Siobhan:

I'd like to acknowledge that this episode of the Teach NSW Podcast was recorded on the homelands of the Darug people. I'd like to pay respect to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples listening today.

Opening Credits:

Welcome to the Teach NSW Podcast, a podcast by teachers for teachers.

Siobhan:

Welcome back to another episode of the Teach NSW Podcast. Today, we're very excited to be joined by Raph. Welcome Raph, to the couch.

Raph:

Thank you.

Siobhan:

Raph is a PD/H/PE teacher, as well as a head teacher of teaching and learning in a NSW public school on the homelands of the Darug people. Raph currently works to support early career teachers as a Senior Education Officer by developing quality school-based induction and mentoring support systems. And today, Raph joins us on the couch to talk all about the importance of 'filling your cup'. So we're really excited today to talk all things keeping your cup full, so

Raph:

I'm really excited to be here.

Siobhan:

Very excited to hear from you.

Raph:

What an amazing topic to be talking about. And something that teachers definitely need to be looking at.

Raph:

So thank you for inviting me.

Shannon:

You're so welcome. Well, we love to kick off the episode, myself and Siobhan, with a nice little ice breaker. So, what is a random fact about yourself that most people don't know?

Raph:

Oh, goodness.

Shannon:

I know, I'm sorry, we're throwing the big hitters straight away.

Raph:

Um, as girly as I probably look right now, I am a massive tomboy, and I do prefer to be in my

tracky dacks on the couch, or playing sport if my knees will hold out. I love to do stuff around the house.

Shannon:

New skill unlocked?

Raph:

And if I get few days off, I'll be painting or I'll be,

Shannon:

Yeah, great.

Raph:

I once fell off a wall at home trying to chainsaw something.

Siobhan:

Wow. Yeah, we might see you on an episode of 'The Block' or something.

Shannon:

I was about to say.

Raph:

No, stardom's not for me.

Shannon:

So the next one we have for you, what is one go-to item that you recommend a teacher packs on their first casual day?

Raph:

I think probably really important to have a tool kit in your pocket of resources that you use regularly, and have them ready to go as well.

Siobhan:

I sometimes think a spare pair of shoes, a different type of shoe is also really useful to pack in your little teaching bag. And no doubt the primary school teachers will probably also say a hat.

Shannon:

Yeah, a hat and a whistle. There is no one listening that hasn't heard another episode that doesn't know about my passion for having a whistle on hand.

Raph:

Aw, that's right at my heart. I'm a big advocate. As a PE teacher, I’ve always got a whistle around my neck. You could do lots of things with a whistle.

Shannon:

Oh, absolutely, it's multifaceted.

Raph:

Definitely.

Shannon:

But I think having your own access to your own stationery as well is really wonderful. And we're such advocates here for the Universal Resources Hub as well. So I think, as you know, having your approval to teach with the Department of Education, working as a casual teacher in our system, you have access to those high-quality, evidence-based resources that are designed by teachers, for teachers.

Raph:

Can't agree more.

Shannon:

We're so fortunate, I suppose, in the sense that casual teaching now, was quite different from when I started casual teaching. So it's really cool to see the progression of our system.

Raph:

Yeah, we're really lucky.

Shannon:

And the support that we have, yeah.

Raph:

Great resources out there.

Shannon:

Absolutely. I would also say, like, having a fluoro vest.

Raph:

Yeah, have your own.

Shannon:

They're often in the classrooms anyway as an emergency procedure. But I find bringing my own handy to have in the bag as well.

Raph:

Yeah, that's definitely some good advice.

Shannon:

And a good water bottle.

Raph:

Good water bottle. Get one of those massive water bottles that look like you can't fit them in the car. Get one of those.

Shannon:

Yes, yes, yes, yes. I would agree with that, definitely, because you'll need one for the day.

Siobhan:

We'd like to hear now a bit more about you on the 'teacher' side of things. Can you talk us through how you started your career as a teacher? And perhaps it would be interesting for you to reflect on your time as a beginning teacher in comparison to what you do now. That'd be really interesting.

Raph:

Yeah, absolutely.

Shannon:

Jump in the time machine.

Raph:

It's funny you say that because I actually did reflect on that coming into this. I thought reflection is something that is a really important, valuable tool as a teacher. And I thought, 'Why not? I'm going to reflect myself.' But let's start from the very beginning. At school, I had some amazing teachers, and I think that's the story of most teachers is that they have amazing teachers that springboard them into the profession. But more than that, I really felt a passion for doing something that I loved and valued and could truly believe in, and teaching was that for me. PE teaching is where I headed because I personally felt like that was a great way to connect with young people. There's nothing like running around in the playground, outside with kids, and to pull down all their walls. It's a great opportunity when you're playing sport to have people experience really quick wins. And that's a great opportunity then to speak to those young people about other things that are going on in their life. So connecting is a big deal in PE, and that's why I chose PE.

Shannon:

Did you have a sporting side to you that maybe aligned?

