First-year teacher checklist for NZ schools

Before term starts

Paperwork and access

• Check your registration and Tōmua | Provisional Practising Certificate are approved and current. You apply through the Teaching Council's My Rawa portal. See provisional to full certification.
• Return your employment paperwork and IRD details so you are paid on time.
• Get your school login, email, student management system access and any learning platform logins working before day one.
• Find out who your mentor teacher and professional leader are, and ask for a first meeting date.

Know the school

• Read the staff handbook, behaviour policy, health and safety procedures (fire, earthquake, lockdown) and the school's assessment schedule.
• Learn the bell times, duty roster, sign-out process and who to call for a sick or injured student.
• Ask for class lists, learning support plans, medical alerts and notes from last year's teacher. Read them, then keep an open mind.
• Ask your syndicate or department for the long-term plan and any shared units, so you are not building everything from scratch.

Set up the room

• Plan where students sit, where gear lives and how students move in and out.
• Prepare name labels, a seating plan and a simple first-week timetable.
• Have a relief folder ready from day one (class list, routines, timetable, two or three standalone lessons). If you're off sick in week two, you will be glad of it.

Build your relief folder lessons now while you have time. The free relief lesson tool gives you a standalone lesson any reliever can run.

Your first week

• Learn names fast. Use a seating plan, name tents and say names every time you speak to a student.
• Teach routines explicitly. Entering the room, getting attention, handing out gear, toilet passes, packing up. Model, practise, praise, repeat.
• Agree expectations with the class. Keep to three to five, phrased positively, and link them to the school's values.
• Make early positive contact with whānau. A short introduction email or note home, and a positive message for a few students by Friday.
• Start gathering baseline information. Use the school's agreed assessments and simple tasks to see where students are.
• Find your people. Know who to ask about photocopying, IT, behaviour escalation and the school's systems.

Your first term

Induction and mentoring

Your employer should provide a formal induction and mentoring programme of at least two years, with a mentor who holds a Tūturu | Full Practising Certificate. Ask how your release time is timetabled and agree with your mentor how often you will meet and be observed. The Teaching Council's induction and mentoring page explains what to expect.

• Set two or three goals with your mentor in the first few weeks.
• Keep dated records from the start: meeting notes, observation feedback, goals, reflections and professional learning.
• Link your evidence to the Standards as you go. Our guide to Standards evidence for beginning teachers shows what counts.
• Observe other teachers. Ask to see someone with strong routines and someone teaching your level or subject.

Record keeping

• Keep attendance accurate every day. It is a legal record.
• Keep a simple log of behaviour incidents and whānau contact (date, what happened, what you did).
• Store assessment data where the school expects it, not only in your own files.
• Save planning in a shared folder your syndicate or department can see.

Whānau contact

• Use the school's channels (email, app or newsletter) and check the expectations for response times.
• Raise concerns early, with a specific example and a plan, and loop in your team leader if it is serious.
• Prepare for parent and whānau meetings with work samples and one or two clear next steps for each student.

Behaviour

Follow the school's behaviour system from day one, even if you would design it differently. Know your escalation path before you need it. Our classroom management guide covers routines, de-escalation and restorative conversations.

Look after yourself

• Set a finishing time most days and keep at least one day of the weekend clear.
• Reuse and adapt shared plans. You do not need to create every resource yourself.
• Batch marking and give feedback in class where you can.
• Ask for help early. Mentors expect questions; struggling quietly is harder for everyone.
• Know your Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) details if your school offers one.

Certification: the long view

Everything you record this year builds towards your Tūturu | Full (Category One) Practising Certificate. Read moving from provisional to full certification so you know what your professional leader will need to see.