In this episode of Fraction of a Teacher, Jen and Francis revisit Teaching Standard 4: planning and teaching well-structured lessons, and reflect on just how much their thinking has changed since their PGCE year.

From modelling and questioning, to planning systems, textbooks, homework sequencing and reflection, they explore what actually makes a lesson work in the classroom, not what looks good on paper.

They discuss:

• How their definition of a “good lesson” has shifted from teacher-focused to pupil-focused

• Why structure, modelling and questioning matter more than flashy activities

• Planning time: what’s realistic, what’s sustainable, and how it changes with experience

• Using textbooks, exit tickets and oracy to support independence and understanding

• The role of reflection in improving lessons over time

This is an honest, practical conversation for trainee teachers, ECTs, and anyone still figuring out how to plan lessons that genuinely support learning without burning out.

Next episode: revisiting parent communication, following Jen’s first parents’ evening.

Going back after a break is harder than we expect. In this episode, Jen and Francis reflect honestly on the first two weeks back after Christmas and what it really feels like to return to the classroom.

We talk about

• Why motivation dips before it recovers
• How pupils experience the reset as much as teachers do
• The difference between resetting expectations and starting again
• What we would do differently next time
• What has actually gone well beneath the wobble
• We also share three practical takeaways for returning after a break

We also check in on work life balance, revisit our Bin Bag Celebrate reflections, and end with our Fraction plenary as we move from feeling like a quarter of a teacher to finding our feet again.

This episode is for PGCEs, ECTs, and early career teachers who are back in school, feeling tired, reflective, and quietly wondering if this is normal.

It is.

You do not need to restart.

You just need time to reset.

In this episode of Fraction of a Teacher, Jen and Francis unpack Teacher Standard 3 (demonstrating good subject and curriculum knowledge ) and what it actually looks like in real classrooms, not just on paper.

We reflect on:

• why not knowing everything can be a strength, not a weakness

• how teaching the way you learn can deepen understanding for students

• the gap between PGCE theory and classroom reality

• how confidence in subject knowledge grows over time (and why that’s okay)

Jen shares an honest reflection on her early fear of “not knowing enough” and how that mindset shifted once she realised modelling learning, mistakes, and thinking aloud was powerful for pupils.

We also look ahead to future-you teaching, asking:

• What topic do you want future you to be better at teaching and what’s one small step you can take now?

As always, this is a reflective, practical conversation for trainee teachers, ECTs, and anyone navigating the messy middle of learning to teach well.

Honest reflections.

Real classrooms.

One step forward.

It’s officially festive season at Fraction of a Teacher as Jen and Francis reflect on the end of their first term as ECT1s and everything that’s changed since the PGCE days. From Christmas jumpers and classroom decorations to the strange confidence shift that comes from being the only grown-up in the room, this episode is a proper end-of-term debrief.

They revisit their recent guest episodes, share what they’ve learned about independence, planning and pacing, and introduce two practical teaching tools you can steal immediately. First is MATH, their classroom-friendly spin on the STEP coaching model, designed to help you adapt lessons in the moment. Then comes Bin, Bag, Celebrate, a simple reflection routine from Nic Morgan that helps you ditch what’s not working, keep what is and recognise what you’re doing well.

Jen shares how she’s moving away from busy work and towards intelligent question selection and mastery. Francis talks about adapting lesson structure to meet pupils where they’re at, especially for that Wednesday afternoon energy dip. They finish by talking honestly about work life balance over Christmas and how to actually recharge without guilt.

If you’re heading into the holidays exhausted, this one is for you.

In Part 2 of our conversation with Maths Teacher and ECT2 Laura Francis, we talk honestly about what really changes after ECT1 and why it genuinely does get easier. Laura shares how she moved from “this is doable but not sustainable” to feeling like a calm, confident teacher who can walk into school in September and hit the ground running.

We unpack the power of systems and organisation and a trusty filing cabinet so future you is always grateful. Laura talks through how she reimagined teaching trigonometry for mastery, why the thinking is the hardest part of planning and how she uses resources like Dr Austin Maths to support deep understanding rather than just procedures.