Raph:

I did. Yeah, not as much, and we talk about imposter syndrome, not as much as what I think everyone else had. I love sport. For me, the passion was the personal development, health side of things. That's what led me, really to the job. That was my strength. I do love sport, and obviously, I did well at it. You have to, to be able to teach PE, but definitely that other side of the 'PD/H' is equally as important.

Shannon:

Absolutely.

Raph:

And that really was my passion. I got appointed to a school in Sydney South West as a targeted grad. And it was a bit of a shock, very different to the way that I grew up. That school has 98% non-English-speaking background. I quickly realised that leadership was for me, was a little bit scary to start with. Obviously I felt, that perhaps, that I wasn't good enough. And I think we all do a bit of that, but I naturally progressed into that leadership role because that's just a part of who I am.

Shannon:

Yeah, did you have a little nudge, from an influential mentor perhaps?

Raph:

I did, I did. My head teacher was an amazing advocate for me. And I think it's really important to align yourself with people that you trust and that can see the good in you. Yeah, and I spoke pretty honestly and frankly with her about what my strengths would be. She was very good with PDPs. But looking back, she was really working hard for me in terms of ensuring that I reflect. And that process is really important, and really should be honoured, and I really want to thank her for that. So thank you to my first head teacher. Won't mention any names.

Shannon:

You know who you are.

Raph:

She worked out pretty quickly that I was pretty in touch with wellbeing and welfare at the school, and was something that I was quite passionate about. So I got into year adviser roles. And she was great in terms of explaining to me the small steps needed to grow and get to the long-term goal.

Shannon:

Well, as part of your PDP, as you mentioned, your Professional Development Plan, in line with those consultation conversations with your supervisor, was it one of your goals in that area as a whole-school outlook around wellbeing and welfare?

Raph:

Yep, yeah, definitely, one of my goals was leadership specifically, and one of the goals was wellbeing and welfare specifically. And that was something that I definitely worked every day towards. And like I said before, those small goals, becoming a year adviser, working really hard at that, being the best I could be at that role, exploring every avenue. And that's what I've done throughout my entire career is, make sure that I get really, really good at the small things first before I try to progress to the next level. I think that's really important.

Shannon:

Well, it's a common piece of advice that I've received throughout my career, and speaking with current leaders around, not perfecting, but mastery of that craft at the position that you are at the time before taking that next step. Because, in turn, all of our next steps in education look to supporting those who are in our previous role.

Raph:

That's right.

Shannon:

So if you're a head teacher or an assistant principal, for example, you're providing that support to your stage, or your grade, or your faculty, along their different key parts of their journey, whether they're a BT or a more experienced teacher. So you need to support them in those differentiated manners, I suppose.

Raph:

Yeah, and I think true empathy comes from experiencing something as well. I think that's a very important part of being a leader in a school because the things that people, particularly beginning teachers, experience are big feelings, and it really helps to have felt that big feeling and truly empathise with how it feels to be there.

Siobhan:

Yeah, have you felt that that mentorship that you received from these notable head teachers, for example, have influenced the way that you mentor a beginning teacher yourself?

Raph:

Definitely, and I think it's important not to carbon copy those who have mentored you and to spin it with your own style.

Siobhan:

In your own way.

Raph:

But definitely, I think the mentors that I've had at the school that I was at, they were really, they made sure that if there was a meeting, they stuck to it. They were very dedicated and committed to me, and made me feel like I was the most important person in the room at the time. And they rarely cancelled on me. It was really important to them that they looked after me.

Shannon:

They made you a priority.

Raph:

Yeah, they made me a priority.

Shannon:

Is what I'm hearing, yeah.

Siobhan:

That's interesting. And you touched on the PDP process before and how you came to find true value in that. It actually made me think about my first ever PDP meeting as a beginning teacher, and it was, you kind of didn't know what to expect, or it felt a little bit confronting. And sometimes the questions for me did give me a chance to reflect and actually think about setting meaningful goals, because sometimes you set a goal that could be in line with curriculum, or classroom management, or something like that, but having a valuable mentor to sit down with you and, 'No, what do you really want for yourself and your career?' was really powerful to me. So yeah, I think calling out that it is a valuable process and one that people should tap into and be open to, because it's about you and your professional growth, and how that, in turn, will also influence and impact your students too.

Shannon:

And it's not dissimilar to what you experience on your professional placement as well, your professional experience, because you go into that identifying your strengths and your opportunities for growth as well, and you have those open and honest conversations with your supervising mentor at the time.

Raph:

That's right.

Shannon:

And it's really like your PDP is just a flow-on of that. It's just a growth opportunity throughout your career. And also an opportunity to have those conversations around, where to next, if you have an area of interest. For me, I had an area of interest in supporting high potential and gifted education students. So that was an opportunity for me to showcase that I'd like to develop in that area, I'd like to access professional learning opportunities. What's out there? How can I support my professional growth in that space, to, in turn, cater for the students I have in my class.

