Relationships with colleagues

Relationships with colleagues have a huge impact on our working lives. The staffroom is more than just a place for tea and biscuits - here, you will make friends and get to know your school.

The relationships you form with staff, students, parents and governors can make all the difference in the early stages of your career. 

Starting out

As a new teacher, you are trying to make a good impression, understand the school culture and work out who’s who. These are a few points to help with this:

• Take your time: you don’t have to suss everyone out.
• Beware of being isolated within a department which may stop you forming other helpful relationships, notably with other new teachers.
• If you do notice cliques, try to stay neutral. It is important not to get drawn into internal disputes.
• Try not to allow your enthusiasm to be dampened by others’ negativity – you need to retain positive energy for your teaching.
• Help others when you can: people will respect someone they can rely on and will be more likely to return the favour.
• At break time, it is worth observing the ‘staffroom etiquette’.  For example, be careful not to use someone else’s mug or sit in someone’s ‘special’ chair. This sounds trivial but could help you to avoid getting off to a bad start with your colleagues.
• Well-established staff can sometimes feel threatened by change or new ideas. Acknowledge the skills and expertise of your more experienced colleagues, but don’t forget that your view matters. Have the confidence to voice your ideas and suggest improvements – but remember to tread carefully.
• In your first term, you not only need to get to know your colleagues but also the complex network of relationships that exists in the school.  Help and guidance may come from unexpected sources. Working out how the staff relate to each other is invaluable, especially the relationships between teaching and support staff.        

Working with support staff

Teaching assistants, administrative and other support staff have a crucial role to play in the successful running of a school.  They should be able to provide information about the culture and organisation of your school and provide invaluable support for your teaching, so it is really important that you build good relationships with them.

Try to involve teaching assistants in as much planning, preparation and assessment as possible – this will demonstrate that you value their support. You do need to be aware of the different but complementary roles that you and support staff will play in the classroom and in the school; remember, as teacher, the responsibility for what happens with the classroom is ultimately yours.

Commenting on the teaching of other staff

You will need to tread carefully when commenting on the teaching of other staff. A general rule of thumb when starting anywhere new is to listen, learn and develop relationships. You will need to learn about the culture of the staffroom; does the school embrace peer observation and feedback or is it very hierarchical with a clear pecking order (in which you, as the new teacher, are at the bottom!)?

If the culture is one where you are expected to offer feedback to your colleagues on their teaching, then you need to be very specific and constructive in your observations and comments. Don’t forget to observe and comment on your colleagues’ good practice!

Communicating with the senior managers

How much contact you have with senior management team (SMT) members may depend on the type (eg. size, culture) of school in which you are teaching. It is important that you learn the structures and accepted routes of communication within your school. If you are in a very hierarchical establishment, then you may need to communicate everything through your immediate line manager.

Being a team-member

Teaching is becoming increasingly about working in teams; teams within classrooms, teams within departments, teams across departments. When working in teams, it is vital to be clear about the roles of all members and particularly, your own.  As a new team member, you will need to learn about the others within the team, their roles, previously established methods of working and any review practices. You will need to establish good communication with your fellow team members so it is vital that you ask questions, check understanding and avoid assumptions.

Concerns regarding fellow colleagues

There may be times when you have a concern regarding the performance or professionalism of a colleague.  You must proceed with great caution; any workplace has a complex network of relationships and knowledge of these and of relevant policies/procedures is vital before you take action. You do have a duty of care for your pupils and a responsibility for their education and wellbeing and this needs to be considered also in your decision.  

Bearing in mind the established friendships and relationships within your school; it may be worthwhile to talk to a more experienced colleague you trust to ask their advice.  

You can also get good advice and support from ATL, through your school rep or ATL branch secretary, who combine knowledge of the procedures which are likely to be relevant along with an understanding of the kind of issues you are facing.  Whether talking to your Rep informally or making a formal complaint, it is important that you are specific about the behaviour(s) that are causing concern and it is useful to write down your observations.

Relationships with other professionals

Teachers and support staff are increasingly working with other professionals in multi-agency teams.  The focus of these teams are the ‘whole’ child and that is driven by the Every Child Matters agenda and its five aims that every child should:

• be healthy
• stay safe
• enjoy and achieve
• make a positive contribution
• enjoy economic well-being.   

School staff need to have good relationships with other practitioners such as social workers, nurses, GPs and educational psychologists. This may mean building knowledge and trust through joint training or working, or encouraging others to support what the school is doing in areas. Schools will also be working towards the Every Child Matters outcomes through:

• common processes, including the Common Assessment Framework and the new information sharing index  
• partnership working with a wide cross-section of organisations and people, eg the children's trust, parents and the wider community, voluntary groups and the private sector.        

These groups will be expected to work together using various tools that the government has developed to support integrated working. 

• Information sharing:  multi-agency teams are expected to develop a framework for information sharing and follow guidance on when, why and how they can share information.
• Common Assessment Framework (CAF) for children and young people: practitioners need to assess children's additional needs for services earlier and more effectively, develop a common understanding and agree a process for working together. The CAF is a standardised approach to conducting an assessment of a child's additional needs and deciding how those needs should be met.
• Lead professional:  the function of the lead professional is to ensure cohesive and coordinated services for children and young people where integrated support from more than one practitioner is needed. This role can often be filled by an education professional.
• Common core of skills and knowledge:  a specification of the skills and knowledge required by practitioners who work with children and young people.
• Information sharing index:  the national information sharing index will enable practitioners delivering services to children to identify and contact one another easily and quickly, so they can share relevant information about children who need services. This is due to be implemented across all areas of England by the end of 2008.
• Information sharing and assessment update:  regular newsletter providing updates on the information sharing and assessment work programme.   

Help and support

For further advice on this issue, ATL members can speak to their school rep, their branch secretary or their regional official. They can also call the London (020 7930 6441), Cardiff (029 2046 5000) or Belfast office (02890 327 990) or email info@atl.org.uk.

For out of hours enquiries, call the out of office hours helpline on 020 7782 1612 (Monday-Friday, 5-8pm during term time).

If you are not a member, join now.