ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the school culture in which beginning teachers must immerse themselves and thrive, and the possible risks and opportunities that may support them to negotiate their new school. Although schools may have a vision statement or core values to which the pupils work every term, there often exists a deeper level of assumptions and beliefs that are shared by the school staff, almost ‘unconsciously’. ‘Aggressive curiosity’ in the beginning teacher will inspire continuous growth, but they need to be given a solid foundation of ideas and strategies on which to base their curiosity. The National Education Union survey on teachers’ workload, which questioned over 8000 teachers in the United Kingdom, found that an astonishing 81 per cent of teachers considered leaving teaching in 2018 due to workload pressures. As a beginning teacher, often the day-to-day tasks of planning, resourcing and marking take more time, let alone the additional asks of the school.
