Chapter 6: The Experiences of Newly Qualified Teachers During the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic had a large impact on teacher education, reflecting changes in the education sector more generally (see chapter 4) particularly for those who were due to finish their training in the summer of 2020. In this chapter, we consider results from a study which focused on the cohort of student-teachers who began their training in autumn 2019. It tracks their experiences as Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) at a point in time when schools were under a great degree of pressure due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic. Many in this cohort of student-teachers had not been able to complete their main teaching placement in summer 2020, a placement which is characterised by a sustained period of teaching approaching the number of contact hours of qualified teachers (typically approximately 80% of a teacher's normal teaching load and often some responsibility for pastoral activity, for example leading a tutor group and interaction with parents). There are several routes to becoming a qualified teacher in England and all of them require extended periods of time teaching in schools. For those on a one year teacher education programme, the majority of those in any given year, the main placement tends to occur during the second half of the year. Because of the national lockdown from late March 2020 to late June 2020, this cohort of student-teachers were unable to complete their school placements and were therefore in the position of having to begin their careers with little sustained and independent classroom experience.