In this episode, Claire speaks with Aaron Stevens, a former primary school teacher and now Product Manager at Classroom Secrets.
Aaron begins by explaining how he studied Law at university but decided to pursue a career as a teacher through the Teach First route: an employment-based route for top-performing graduates. Graduates are placed in challenging schools: over half of the pupils come from the poorest 30% of families according to the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index.
Aaron talks about the strategies he employed during his training and, once he was qualified, how he helped maintain a healthy LIFE/work balance. Similarly, he speaks about the support he received from Teach First whilst training. He notes how he developed a great bond with his mentor within his school and how that gave Aaron confidence to confide in him when necessary.
In the podcast, Aaron gives advice for prospective teachers to ensure that they are fully equipped for the world of teaching. He notes that gaining experience is crucial: candidates need to see the whole picture and gather information to have the best mindset for teaching.
KEY TAKEAWAYS

Develop strategies that work for you.Be self-disciplined and set a cut-off time for work. Remember not everything on the list can be ticked off so prioritise the main tasks. Find ways of working smarter, not harder.
Gain experience where you can.See what being a teacher is all about: sit in on meetings, arrive and leave with the other teachers, ask about workload and additional tasks and go in with the mentality that it will be hard work.
Have the confidence to speak out.If you are struggling to have a good LIFE/work balance, it is important to open up to someone. This might be a colleague, friend, family member or someone you trust. It is also essential that someone in school is aware of this situation so they can put strategies in place to support you.
Use the support that is available to you.First, we must accept that we do not know everything and we may never know everything. It is ok to ask for help. Invest in time: take the time to think about what you are struggling with, take the time to ask for support and take the time to figure out a solution.
Try not to compare yourself to others.You may find yourself asking ‘how do they get everything done during the working week?’ or ‘why don’t they take work home?’There are so many variables that can determine your LIFE/work balance: family life, different settings, different years groups, your workload, demands from the school etc. Therefore, it is very tricky to compare one teacher to another and we should avoid doing this. Prioritise your LIFE/work balance and do what works for you.

BEST MOMENTS
“That initial link with the school was priceless for me… I already knew my mentor was not only going to be a professional mentor, but he was going to be quite a personal one too. He turned out to be a very good friend of mine.”
“There’s always more things to do than there’s time to do them.”
“Two thirds of teachers feel constantly or often overworked. A third of those surveyed, said that they would work over 51 hours every week.”
“It’s quite frankly criminal, the amount of people leaving due to workload.”
“You must invest time to get time back.”
“Get experience: go out there and see what being a teacher is all about. Work experience to build a mindset is crucial.”
“There is something inherently wrong with the system and change needs to happen.”
“An exhausted teacher is an ineffective teacher. I didn’t want to do them a disservice.”
 “It’s not about working harder to get it done; it’s about working smarter and coming up with strategies for you to get it done more efficiently.”
“Could I wave my magic wand and give every teacher a magic wand? Now we’ve all got wands, we can educate children through our wands and through magic!”
VALUABLE RESOURCES
Teach First website: http://www.teachfirst.org.uk/The Teachers’ Podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheTeache