Welcome

Hello! And welcome to our second newsletter of the year, in which you find the JTSH team huddled round a heater as Storm Benjamin makes himself known.

It's been a busy half term as we welcomed ECTs and mentors old and new to the first 10 (TEN!) conferences of the year, as well as delivering NPQ sessions and training for induction tutors. We're very much looking forward to our half term break.

If you too are counting down to a week off, why not cuddle up with a beverage of your choice and scroll down for two new blog posts, some of the most up to date research, and the chance to ask us anything!*

*caveats apply, we know your game.

BREAKING NEWS!

New Research Bite from the NFER: Are you concerned about falling pupil numbers? 

We know that North Norfolk in particular is home to a large number of small schools, so you may be interested in this latest research from the NFER. Click below to read some strategies from school and trust leaders as they grapple with the decline in pupil numbers.

Access the research.

And finally...

The EEF has updated nine strands of their Teaching and Learning Toolkit, to reflect the most recent global research, making complex findings clear and actionable for schools.

Check it out.

Keep in touch

You can follow us on Bluesky and LinkedIn, sign up to receive this newsletter - or just drop us an email.

Spotlight on... the blog!

We've published two new blogs this term, reflecting the fact that our focus in the last few weeks has been on our programme of early career teacher support.

In the first, we try and answer the knotty question of What makes a great mentor? Spoiler: the role of mentor being valued by the school really helps.

And in the second blog, we ponder the best ways of Supporting teachers with ADHD. As more people - many of them women - are receiving their ADHD diagnosis in adulthood, it's important that we understand what the neurodivergent among us may need to be able to perform at their best.

You can read both of these blogs in the blog feed below.

Focus on... Ask your TSH!

Are you confused? Do you have burning questions and no answers in sight? Are you baffled, bemused, and/or bamboozled? Let us help!*

We are introducing a brand new, half-termly drop-in session where you set the agenda. Members of the TSH team will be online ready to answer your questions and set your mind at rest.*

Upcoming dates (links to follow):

• Thursday 4 December, 9-10am
• Monday 9 February, 3.30-4.30pm
• Thursday 19 March, 9-10am
• Thursday 21 May, 3.30-4.30pm
• Thursday 18 June, 9-10am.

* (If you could confine your questions to ECT induction, StepLab, NPQs, initial teacher training, and other education-related topics, rather than existential musings about the state of the world and whether we are all, in fact, the ghosts of a long-dead civilisation clinging helplessly to whatever remnants of our souls linger floating through the void (for example), that would really help us out, thanks.)

Focus on... StepLab update

Ambition Institute has let us know that induction tutors no longer receive their weekly StepLab engagement reports by default, as of September 2025. If you find these reports useful, you can still opt in by following the steps linked below.

We hope this helps!