Siobhan:

Definitely. Now that we're in our reflection mode.

Raph:

Yes, that's right.

Siobhan:

For you, I know you work a lot with our beginning and early career teachers, what are some common themes that you've noticed amongst them as they transition into their first full-time role? Because I was speaking, myself, PDP, first full-time role, didn't know what to expect. What are some common themes that you've observed amongst them?

Raph:

Yeah, I think, and I want everyone who's a beginning teacher to understand that it's completely normal to feel overwhelmed. I think that's the first feeling that comes to mind is feeling overwhelmed. You're very excited about what you're about to do. You have a high level of social and emotional intelligence. You're really tapping into that side of yourself, that you want to help young people, you're doing a job that you really believe in, that you really value, you're going to change people's lives, you come in with that in the back of your head. And then when you start, you quickly realise that there are some difficulties, piecing it all together. 'Where do I fit, now in the reality?' And you also feel, a lot of beginning teachers have spoken to me about feeling like they're 10 steps behind, which is also a very normal feeling. And talking about reflection is really important. I think we need to, when we speak to our beginning teachers, understand that, or reiterate that it's really important that you grow slowly, that you celebrate your small wins, because you're not going to be perfect straight away.

Shannon:

We like to talk about that small incremental change that you can make because not taking on, and look, I'm very guilty of this myself as a beginning teacher, trying to change the world overnight.

Raph:

Yep.

Shannon:

Essentially. And I think sometimes like taking a step back and realising that, that like, 1% change is more valuable over time than you trying to do everything, like an octopus, I used to say. I only actually have two hands,

Raph:

That's right.

Shannon:

A certain amount of hours in the day. So yeah, just trying to be kind to yourself and reflect upon like what's achievable at the time. So I just want to rewind quickly because you mentioned that you were in a head teacher role, and now in your non-school based teaching role, what does that sort of look like, and how did you come to be supporting beginning teachers?

Raph:

So there's a chunk of my career that was missed a little bit. I looked at secondary studies for a little while, and when I was head teacher - secondary studies, I had a pivotal role in looking after the beginning teachers in my school. I looked after induction and mentoring of those beginning teachers. And I absolutely loved that role. I moved from that role onto head teacher - teaching and learning, because as I said before, I think it's really important that you explore every avenue of a school, and I found that really interesting. But when the job came, the advertisement came out for the role that I'm currently in, I could see that I was able to tap into something that I was passionate about, and that is induction and mentoring of beginning teachers. So a lot of what I do now is assisting schools in setting up their own induction and mentoring programs in line with the Strong Start, Great Teachers framework, so that we have equity in terms of the support that our beginning teachers have across all of NSW. It's an amazing job, I love it. When I first saw the job ad, I actually cried.

Siobhan:

'This is me.'

Raph:

Yeah, 'This is me.'

Shannon:

Wow.

Raph:

Tick, tick, tick. 'This sounds amazing.' And I have thoroughly enjoyed it for the last year. I also have the joy of being able to continue mentoring beginning teachers virtually, which was really important to me, that I was still able to have that foot in the schools. And I've, yeah, thoroughly enjoyed that.

Shannon:

Well, it's a huge part of that equity piece that you mentioned as well, being able to provide support no matter where beginning teachers are, whether they are in a rural, regional, or quite a remote school, which may have a small faculty, for example. To be able to provide that support in a virtual capacity is really wonderful as well.

Raph:

Yeah, absolutely.

Shannon:

So you mentioned before you started your career in the PD/H/PE faculty, classroom teacher, and then you moved into some leadership roles, and you took on a position as, you were in a welfare, a wellbeing role, and then you moved into head teacher - teaching and learning.

Raph:

I did, I did.

Shannon:

How was that, sort of phase for you?

Raph:

Yeah, it was an experience of growth. We talk a little bit about imposter syndrome, I definitely had that to start with. And I definitely needed to have my champions who helped me move and navigate through that decision-making process. I had a wonderful mentor that helped me make that decision, in my head teacher. And she really helped me to navigate, ‘What are my skills? What areas are my strengths? Where do I want to…’ She actually asked the question, ‘Where do you want to be in 10 years' time?’ Which sounds cliche and silly, but I think that's really important to think about that. And then I made it a priority to ensure that I jumped into everything I possibly could, in terms of, I wasn't surviving, I was thriving at the time. I had well and truly settled into school and felt really confident about what I was doing. So I jumped into lots of different roles in the school year adviser. And then felt really passionate about moving beyond that and starting to look at whole-school pedagogy, the curriculum. I actually had a person, a mentor, who worked in the Sport Unit. My husband actually works in the Sport Unit now. He said to me, ‘If you want to impact change, then you need to get involved.’ And I think that's really good advice, if you want to impact change, if you want to inspire people, then get in there and do it yourself. And that really motivated me, and I made sure that I did that.

Shannon:

I definitely resonate with that. I feel like that was my sort of ‘why’ to look towards moving into leadership because I wanted to be part of the change.

