A Teacher’s Guide to Surviving the Run-Up to the Christmas Holidays!

The countdown to Christmas is well and truly on; shelves are filled with festive treats, trees are festooned with decorations and Christmas adverts have arrived on our screens! However exciting this is, there are certain stresses that arrive with the festive season, especially for educators – from lesson plans to deadlines, and assignments to marking (and the rest!). But, not to worry, we’ve compiled a helpful guide to help you get ahead, so you can get the leg work done and put your feet up over the holidays.

Manage Classroom Expectations:
Students can often become restless and distracted in anticipation of their upcoming Christmas break, so it’s important to set out clear expectations with your class you expect them to continue learning business as usual in terms of lessons and homework. Tailoring the final week of lessons to festive (but educational) topics and a lighter workload is a fantastic incentive for students to meet your expectations and continue to be productive and focussed.

Need inspiration? Take a look at these festive STEM and SEND lesson plans.

Get Ahead of Homework:
If your learners have exams or assignments coming up next year, the Christmas break is a brilliant time to introduce mock exams or work that can help get them prepared to ace their qualifications. Consider setting relevant tasks or homework for your students to do over their holidays, with key resources to build their confidence ahead of exam season.

Prepare for the New Year:
Forget new year new me, get ready for the first week of January before you break for Christmas. Try setting aside some time each week of December to prepare materials, lesson plans, and clear out any clutter or unnecessary paperwork from your desk. By doing this you can free up more time to enjoy the festive break, and avoid building stress about the new year.

Beat Burnout:
With the final few weeks of the year fast approaching, teachers need to be mindful of experiencing burnout. You can take some steps to avoid burnout, our tips?

·       Prioritise self-care, whether this means putting time aside to exercise, read, see friends and family, watch TV or getting an early night, taking time for yourself is non-negotiable.

·       Be organised; when you use a calendar to keep track of tasks, deadlines and priorities you can ensure you know what’s going on at your FE institution and manage your time efficiently.

·       Seek help, be it from colleagues and friends or by a professional, knowing when to reach out is important – looking for help? EducationSupport have resources for educators and a helpline on their website.

 Don’t Forget YOUR Christmas:
Dedicating time in the next month to plan your own festive break will help to keep you motivated and ensure that you don’t leave your own festivities to the last minute. This can be as simple as starting your present shopping, securing your “secret santa” or making sure you know where your decorations are. Or, you could carve out time to organise your day down to the minute, and have all of your favourite festive films ready to watch.

By setting classroom boundaries, planning ahead, prioritising self-care and investing in your own break, we hope our guide can help you survive the lead up to the festive break with enough time and energy to enjoy Christmas yourself. After all, this season is supposed to be merry and bright! So, when you finally break up from teaching at your college for the holidays, we hope you have a fantastic festive time; you deserve it.

Further Education: Are You Eligible for Incentive Payments?

The government is releasing incentive payments to show support for Further Education teachers, and applications opened this month! Between 14th October 2024 and 31st March 2025 is your chance to apply.

What is a Retention Incentive Payment?

These are financial bonuses offered to lecturers and instructors in high-demand subjects (such as educators in STEM or Early Years). By providing these incentives, the government hopes to retain experienced and qualified teachers, ensuring that FE colleges have the skilled staff necessary to deliver quality education.

Who Can Apply?

These are some of the conditions you need to meet:

•​Teaching Experience: You must be in the first five years of your FE teaching career (2019+). 

•​Teaching Pattern: You must teach more than 2.5 hours a week.

•​Student Ages: Over half of your students are aged 16 to 19 (or up to age 25 if they have an Education, Health and Care Plan).

•​Course and Student Focus: At least 50% of your teaching hours must be spent teaching eligible FE courses (listed below) at level 3 or lower.

If you hold only an assessor qualification, you will need to enrol in a teaching qualification within the next 12 months to remain eligible.

Which Subjects are Eligible?

The following subjects are eligible for the 2024-2025 academic year:

•​Building and Construction

•​Chemistry

•​Computing (including digital and ICT)

•​Early Years

•​Engineering and Manufacturing (including transport engineering and electronics)

•​Maths

•​Physics

To find out if your specific course qualifies, be sure to take a look at the full list of eligible FE courses. This list will be updated in spring 2025 with any changes for the 2025-2026 academic year.

What You Could Receive

The retention incentive payment ranges between £2,000 and £6,000, depending on factors such as the FE provider where you teach and the level of disadvantaged students you teach.

Payments are made in a lump sum each year. The amount you receive depends on your teaching hours:

•​2.5 to 12 hours per week: £2,000 to £3,000

•​12 hours or more per week: £4,000 to £6,000

For teachers on short-term or variable contracts, eligibility is based on teaching for one full term before applying and already being scheduled to teach in the following term. 

When and How to Apply

For the 2024-2025 academic year, the application window is now open, and you must submit your claim by 31st March 2025. 

You can apply via the official page!

The targeted retention incentive is a great opportunity for new FE teachers working in critical subject areas to receive financial support.