Coronavirus has thrown us into a world of chaos and uncertainty. As a result of growing restrictions schools are having to figure out and adapt to new ways of delivering their pupils education.

We’ve put together some helpful tips you can follow if you find yourself suddenly becoming a virtual teacher.

Establish a work space
When working from home it’s important to differentiate home space from work space. This will help create a clear division between your work life and personal life.
Make sure your work space is light, airy and not cluttered. To avoid any unnecessary distractions whilst delivering online classes, keep your background plain and reduce any glares from windows by closing the curtains.
If space is limited don’t worry, you can still change the space around you. For example, having text books, pens, paper and worksheets on hand during work and then putting them away out of site when you finish work.

Plan ahead and test
Technology is vital for remote learning being successful, however using new technology for the first time can be daunting. Spend some time familiarising yourself with the new resources you’ll be using. Speak to other colleagues with their experiences and carry out a trial run to make sure any technical glitches are ironed out.
Decide as soon as possible who will be responsible for what types of IT support, and how they will be reachable by students, families, and staff. Make sure they all know how to reach out for support.
Give teachers, students, and families video and written instructions on how to use your platform so they can answer some of their own questions before reaching out for help.

Structure and schedule
Your school should provide with a timetable to follow and list of what topics to cover. However, if your school does not provide this then we would strongly recommend you create your own. This will help keep you in routine and help you to plan your work.
Pupils will also benefit from a structured day which has routine similar to how they would have had if they were learning in school.
A structure and schedule will also help draw the line between ‘work time’ and ‘personal time’ giving you a balance of them both. Include time for breaks so that your pupils and yourself have a break as you would in school.

Set expectations
Talk to your pupils and help them understand the new way of learning. Listen to their concerns, questions and reassure them. This will be just as daunting for them as it is for you. Tell them what you are expecting from them including homework, deadlines, time keeping and behaviour. Keep parents fully informed and make sure they are aware your expectations. You’ll need their contribution to make sure this works.

Let go of perfectionism
Virtual teaching is a new challenge for everyone, so try not to overcomplicate the work you are delivering. Don’t worry about the finer details or trying to make your slides all singing and dancing. When teaching online keeping things simple is key. This will help to avoid any technical glitches such as files not loading correctly or applications freezing.
Remember everyone will be using different types of devices i.e. desktop PC, laptops to tablets so it’s important this is taken into account.

Make it fun
No matter how old your students are, they will all appreciate from a bit of fun. Plan some time in during the day for quizzes, games and even throw in some meditation, yoga, or just quiet time to help them relax and prepare for what’s next. There are lots of online activities you can access and do a group. It will help them to release energy and prevent them from burning out.

Additional resources

Don’t try to do create everything yourself, use the array of online resources available. There are thousands of free projects, worksheets, educational videos, guides and audio clips you can download. Below are some of the popular online resources.

BBC Teach https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach
BBC Bitesize https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize
Twinkl https://www.twinkl.co.uk/
We Are Teachers https://www.weareteachers.com/
2 simple https://2simple.com/purple-mash/
Classroom secrets https://kids.classroomsecrets.co.uk/
iDEA https://idea.org.uk/about
History Learning Site https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/

Find time for yourself to reflect and re-focus
Online learning is a new experience for you and your students. Make time for yourself to reflect on how the experience is going for you and for your students—but remember: you’re not expected to be perfect.

Ask yourself questions like:
- Are all the children engaged and focused?
- Are you able to deliver what you set out to do?
- What could I do to make learning more accessible, inclusive, and meaningful?
- How are we, as a class, doing physically, mentally, and emotionally? 

It’s also worth asking colleagues to see how they are getting on with online teaching. Sharing ideas, tips and collaborating together will help to deliver a more effective education.

The lack of positive role models in primary schools is becoming a worry as one in four still have no male teacher, the equivalent to nearly a million primary school children not having a male teacher. Statistics from the Department of Education show 26% of teachers in England are men - accounting for 38% of secondary and 15% of primary school teachers. Despite Government efforts to get male teachers into the workforce, women still dominate the force. There were 31,600 male primary teachers at the last count, compared to 151,200 females – one man for every six women in the role. That rises to one man for every four women in headteacher roles. And there were 3,727 primary schools in England without any male teachers at all, up from 3,680 in 2014.  

At such a young age boys often fall behind and find it hard to catch up and the imbalance of male staff could be to blame. Dr Martin Robb, senior lecturer with The Open University, said: “It’s important to have a gender balanced workforce for all kinds of reasons, but the gender of the worker isn’t actually the most important thing for boys.” “And other factors - such as personal qualities of consistency, care, respect, etc - are deemed to be much more significant by boys themselves. “A range of commentators has argued that the absence of fathers and the allied absence of male role models from the lives of many young men are key factors in their involvement in crime and in educational under-achievement.” “But consistent carers are more important than male models for boys.”  

Top 10 areas with no male teachers

1. North Yorkshire
2. Derbyshire
3. Hampshire
4. Lancashire
5.  Essex
6.  Hertfordshire
7. Cumbria
8. Norfolk
9. Surrey
10. Staffordshire

The Department for Education said: “Our priority is getting the brightest and best teachers into classrooms, including male staff of all levels.” “That is why we are spending millions of pounds on recruiting high-quality teachers.” "We can be proud of the fact that teaching is an increasingly popular profession, with more young men and women embracing the opportunity to inspire and shape the lives of the next generation."  

Are you a teacher looking for a job? We are recruiting, register with us today. 

Teaching is one of the most stressful vocations in the country, with high numbers of professionals admitting to feeling the heavy weight of their vocation on a daily basis or at least at some point in their career.

It’s a huge problem and one that is endemic in teaching. Seemingly, this has always been the case and therefore, given its prevalence, mustn't be overlooked. Schools need to adopt robust strategies for helping teachers with stress, otherwise they run the risk of perpetuating the same problems that makes it such a problem in the first place.

In this guide we look at some ideas that have been developed to tackle stress across the board (i.e. not just applicable to teachers), the levels of which in this country were described as “soaring” by a recent BBC investigation.

Identify what is making you stressed

Understanding the source of your disquiet helps you identify just what it is that is making you stressed. In turn, knowing what the trigger is helps you one, anticipate a problem and two, give you something to work towards.

Be more active

This may seem like it isn’t addressing the central problem, but studies have shown that the fitter and healthier you are, the more mentally alert and strong you will be. Additionally, while it won’t diminish stress in its entirety, it will reduce the severity of it.

Fight it head on

People feel a sense of weakness when admitting that they are stressed and will either shy away from it or think of it as a temporary state. This is counter-productive. You need to accept that it is an issue and moreover be adamant that you will work hard towards fighting it.