Raph:

Yeah, that's right. And I think it's important that we have people who are passionate about what they're doing and really believe in the end goal, which is that our students felt known, valued, and cared for. And I think that sounds, of course, cliché, but that's why we do what we do.

Shannon:

The forefront, yeah.

Raph:

We love our students and we want them to be better people. When they leave Year 12, we want them to feel confident about themselves,

Raph:

We want them to reach their capacity, and empowered to take on the world when they leave. And a huge part of that, for some of them, they don't have that at home, so a huge part of that is us instilling that in them.

Shannon:
Absolutely.

Raph:

And we're their person. So yeah, what a privilege. (Siobhan laughing)

Siobhan:

I want to touch on just another thing that I think beginning teachers might come up with as a common pain point, perhaps, is finding a manageable harmony in their teaching persona and their real life, outside of the school gates. Do you have any advice for beginning teachers on how to navigate that?

Raph:

That whole work-life balance? Yeah, definitely, very important. There's many, many areas that they can cover to help support that. And I think one of them is creating some really healthy boundaries. If you create boundaries at school, it means that your life outside of school will be a lot easier, it won't flow over as much. I think saying 'no', the power of saying 'no' is really important.

Shannon:
'No' is a full sentence.

Raph:

No, yeah, that's correct. I've always felt, as I've gone through my career, I've learnt how to say 'no'. 'No' is something that, I'm a massive people pleaser, 'no' is something that was very strange to me when I first started. 'What do you mean no, it's my job.' But I have learnt to ask a couple of questions before I say yes to something. And also before I do that, it's to ask permission to take a minute. If an executive asks me to do something, it's okay to let that executive know that you might need a bit of time. 'Can I please have, you know, 24 hours? I just need to speak to my mentor about this.'

Shannon:
Yeah. 'Thank you so much for that opportunity,

Raph:
Yeah, that's right.

Shannon:
Like I just need a minute to think about it.'

Raph:

Just need a minute to think. And then once you've got that time, in that time, ask yourself, 'Am I surviving or am I thriving?' And if the answer is that, 'I'm surviving,' then you probably should be saying no. And not only should you be saying no, when you go back to your executive, you should be letting them know why, because they want to know, they care about you.

Shannon:
Yeah. They're there to support you.

Raph:

Exactly, exactly. And they can work on the next steps forward. 'Well, what can we do to support you so that you can say yes in the future?' Might be a 'not yet'. Not necessarily 'no'.

Shannon:

That's good advice.

Raph:

Yeah, and then if you're thriving, amazing, let's move forward. And then the last question I would ask myself is, 'How's this going to impact my students?' You really need to look after your students. They come number one. So am I going to be sacrificing too much with my class if I say yes to this?

Siobhan:

Yup.

Shannon:

And I think it's about finding those manageable ways to get involved in the whole school because we are not just classroom teachers per se.

Raph:

That’s right.

Shannon:

We're part of a whole stage, grade, a whole school. And there's lots of things that you can get involved with in sort of like, almost like a snippet like of, 'Dip my toe into that'. For example, like Education Week was coming up, as it does every year, recurring. It was coming up, and I was like, 'Oh, okay, I'm feeling like I'm getting sort of into a good groove. I'd like to be a part of something. I'd like to join this committee.' So I was part of a group of people who had an interest in organising Education Week and what that meant for our community and for our families and for our students. And so I was able to participate in that, alongside people.

Raph:

Absolutely.

Shannon:

I think that was a wonderful way for me to be able to sort of experience that side of a whole-school program initiative, but also have the support of my colleagues as well in that space.

Raph:

That's right. Yeah, totally agree. And I've had a couple of beginning teachers at the school I worked at, would say no, but as their mentor, I would understand why, and say, 'Well, how about you just turn up to the meeting and just get a vibe for it?'

Siobhan:

Yeah, some sort of shadow opportunity, things like that can be really, really beneficial, in perhaps taking your next step into tapping into whole-school opportunities, because they are important, but doing so in a way that's manageable for you in your first steps. I think, for me, in my second year, I was offered the role of year advising, and I said, 'How about a shadow year adviser instead?'

Raph:

Love that.

Siobhan:

And I learned from somebody first. That person ended up being one of my most impactful mentors that I've had throughout my career. So that was a really powerful decision by me, little did I know. But you learn so much from your colleagues. And it's just a really good way to, yeah, dip your toes in,

Shannon:

Absolutely.

Siobhan:

To the whole-school perspective of things, before perhaps getting into something that you don't know what it actually looks like.

Raph:

That's right.

Siobhan:

So I think, yeah, knowing and asking the question, I really liked how you said, 'I'm considering this opportunity, but here are my questions.'

Raph:

Yeah, that's right.

Shannon:

It's important.

Raph:

Yeah, and speaking of colleagues, I think that's another great way of balancing work and life, making sure that you do things with them that are fun. One of the things that we used to do in the afternoon, because the days were so busy, was, we had a tennis court on-site.

