Thirty-five years ago, a load of long-haired probationary teachers turned up at the magnificent County Hall on London’s South Bank, where interviews and medicals were processed with military precision, and from where young hopefuls were despatched to a myriad of far-flung boroughs. I was one of those people.
Individual choice about which school and where it was were not strong features of this process. Naively, I asked to be based in Kensington and Chelsea. The Inner London Education Authority sent me instead to Lambeth. I was allocated to a school on the grounds that the headteacher wanted a man - for professional reasons, of course.
In my introductory chat with him, I pointed out that since I was juniorsecondary trained, I would prefer a class of older juniors. I was given a class of infants. As a result, my probationary year consisted of a learning curve so precariously steep that each slip - and there were many - left me not so much falling as hurtling to a point much lower than before.
Have times changed? I sincerely hope so. For sure, the capital city still has the same youthful draw as it did, but today, with the opportunity for applications made directly to schools, coupled with acute teacher shortages, new teachers can be more selective in choosing their first school.
So what should you consider? One criterion that can be overlooked is size. I say this because amalgamations mean there are many more three-form entry schools.
Big can be beautiful when you join a school with a large number of teams. Most importantly, there are year-group teams where planning and assessment activities as well as practical problems can be fully shared and you can feel strongly supported. Like the city itself, there is more of everything in a large school - more people, more opportunities and as one of my NQTs put it, more sheer business.
The downside also mirrors life in the capital, in that there is the potential to get lost, and there is a certain anonymity. Don’t assume, though, that because teams exist theoretically, that they do so in reality. There can be times when through a lack of commitment or less than adequate interpersonal skills, just one team member can completely undermine any measure of mutual support among the whole. If you’re offered a job in a large school, ask to meet the team if you can, to suss them out.
In a small school, you have the benefit of the family feel, but remember that there are some families one would rather not be part of. On the other hand, you are immediately the proverbial big fish, in effect leading a whole year group. The amount of supportive expertise is likely to be less, but the quality may be better. You are likely to be offered, if not expected, to take on extra responsibilities much earlier, simply because of the smaller staff numbers. Although demanding, this can be very rewarding, particularly for those who like a fast start and dislike anonymity.
Whatever size of school you go for, as much depends on the kind of teacher you think you are as much as the kind of school you finally choose.
Martin Clarke is headteacher of Rosendale, a three-form entry primary school in Lambeth, south London
