With the new academic term fully under way, for many teachers this period can be very stressful. With work/life balance has been highlighted as the biggest reasons why teachers are leaving the profession or even refraining from entering the profession. Being a teacher is one of the most rewarding professions and yes it does come with stress and pressure.However an exhausted teacher is no good to anyone, especially to yourself. Here are our top 10 tips on ensuring you remain as powerful and as best as you can be throughout the academic year.

1. Keep your to do list up to date

This is one of the biggest stress relievers and really helps you to plan and structure your week. Best of all it feels great to be super organised and tick off completed tasks!  

2. Talk to other teachers and seek advice

A problem shared is a problem halved, so do not keep it to yourself. There are experts in the field who can help you. Make time to get to know other teachers and build yourself a network you can rely on.

3. Take one day at a time and take time to reflect

No Teaching role is the same, every class, every student and every school is different. It takes time to build up experience and know what methods work for you. Allow yourself to fail and learn, it is important you take time to reflect so you can improve yourself next time. 

4. Communicate with parents

Getting parents on your side will be one of your biggest strengths. Parents love to be acknowledged, simply keeping them informed, engaged and even a simple smile will work wonders. 

5. Respect and reward your students

Students will only respect you if you respect them. Positive recognition is known to encourage positive behaviour. When providing negative feedback always start with something positive to break the ice.

6. Keep it fun in the classroom

Learning is fun so make it fun! Decorate the classroom, crack a joke, start and finish the class with a song – whatever you do make it interactive. Your students will appreciate it and be motivated to come into your class.

7. Avoid negativity

Surround yourself with positive people. There will always be people who moan about work – simply avoid them! Negativity will drag you down and make you feel unhappy. Positive vibes will rub off on you so make sure you are around those. 

8. Do not try to be perfect

Nobody is perfect and you will fail trying to be. Just be yourself.

9. Make time for yourself

You are a human being and we all need to recharge our batteries. It is great to plan something you can look forward to i.e. a holiday, cinema or a night out. If you find yourself having a tough day, go for a walk at lunch or read a book - do something to take your mind off work. Eating and sleeping well is crucial to the delivery of your work. Try not to go to bed with unfinished business on your mind. Your thoughts will race and your sleep is likely to suffer so get into the habit of writing down your worries before you go to bed.    

10. Remember why you are doing the job

When the going gets tough remember you decided on a teaching a career in the first place. Keep special gifts you have been given, think about all the happy times you have had and the difference you have made to all your students.  Always remember you are leading the class and you are the best person for the job. You can’t control everything, or everyone. Nonetheless, you can really excel at what you’re doing as long as you remember to make time for yourself and time to relax.

You’re doing a great job, keep it up!  

An education expert has controversially said that one possible solution in freeing up teacher time and money is to increase class sizes.

Professor Robert Coe, director of the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring at Durham University, told TES that it is high time a debate was had about class sizes.

Speaking at a Sutton Trust and Gates Foundation conference in Washington DC, US, the academic explained that all professionals involved in education will have to decide whether their priority is better teaching or smaller classes.

His comments come on the back of a new report he co-authored on behalf of the university, which was done in collaboration with the Sutton Trust. The study says that traditional teaching methods should be invested in.

"Unless there is going to be more funding so schools can employ more teachers, we need to consider how staff can have fewer hours in the classroom so they can undergo proper professional development," said Professor Coe in his interview with the news provider.

"People often say, would you rather your child be taught in a class of 15 or 30 and obviously I say 15, but I would much rather have a really good teacher who is not exhausted and really on top of their game every day and have that teacher teach more students."

Those who support this argument point to Singapore as a case in point for "getting over" the question of whether class sizes have a significant impact on the quality of education pupils receive.

The city-state has, for example, larger class sizes than those found in the UK, and, more importantly, that has been far from detrimental. It has, for example, one of the best school systems in the world and consistently tops international performance league tables.

Brad Jupp, education policy adviser to Arne Duncan, US education secretary, told delegates at the conference that it is vital more research is needed to support the argument for large class sizes.

"We looked at different countries around the world that had larger class sizes than the US and we found that only Japan did," Mr Jupp was quoted by TES as saying.

"They allow their teachers more time to collaborate with each other in return for larger class sizes. I am still willing to hear the answer of whether it is a trade off, but we need to explore whether the trade off is worth the payoff."