Siobhan:

Aw, love.

Raph:

And all the beginning teachers, at the time, I didn't realise I was a beginning teacher, but all the beginning teachers, us young guys, we used to go and play tennis in the afternoon,

Shannon:

Nice.

Raph:

And it was a great way of just literally striking out all of the things that stressed us out in the day and we had a giggle, and we got to know each other on that really positive, personal level.

Shannon:

Yeah, we had a walking group. And they would do laps straight after school, because we had like a very, very large

Siobhan:

Oval.

Shannon:

Oval, and like, even just like, going from the Kindergarten rooms up to the Year 6 area, it was vast. So it was a great walking track. It's almost like teachers' Cross Country, you know? And it was a really nice way to just like, take a breather, talk to some trusted colleagues, and also like, get to know different people in the school that maybe if you were in Stage One, you didn't get the chance to sort of have exposure or see them as often. So I really enjoyed the little walking group. It was a nice way to connect and also disconnect,

Raph:

And those connections make life easier in the future when you need something, or you don't understand something, or you need a resource, and you've created those genuine relationships. So when you ask, it's more likely that you're going to be said, 'yes.'

Shannon:

It's like informal networking, isn't it?

Raph:

Yeah, exactly.

Shannon:

Networking on the go.

Raph:

That's right.

Siobhan:

I love that. What about switching off after work? So we talk about collaborating with your colleagues, having fun with your colleagues, what about just outside of that, when you're alone, how do you switch off after work?

Raph:

So switching off, for me, was very much about, I needed to talk things through. If I kept things in, then it would fester and I would catastrophise. And obviously the next morning, it would be okay, but I'd spend the entire afternoon thinking about work. So talking through it with someone that you trust, I feel is really important. And that brings me to the idea of, what's healthy talking? What's healthy venting?

Siobhan:

Yeah, what does that look like?

Raph:

What's gossiping? What's dumping? And creating that really positive culture with your colleagues so that you can let things like that out, and switch off. For me, I ask myself, if I'm talking about something that's stressful, I first want to ask if it's okay if I talk about that. If it's the afternoon and you're trying to get something out, ask the person that you're speaking to, whether it be your mentor or whether it be a colleague, 'Is now a good time?' Because if you don't, you could be dumping on them. So it's important to ask first. Then we've got gossiping. So ask yourself the question, 'Am I talking about this because I want a solution or am I talking about this because it feels good just to be in it?' And if you're doing it just to be in it and connect with other people on that level, then maybe you shouldn't be talking about it at that moment, maybe you need a little bit more time. So solutions-focused is really important.

Shannon:

Yeah, it's true, to have those positive people around you, I think is really important. When I was in my first year of teaching, I had 2 other beginning teachers that started at the same time as me, and we used to change our readers together. And that was like once a week, and we'd sort of bring our readers to, we'd choose one of our classrooms and rotate. But it was a really nice way to just like decompress almost. And we were all on different stages, so we would just talk about the week and like, what had happened. And the 3 of us are all in different schools now, and we still have that.

Raph:

Still talk to each other.

Shannon:

We'll have like a call on the way home. I had over an hour drive, some drives, I just had silence, because sometimes you're amongst an environment that, it can be like a sensory overload throughout the day. And it's nice to just, be still,

Raph:

Definitely.

Shannon:

While driving. But have that silence.

Siobhan:

It's funny when you get home and you realise, 'Oh, I've been driving in silence that whole time.' You actually sometimes don't even realise.

Raph:

But it's totally fine. It is overwhelming. And you give all day.

Shannon:

You do.

Raph:

You give to, you know, primary, 30 students at a time all day, and you do need, I'm an extroverted introvert, I need time to switch off.

Siobhan:

I like that.

Raph:

And prioritise yourself.

Siobhan:

I think in terms of that, some also really healthy habits that I found when I was at my best and what I would get into was, when I was disconnecting from my tech, in that sense. So there's often the joke that you go from like your big screen to your little screen throughout the day. But I found that just disconnecting from apps, such as Mail, or Google Classroom, or for primary school teachers, it might look like Seesaw.

Shannon:

Teams, yeah.

Siobhan:

Teams. Like that's a really beneficial way to just set boundaries. And those are healthy boundaries. And the department supports you and has systems in place so that you can disconnect. So you're very much entitled to that time outside of work. So I would encourage people to really disconnect in that way as well, if that's what suits them. It certainly suited me. I would also set boundaries with my students really early on. As an English teacher, we would do practice tasks, and then we'd have the actual task. It would stress me out if I had a disorganised student. So you'd have to say to them, 'I need this task by X date and I'll return it to you by X date.' Anything received after that/date time, which I wasn't setting the time as midnight, as my boundary, because that's not good for me or good for them, I would set it as a reasonable time, 4 pm is when it needs to be in by. So setting those boundaries early and knowing what's going to work for you and your students.

Shannon:

It sets expectations doesn’t it.