We also dive into using ChatGPT as a planning partner, building escape room revision lessons and motivating pupils with low cost rewards like Starbursts and ice pops. Laura reflects on boundaries, workload and why staying late as an ECT1 was a choice that paid off in year two when most days now finish by five.

Finally, Laura leaves us with reassurance for every ECT listening. There really is light at the end of the tunnel.

This week Jen and Francis are joined by Laura, an ECT2 maths teacher and former IT professional, running-shop owner and Now Teach career changer. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Laura shares the honest, winding path that brought her into the classroom.

We talk about:

• Moving from IT to opening a successful running shop

• The life-changing impact of her husband’s motor neurone disease diagnosis and bereavement

• Finding purpose again through exam invigilation and TA work

• Being “headhunted” into a maths role after failing GCSE maths first time

• Supporting anxious and school-avoidant girls back into maths – and back into school

• Why she chose maths over computer science, and how an SKE + SCITT training route made it possible as a parent and carer

• The power of peers, role models and Now Teach in making career change feel possible

Laura is honest about grief, parenting neurodiverse children and juggling training with family life, while also sharing the joy of seeing “her” students reach year 13 and plan their futures.

This episode is for anyone wondering if it is “too late” to retrain, anyone considering maths teaching with a wobbly relationship to maths, and anyone who needs reminding that pupils remember the teachers who walk alongside them.

Part 2 will dig into ECT2 life, subject knowledge and the culture in Laura’s classroom.

This week, Jen and Francis explore Teachers’ Standard 2: promote good progress and outcomes for all pupils. Rather than treating progress as a number or a data drop, they unpack what it looks and feels like in everyday lessons. They discuss starting points, the reality of teaching new classes, and how to make sense of pupils’ understanding when you are still learning who they are.

Jen shares how metacognition has reshaped her teaching, using prediction, “hardest question” analysis, traffic-light trays, and reflective booklets to help pupils recognise their own learning. Francis talks through the power of exit tickets, topic mind maps, and the quiet insights that come from simply reading pupils’ books and listening to their reasoning.

Together, they explore routines, retrieval, monitoring, and evaluation as part of a wider cycle of thinking that strengthens long-term understanding. They also turn the lens back on themselves, reflecting on how they each monitor their own progress as ECTs and how small tweaks in reflection can transform practice over time.

This week we’re joined by football coach (and our website designer) Claire to explore what happens when the world of coaching meets the world of teaching. We talk about being “player first, not player led,” finding the balance between structure and freedom, and using individual challenges to stretch or support learners. Claire shares insights from coaching across age groups, from under eights to adult women’s teams, and explains how the STEP principle of adjusting space, task, equipment and players helps her adapt sessions in real time.

Jen and Francis draw powerful parallels to the classroom, reflecting on how teachers can apply similar approaches to differentiation, engagement and reflection. From the importance of knowing your learners to the value of feedback and planning for “what ifs,” this episode uncovers just how close coaching and teaching really are: same goals, different game.

This week, Jen and Francis dive into Teachers' Standard 1: set high expectations for all pupils. It's not as a slogan, but as daily practice. We unpack what high expectations actually look like in lessons, marking, and conversations, and how to keep challenge from turning into anxiety.

Jen shares how an English teacher in America helped her understand the impact of dyslexia on her writing, reframing “ability” into strategy and belief. Francis draws on leadership lessons about setting ambitious, realistic targets and applies them to the classroom, balancing absolute standards with relative expectations for individuals.

We explore routines, language, feedback, and metacognitive reflection (plan–monitor–evaluate) that build a culture of productive struggle. Plus, we each set a Teacher Stretch Goal to model what ambition and reflection look like for pupils.

Jen and Francis catch up on their first two weeks as fully fledged teachers: no mentors at the back, no safety net, just them at the front of the classroom.

From first impressions and building staff relationships, to seating plans, learning names, and realising they’re now the grown-ups in charge, they reflect on the steep (but exciting) learning curve of the ECT year.

Plus, Jen shares why she’s already started a young referees club, Francis looks ahead to Duke of Edinburgh and maths club, and we meet the newest member of the Fraction of a Teacher team: Howie the dachshund.