Preparing for your first year of teaching

Your first year of teaching will be filled with new and exciting experiences. To support you in navigating your entry into the teaching profession, the NSW Department of Education has a range of resources designed for beginning teachers.

If you are a beginning teacher commencing in 2024, visit the Beginning Teacher Information Hub on the NSW Department of Education website for all the resources you need to start your journey as a teacher in a NSW public school. You can also connect with the beginning teacher community on the Beginning Teacher Support group through Viva Engage or join a Statewide Staffroom to ask questions, find information or seek support from your colleagues.

Teachers eligible for Beginning Teacher Support Funding will be allocated a mentor who can provide support relating to all things teaching. Whether you’re writing reports for the first time or calling home to speak with parents, your mentor can guide you through it all. You will also have access to professional learning that focuses on classroom and behaviour management, strategies to build student engagement, collaborative professional practices within the school and productive relationships with parents and caregivers.

Pre-service teachers

If 2024 is the final year of your Initial Teacher Education studies, you are eligible to gain interim approval and begin teaching casually while you complete your studies. All teachers with the NSW Department of Education are required to gain approval to teach. Beginning this process early in your final year of studies means that you will be able to commence teaching on a casual or temporary basis, which is a great way to make connections with schools, gain invaluable experience, and pave the way for future opportunities. View the guide to applying for approval to teach with the NSW Department of Education today and kick-start your teaching career in 2024.

Top tips for returning teachers

Former NSW Department of Education teachers that have separated within the last 12 months, can gain casual approval without needing to complete the re-application process by submitting a casual approval after separation request form. Applicants will require the endorsement of their most recent principal in order to obtain approval.

If you are a qualified teacher returning to teaching in NSW public schools after an absence of five years or more, or wanting to upgrade your approval from limited (casual) approval to full approval, you will need to re-apply for approval to teach.

We also welcome experienced teachers from other systems, interstate or overseas.

Qualified teachers seeking approval to teach are required to:

• provide evidence of successful teaching experience

• complete online teacher suitability assessments, measuring cognitive and emotional intelligence, and

• undertake an online interview to demonstrate their knowledge, critical experiences, skills and capabilities for teaching in NSW public schools.

Advice for all teachers

All teachers are encouraged to stay up-to-date with the latest temporary and permanent opportunities available in NSW public schools by subscribing to JobFeed. You can also visit the Enhance your career section on the Teach NSW pages of the Education website for further information about career-enhancing programs for current teachers.

Don’t forget to follow Teach NSW on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter (X) to stay up-to-date with the latest opportunities available to teachers in Australia's largest education system.