Siobhan:

Can be beneficial too.

Raph:

Students will often send emails at 3 o'clock in the morning, expecting the feedback to be given by 9 am, and that is a difficult place to be.

Siobhan:

It's not a reality in any workplace, world, ever.

Raph:

No. (laughing)

Shannon:

I'm a big advocate for those Focus Modes on your phone. Like watch out.

Raph:

Yes, sleep time.

Shannon:

Once I learnt to use those, no going back.

Raph:

No one's getting through my mode.

Shannon:

Bed time mode, don't bother me. Notifications are silenced.

Raph:

No one's getting through.

Siobhan:

But we do, we live in a really fast-paced world, where you are really, easily accessible. So to have those tools that allow you to set a healthy boundary, start using them. If that's what you think is going to work for you, give it a go, because, yeah, that's the only way that you can really protect your peace.

Raph:

100%, and the way you set that up for others as well, is important. Send the delay, add the delay send to your emails. If you are the kind of person that sends emails at 9 o'clock, 10 o'clock at night, because that's when your brain works, it's okay,

Shannon:

Schedule send also.

Raph:

But delay that send. Set the culture, yeah.

Shannon:

So I think like as a beginning teacher, trying to navigate, we're given a lot of autonomy in our role, which is a wonderful tribute to

Siobhan:

One of the joys of the profession really.

Shannon:

Absolutely. And the joy of creativity that you can have, with the content and the outcomes that you deliver. What's sort of like, a manageable way, what strategies would you have in place navigating that autonomy, I suppose, specifically very early on in your career?

Raph:

Yeah, I think a part of autonomy, it's um, there's a lot of positives to being autonomous, but part of the negatives of being autonomous is that,

Siobhan:

Too much choice almost.

Raph:

Yeah. And also the pressure that you're putting on yourself as well. If everything needs to be done by you, then sometimes you don't ask for help. So in terms of autonomy, I think it's great to not always reinvent the wheel. I'm a massive perfectionist, and have been since I was a little kid. I won't do something, when I was younger, I wouldn't do something if I didn't think it would be perfect. And I think as teachers we're often like that. Like that's not an official study, but we are often like that. We want things to be perfect. And I think we really need to use the resources that are out there, make sure that we are using the Universal Resources Hub, make sure that we are talking to our colleagues. 'Has this been created before? Do we have this resource already? Is there an easier way to do this?' Often our pride gets in the way. And it's great to be a high achiever, I think that's a wonderful thing. Our students need that, they need to see that being modelled by their teachers. But we have a responsibility as well to take care of ourselves in that.

Siobhan:

Correct.

Raph:

And there's nothing wrong with asking for help.

Siobhan:

Yeah, many perfectionists might think that that looks like that they're lazy, but it's not.

Raph:

It's not.

Siobhan:

So I think determining, 'Am I just being a perfectionist instead of "lazy"?’ in what you're perceiving, or, 'Am I just using my time in a valuable way?'

Raph:

Yeah, and take some time to sit, to stop, to think about what you've achieved, what you've done, celebrate that, but also to work out if there's an easier way. And that reflection, I think, my motto is, 'Reflect, not perfect.'

Siobhan:

Love that.

Raph:

And I think it's really important to take that time to reflect on, 'What am I doing? Is this the easiest way of doing it or am I in my head? Am I being proud? Am I trying to make this perfect?'

Shannon:

Yeah, when we think about managing those tendencies, for example, there's a range of support available inside those school gates, however, also outside those school gates. So, are you happy to chat about that?

Raph:

Of course.

Shannon:

What that looks like inside versus outside the gates?

Raph:

Yeah, absolutely, I'd love to. That's a part of what I do and what I love. Schools are wonderful places because of the support they provide. And the reason I stayed at the school I was at for so long, was because of the people there. And there are a lot of support services that schools provide for you to make you feel not only supported, but a part of a family. And I really encourage beginning teachers to talk to everyone they can in a school. Get to know everyone that they can, and find someone that really aligns with their morals and their values and who they are, and what they want to be, in terms of a teacher. If they see someone that looks like who you want to be in 10 years, align yourself with that person, talk to them, ask them, 'Could you be my mentor?' And have a conversation with them, and yeah, ask for help. The other support services at schools are your executive, they've put their hand up for that role because they want to help you. And it's not a failure to walk into your deputy, or your assistant principal, or even your principal's office, and ask for help. In fact, they encourage that. And we think about our students, there's nothing more frustrating than having a student who needs help, but doesn't come and speak to us about it. It's the same for your executive. They want you to speak to them and ask for help. So talk to your executive, talk to your colleagues, get yourself a mentor. There's also, schools have school psychologists that you can speak to in the school gates. The head teacher of welfare, if you're in a secondary school, is someone that you can speak to. Part of their responsibility is looking after the wellbeing of teachers, so have a conversation with them. But outside the school gates, the department has so many amazing resources on offer. And the brilliant part of those is that, if you're at home, you can also access them. We have a wonderful resource called EAPs. They've released a new TELUS Health app.

