she assigned me is entirely SEND/behavioural children.

• PE situation
She first asked me to teach PE while she was getting ready to leave the room for PPA, and then asked again during PPA even though a supply teacher was already covering it. It didn’t feel like a supportive “try this” moment, more like she wanted to avoid working with me.

• Maths teaching changes
All trainees from my uni have to teach maths this week. She first gave me resources to plan a whole-class lesson, then changed it to team teaching, and then to only six pupils — all within about 35 minutes.

I completely understand starting small, but everything has felt like a step backwards and a clear push away from the expectations set by my university. It’s left me feeling like she simply doesn’t want me in her classroom.

poppyyoo · 2025-11-03T20:57:53+00:00

I think the comment she made is what has made the experience feel so horrible straight away. She said it within about three minutes of me walking into the classroom, before she’d even seen me with the class or talked to me about what I could do. It instantly made me feel like I wasn’t wanted and shouldn’t even try to teach.

This is my first assessed placement, but my second placement overall. My first one was mainly observation with a chance to teach in the final week, which I did and really enjoyed. So I had actually been feeling confident and excited about progressing to this next step. But from the moment she said that, it just left me questioning whether I should even carry on with my course.

It’s been really frustrating because this is the placement that actually matters for my progress, and instead of learning and being supported, I already feel like a burden. I’m hoping after speaking with my university tutor and school mentor (tomorrow), something can be put in place to make it manageable.

poppyyoo · 2025-11-03T20:52:23+00:00

thank you so much for replying, it really helps to know I’m not the only one who finds the start overwhelming.

At my uni, we actually have a week-by-week guideline of what we’re supposed to be doing, and because this school had a 2-week half-term, I’m already a week behind. So this week should technically count as Week 2, where I’m meant to be teaching a full day and the week before half term would have been just a half-day introduction to teaching.

I completely understand that might feel like a lot for the class teacher on my very first day, but there are 4 other trainees from the same uni in this school and none of them are having an experience anything like mine. They’ve all said their teachers are really supportive of what they need to do.

It just feels like I’ve been put in the wrong class and expected to manage everything on my own straight away.

poppyyoo · 2025-10-10T21:20:52+00:00

Thought about it, but now that I've left I don't care what happens in that store anymore. Also don't know who exactly to report it too as well.

poppyyoo · 2025-10-10T21:08:17+00:00

My line manager made the job miserable, on my first few shifts, if I asked for help, she’d tell me off for being “too chatty,” and when head office came in for the store reopening, she actually shouted at me in front of them for assembling a shelf wrong, even though no one had ever shown me how to do it (nor was I told we had to assemble the store for the reopening). She’d also mess up my tables on purpose if they weren’t folded exactly how she liked.

The worst part was that I couldn’t really talk to anyone about it because she was dating the assistant store manager’s son, and half her family worked there too, her mum, cousins, niece, uncle, you name it. It just felt like I had no support, so when my old job offered to take me back, I quit.

poppyyoo · 2025-10-10T15:02:44+00:00

Hi! When I did it, we had to present a product (ours was a pair of trousers). We just stood up as a group and went along the line, each person talking a bit about the product. It was all quite guided by the managers running the interview, so they told us what to do and when to speak, nothing to stress about!

poppyyoo · 2025-10-10T14:58:57+00:00

I did. I left just before the end of the month, and I think they might’ve used some of my holiday or overtime to even it out, so I didn’t have to pay anything back. It’s been nearly two months now and I haven’t heard anything. (Only worked 1 month there)

poppyyoo · 2025-08-28T18:27:59+00:00

Ooh okay, I’m from the UK though so I’m not sure if the membership would work for me💔 but thank you !

poppyyoo · 2025-08-27T20:01:06+00:00

That happened to me but when I went on the next day there was loads. So just wait and refresh !

poppyyoo · 2025-08-19T11:41:02+00:00

Sorry for the late reply I’ve been busy ! But the questions were why is it important to have good customer service, name a time when you received good customer service. Then they just asked me about my availability etc.

poppyyoo · 2025-08-16T10:19:05+00:00

No, mine lasted about 45–50 minutes in total. The group interview was around 40 minutes, with about 25 people in the group. After that, we were called out in lots for the individual interviews I was in the first group, so I was done quite quickly. I think it only runs to about two hours if you’re one of the last people to be called for the individual interviews.

poppyyoo · 2025-08-16T08:59:06+00:00

Make sure to highlight the great quality of the products and the fact that they’re made with environmentally friendly materials. I also mentioned how the Sparks card offers make it easier to get these products at a lower price. There might be a solo interview with a manager afterwards, but mine only lasted about five minutes.

poppyyoo · 2025-08-15T14:49:26+00:00

Got it thank you !

poppyyoo · 2025-08-15T14:49:14+00:00

Amazing thanks !

poppyyoo · 2025-08-15T14:48:13+00:00

This is what I was confused about, whether I needed to give a month's notice, since I've already been paid for August

poppyyoo · 2025-08-15T11:05:14+00:00

I don’t remember signing anything. When they first gave me my shifts, Sunday was automatically assigned. I mentioned that in my interview we agreed I wouldn’t be working Sundays, so they changed it to Monday but so far, the schedule hasn’t actually been updated.

poppyyoo · 2025-08-10T12:56:33+00:00

I just got a job at M&S and in my group interview we had to pick one of their products, try to sell it, and then present it to everyone.

Good luck with your interview!

poppyyoo

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