Wokingham

A new group of teachers in Wokingham district have been welcomed to the profession by Wokingham District Council. Around 100 new teachers started their careers in the Wokingham district this month and were given a warm welcome by council officials at two special ceremonies held last week (September 12 and 13).

The ceremonies were held this week at Wokingham District Council’s Professional Development Centre to introduce newly qualified teachers (NQTs) to Wokingham local education authority (LEA), which will be supporting them during their careers at the district’s schools.

During their induction period, they develop their teaching skills and benefit from the support of their colleagues and from officers at the district council. That support helps them become integrated into school life. It is necessary so that today's new teachers are able to take on the demands and responsibilities of teaching. The Wokingham teachers will soon become familiar faces to pupils after starting at the district’s nine secondary schools, one special and 27 of the district’s 53 primary, junior and infant schools, where they will all have a senior member of staff as an induction tutor or mentor.

The ceremonies were a chance for the NQTs to meet each other, plus advanced skills teachers from across the district and key officers at the district council. They heard presentations on further development opportunities available to them as well as teaching regulations and their entitlements.

Wokingham District Council’s teacher recruitment task force has a website and attends recruitment fairs at colleges across the country to spread the word about the benefits of teaching in the Wokingham district.

Wokingham District Council’s chairman Cllr Angus Ross, who welcomed the new teachers, said: “I am pleased to welcome all the newly qualified teachers who have joined us this year. Good teachers make lasting differences to our children's lives. That's why the council is committed to attracting high-quality people to the Wokingham district and this will help us maintain our position as one of the top education authorities in England. Every one of these new teachers has a key role to play in our schools and our children deserve the best. I wish them every success in the future.”

Wokingham District Council