Shannon:

The Employee Assistance Program.

Raph:

Yeah. Employee Assistance Program.

Siobhan:

We actually did our research.

Raph:

Did you?

Siobhan:

Yes.

Raph:

Tell us about it.

Siobhan:

Only because

Shannon:

Hit us, Siobhan. Hit us with the facts.

Siobhan:

Only because the provider recently changed, and that’s so the department could better support and are committed to supporting the wellbeing of all staff across the system. So the changes happened on the 1st of October 2024. And there's additional access to things like legal support, leadership support, tailored support for early career teachers, but also financial and health support too. And regardless of where you live, what your role is, whether you're education support staff, teaching staff, head teacher, principal, that access is available to you, regardless of whether you're in Metropolitan Sydney, rural NSW.

Raph:

Yeah, anywhere.

Siobhan:

Anywhere. The support most, I suppose, importantly, is confidential.

Raph:

That's right.

Siobhan:

So your school will never know that you have access to that support. Many of the systems are available 24/7 and your family, immediate family, can actually access these services as well. So I would encourage people, I just gave it a brief surface-level overview, but to jump onto the Employee Assistance Program's webpage, to actually discover the full range of services, because you might be pleasantly surprised with what's available.

Raph:

Absolutely. There's some great preventative resources as well to look after your wellbeing.

Shannon:

Fitness Passport.

Raph:

Fitness Passport.

Shannon:

Discounted gym memberships,

Raph:

That's right.

Shannon:

For yourself and immediate family as well, which is really wonderful.

Raph:

There's some self-paced, I don't think they call them modules, but programs on the TELUS Health app as well that you can go through that gives some tips on diet, talking about cooking and looking after what you're eating, on diet and exercise. And even chronic illness, I think, was one of the topics there.

Shannon:

Wow.

Raph:

Yeah, really.

Siobhan:

Yeah, it's all about being well, I suppose, that's kind of the umbrella that it sits under. And being well looks like a number of things across your life, so.

Shannon:

It's different for different people as well.

Raph:

That's right.

Siobhan:

So it's about being well in your career, but being well in who you are as a person. So that support is very easily accessible.

Shannon:

And I feel like coming out of uni into my first like, real adult job, when I had my profession. I'd got my degree, I was so ready, but there was a lot of sort of, different types of leave. So as a beginning teacher, where can we go to figure all that out?

Raph:

An amazing resource for beginning teachers to work out all of that tech admin stuff is the Induction Checklist. It's a fantastic resource that you can find either through the Beginning Teacher Information Hub, or you can find it through the Induction Hub. That checklist has some links to information about SAP, and I think it even has a video explaining how to use SAP. Very helpful resource to go through all the nitty-gritty of your leave to make sure that you understand how to use it before it gets to the point where

Shannon:

And your entitlements.

Raph:

Yeah, and what you're entitled to.

Shannon:

Absolutely, wonderful. And the Beginning Teacher Information Hub is a place that we can go to find a number of resources, which is really beneficial, not only for you, but also for mentors as well. So if you do have a beginning teacher at your school and you're in a mentor, sort of informal or formal role, it's a great place to jump on and have a review of what's on offer to support mentors as well.

Raph:

Yeah, there's some wonderful information there. If you head to the Beginning Teacher Information Hub, you'll also be able to navigate your way through to the Strong Start, Great Teachers induction framework. And I think it's really helpful for beginning teachers to understand that your induction isn't immediate and that it can take a really long time. It can take up to 2 years, and that's completely fine. In your first 2 years, it's all about growth and reflection, and we want to celebrate that growth, not feel like it's something that you're lacking, that you're behind everybody. You're not behind everybody, you're just new and fresh. You've got some great ideas that you can help your mentor with. And that's why mentorship is something that I really encourage internally in schools.

Shannon:

And you're also working from, as a graduate, more towards your Proficient

Raph:

That's right.

Shannon:

Teacher accreditation as well, so you're on a journey.

Raph:

You are on a journey. And just let that be and give yourself the grace to make mistakes. It's all a part of that journey. No one gets diamonds until you have a little bit of work. So you're a little diamond, and allow yourself to grow. You’ve got to put the work in, and you’ve got to make mistakes, exactly the same way that your students do. Think about how you treat your students and treat yourself the same way.

Shannon:

True.

Raph:

Allow yourself to make mistakes.

Shannon:

Give yourself a Scratch n Sniff sticker if you need to.

Raph:

Exactly.

Shannon:

Or a colleague.

Raph:

Yeah or a colleague, give them a sticker.

Siobhan:

That's very powerful advice.

Shannon:

It is powerful advice. Speaking of colleagues, I'd love to talk about, there's an age-old saying, 'Finding your marigolds’. Are you familiar with the saying?

Raph:

No, talk to me.

Siobhan:

Oh.

Raph:

Talk to me.

