ECT 2 Reflection

Another school year done, and with it, my second year as a qualified teacher. It was literally a year ago today, when I was writing my ECT 1 reflection. I’ve had some time to reflect and if I’m honest, this year was full-on. Rewarding in many ways, but also draining. I took on more than I expected this early on, and it pushed me. But it also grew me.

Economics Lead – Trying to build something from nothing

This year I stepped into the role of Lead for Economics A Level. The subject wasn’t on the curriculum before AND I had never taught it before. So I had to start from scratch, meaning writing the curriculum, finding and building resources, creating assessments from scratch, figuring out how to make economics make sense for students who had zero prior knowledge. It was exciting, but also very overwhelming.

There were definitely times where I felt like I was learning it while teaching it. There were moments I questioned whether I was doing it right. Being 1 of 2 Economics teachers in the school, it was hard to know whether I was doing the right thing. But seeing students slowly get it, or challenge me with solid questions, made the hard work feel worth it. I also attended a subject network meeting in the borough where I had a chance to meet with other Economic subject leaders. I took away a lot from that which made the rest of the year more manageable.

Deputy Head of Year 7 – A whole different world

One of the biggest shifts for me this year was taking on the role of Deputy Head of Year 7. At first, I wasn’t sure how I’d find it. I knew it would be intense, constant issues, emails, calls home, safeguarding and just being pulled into different sides of the school.

But honestly, this role has been one of the most fulfilling parts of my year.

Being there from the moment these students walked through the doors on Day 1 meant I got to help set the tone for their whole secondary school journey. Over the months, I built real connections, not just with the loud or difficult ones, but the quiet kids too, the ones who just needed someone to clock when they were off.

Reward assemblies and celebrations were actually a highlight for me. Standing up there, shouting out students for their hard work, progress, or just consistently being a good presence it felt good. And they loved it. You could see the pride on their faces, and in some cases, how much it meant to be recognised. I even got a few, “Sir, am I gonna be in the next assembly?” questions in the corridor after.

What made this year even more intense was that I had to step up as Head of Year multiple times when needed. Whether it was during busy weeks, absences, or when things got overwhelming, I had to be the one making the calls, holding the line, leading year team meetings, and making pastoral decisions. It was far from easy but it taught me a lot about leadership, trust, and school presence. I won’t lie, I did sometimes feel like I was out of my depth, but I grew into it. I was so used to managing behaviour in my OWN classroom but I had to learn how to manage behaviour on a wider scale, dealing with angry parents or petty arguments between students.

There were definitely moments where it felt like some staff were too quick to pass on behavioural issues to the pastoral team without first trying to manage things themselves. Instead of contacting home, speaking to the form tutor, or using classroom strategies, it sometimes felt like the default was, “Yeah, let HOY deal with it.” But if they really understood the scale of what Heads of Year handle daily, safeguarding, calls and serious incidents, I think they’d realise that a student calling out or leaving their seat isn’t always the top priority. It’s not about ignoring those issues, but about everyone pulling their weight and exhausting the basics before passing it on.

Maths – My First Love

Despite all these roles, Maths is still my subject and it’s where I started. I genuinely enjoy teaching it. But I’ll be honest: this year, Teaching Maths didn’t always hit the same as it did last year.

With the demands of Economics and my pastoral responsibilities, there were periods where my lesson planning wasn’t as sharp as I wanted it to be. Some weeks, it felt like I was just delivering to get through the content, rather than creating space for deeper understanding or exploration. That frustrated me A LOT because I know what I’m capable of when I’ve got the time and headspace.

There were plenty of times where I’d set aside time in my day to plan a proper Maths lesson only to get an unexpected email about a Year 7 issue that needed immediate attention. It started to feel like just as I was getting into a rhythm with Maths, something would come up and take priority. Just like that, lesson planning got pushed to the bottom of the pile.

Whenever I stepped into a Maths classroom, everything else just switched off. For that one hour, all the pastoral pressure, the emails, the wider responsibilities they’d all just fade into the background. It was just me, the students, and the lesson. No matter how hectic the day had been, teaching Maths gave me a sense of calm and control. I genuinely loved those moments.

Towards the end of the year, I was reminded that I was still making an impact. I started receiving thank you emails from parents, messages saying how much their child had grown in confidence, or how they’d never liked Maths until this year. Those moments reminded me that even when I felt like I wasn’t doing enough, it still mattered. I might not have always hit the mark I set for myself, but I was still reaching the students and that’s what counts.

My Final Thoughts

I’m 26, from inner-city London, and I’ve made it through two years of teaching with more responsibility than I ever expected this early on. I’ve built a subject from scratch, helped guide a year group through their first year of secondary, stepped up when it counted, and still managed to connect with students in my own classroom, even when I felt I was running on empty.

This year wasn’t perfect. It was messy, unpredictable, and exhausting. But it was also full of purpose, growth, and moments that reminded me exactly why I got into this profession.

If you’ve made it this far, I’d love to hear some of your reflections down below ⬇️