Preparing for your first year of teaching

Your first year of teaching can feel overwhelming, and it’s important to know that you are not alone in this experience and there are resources that will support, guide, and orientate you during your first two years of teaching.

If you are a beginning teacher commencing in 2023, visit the Beginning Teacher Support page 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 Teachers Yammer group or Statewide Staffrooms to ask questions, find information or seek support from your colleagues.

Find yourself a teacher 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 2023 is the final year of your Initial Teacher Education studies, you are eligible to gain interim approval and begin teaching casually in the new school year. 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 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 2023.

Top tips for returning teachers

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.

All teachers are encouraged to stay up to date with the latest temporary and permanent positions and range of 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 programs for current teachers.

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.

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.

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