Siobhan:

It's where you plant, the theory is, you plant yourself next to someone or something, that's positively growing, and you, in turn, will grow in that same way as well. How can people actually seek out a 'marigold' in that instance within a school?

Raph:

Great question. In terms of finding somebody that aligns with your values and your morals, and is the teacher that you'd like to be, that probably would be number one. You can also ask, I mean, if you are in a really small school, sometimes it can be difficult to find that person. Just reach out, ask, 'I'd love to align with you. You look like somebody that I want to be in 10 years.'

Shannon:

Yeah, 'Let's have lunch. When are your duties?'

Raph:

'Let's have a coffee.'

Shannon:

'When are my duties? Let's pop it in.'

Raph:

Yeah, 'Let's play tennis at the end of the day.' Do something with them on a personal level.

Siobhan:

Yeah, and it doesn't always have to be somebody who's in your faculty.

Raph:

No.

Siobhan:

Same KLA as you or same stage as you. It could be the person that actually surprises you the most. You could be completely separate in age range, you might think you have nothing in common, but perhaps they're the person that you have needed all this time. So I would say seek out colleagues across the whole school.

Raph:

Definitely.

Shannon:

Definitely, yeah.

Siobhan:

Not just, don't feel that you're just restricted to your one patch.

Raph:

And I think, too, getting involved in the network is an important part of that, finding a 'marigold' as well. You're not just restricted to your school. I think sometimes we can feel quite tied to our school, and that's a great thing, because they're like a little family, but it's great to also go visit the cousins on the other side of the road. And have a chat with them. Look for some beginning teacher network days.

Shannon:

Yeah, conferences.

Raph:

There's conferences that run. Have a chat with your principal. And find some kind of activity that involves other beginning teachers from other schools. Your 'marigold' might be another beginning teacher that works in a primary school if you're a secondary teacher

Shannon:

Yeah, for sure.

Raph:

And you can learn a lot from each other.

Shannon:

Absolutely. So talking about mentors, I had a wonderful mentor, who was more of a formalised mentor, I suppose, who had such a wealth of experience, 20 plus years in education, which was phenomenal. But I also had, I suppose, like it was like an informal mentor, I guess. But one of my colleagues at the school, she was a year ahead of me, like she had been a BT the year before. And I think like just having those 2 very diverse mentorships, like quote unquote, I suppose, I got different things from both of those relationships.

Raph:

Completely agree. And I think we do often talk about mentorship as somebody who may have a higher status than us, an executive, a DP, but that's not necessarily the case. And I think you can learn a lot from people who have just 'walked the walk' that you're walking. I've got a wonderful colleague that I've worked with. The beautiful woman is on maternity leave now, but we were quite close in age. And I actually taught her, she was one of my first students when I left university.

Shannon:

Wow.

Raph:

She was in Year 9. And so I was 23, so we weren't that far in age. And she actually became a teacher and I supervised her, and then she actually taught at the school that I taught at.

Siobhan:

Wow.

Raph:

So it came full circle.

Siobhan:

Following in your footsteps, for sure.

Raph:

Yeah, but the point of that story is not that I got her to become a teacher, is that we learnt from each other, we really drew on each other's knowledge. And she had some amazing fresh ideas, a great approach to her students that I was able to pick up on, and we could exchange knowledge and collaborate on things. And yeah, just a wonderful relationship that wasn't necessarily a formal mentor, and continues to be a friend of mine. And yeah, I think that that's really important to acknowledge, you need to get along with your mentor, and it doesn't necessarily have to be somebody that is an executive, although they are wonderful because they've got some huge knowledge base, but yeah, it can be a colleague.

Shannon:

Yeah, definitely. And you get different things from those different relationships as well.

Raph:

Totally, yeah.

Shannon:

All right, thank you so much for joining us on the couch, Raph.

Raph:

Such a pleasure.

Siobhan:

It's been so great having you.

Raph:

It's always lovely speaking with you lovely ladies.

Shannon:

Aw, thank you. No, it's been really great, like even just going down memory lane of like our own BT lives and putting ourselves back in those shoes, it's really important as a professional to reflect on that as well. So really enjoyed it. And thank you for all the advice you've given.

You're a wealth of knowledge. No, it's been wonderful. So definitely, if you've tuned in today and you know a BT, or a pre-service teacher, or someone thinking about teaching, I think this is a wonderful episode to share with them. Not only that, but I think our colleagues who are mentoring as well, it's wonderful to hear those perspectives and the support that's on offer both inside and outside those school gates. So until next time, we'll see you then. Thanks for joining us for another episode of the Teach NSW Podcast.

All:

Bye.

Shannon:

Thank you for tuning into the Teach NSW Podcast, where we explore the dynamic world of education. Don't forget to follow, like and subscribe, to be notified when new episodes become available. You can find us on social media via our handle @teachNSW. Until next time, keep learning, keep teaching, and keep making a difference. This podcast is produced by the Teach NSW team from the NSW Department of Education.

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