7 Classroom Essentials You May Not Have Thought Of as a NQT Primary Teacher
Preparing for your debut year as a teacher is a daunting task and to make sure you have not missed anything here is our NQT checklist.
1. Change of clothes & shoes
Accidents happen! Especially when teaching primary school pupils. Prepare for the worst with a spare set of clothes, underwear, and shoes stored in your classroom. Whether it be a child’s accident, a spillage, or being caught out by an impromptu wet break, one day your spares may be your saviour!
2. A mirror
Just in case you can hear sniggers in the classroom and that slice of chocolate cake in the staffroom has left a lasting mark. It is not always possible to nip to the bathroom, so a handy mirror in your desk will help alleviate any self-consciousness.
3. Spare toiletries
For many-a-reason having a handy bag of toiletries at your disposal will certainly come to the rescue at some point. Whether a spare deodorant for those unexpected half-day summer heat waves, lip balm to save your lips after repeated explanations, or toothpaste and a toothbrush for the time you forget to leave the red onions out of your salad.
4. Emergency supplies
From first aid to hygiene and stationery in between, there a few items you should be sure to have to hand in case of emergency. A simple first aid kit with plasters, bandage, and tape for any playground scrapes. Be sure to have pain killers to hand, for music lessons if nothing else. Glue will certainly come in handy for a quick repair at some point. Don’t forget anti-bacterial wipes and kitchen towel (usually more absorbent than the bathroom equivalent). Finally, a large desktop sized hand sanitiser gets its own mention as you don’t want to be patient zero for the staffroom cold this winter.
5. Phone charger
A spare phone charger will get you through those days when you don’t quite push the charger all the way in the night before. Or you leave Spotify playing in your bag with the headphones in all day!
6. Water
And plenty of it! Remember to pack your own daily, but it would be worth having a multipack of bottles stored in the classroom. Without even mentioning the extremes like dehydration, water will definitely alleviate any dry-mouth from nerves or all the extra talking you will be doing as leader of your own classroom.
7. Dry food
We have all heard of ‘teacher brain’ and every now and then we are all a victim. Just in case you forget your lunch it is worth having some dried foods stored for snacks or meals. You may even come to the rescue of one of your pupils if they left their lunch bag on the kitchen top too!
We hope you find you find this post useful as your prepare for your first year in teaching. We wish all NQTs the best of luck in their new adventure. Good luck.
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