From Day One: Giving New Teachers What They Actually Need

Too often, support for new teachers is built around theoretical frameworks that describe effective teaching in great detail, but offer little tangible, concrete guidance on how to put effective strategies into practice.

At Wigan & Leigh College and University Centre, the focus has been on closing the gap between theory and practice by integrating the HOW2 Platform into everyday training and development, equipping new teachers with clear, evidence-informed techniques they can use immediately in the classroom.

Andrew Harrison, part of the Initial Teacher Education (ITE) team and Teaching & Learning Coach, shares a clear, hands-on account of how he uses the features on the HOW2 Platform to support the training and development of new staff.

Here’s a detailed look at the concrete actions he takes — the things that make a real difference to trainee teachers at W&L as they find their feet. 

Wigan & Leigh begins by using the Sets feature on the HOW2 Platform to create a small, focused collection of techniques specifically for new teachers. Andrew keeps these early Sets deliberately simple because, as he puts it, ​“routines are key.” Every six weeks, he uses the HOW2 Nudge feature to refresh the Set and guide new teachers towards a manageable progression.

New teachers are added to a Group on the HOW2 Platform, bringing them together as a peer cohort from the outset. The HOW2 Notes feature allows them to add reflections and comments directly beneath selected techniques — creating a place to share good practice, ask questions, and support one another. This early community-building helps normalize discussion, experimentation, and peer support.

Observation feedback becomes far more useful when it gives a teacher something concrete to act on. Andrew ensures this by linking HOW2 techniques directly to the feedback process.

After an observation, he recommends the relevant technique to the new teacher — and crucially, hyperlinking it in the observation form so they can access it instantly.

As Andrew puts it: ​“Don’t just tell them WHAT — show them the HOW.” The HOW2 Platform’s visual, step-by-step layout makes this possible at the click of a link, turning feedback into immediate classroom action.

New teachers can see what more experienced colleagues are working on through the HOW2 Skills Exchange. This shared visibility, combined with the Notes feature, encourages them to reach out, ask questions, and learn directly from others’ practice. 

Peer observations are then set up around a chosen technique, keeping development focused and purposeful. Together, this normalizes professional dialogue, helps new teachers understand how practice develops over time, and creates a culture where learning from colleagues is expected.

To help new teachers respond to real-time challenges, Andrew regularly asks them to complete the Barriers to Progress prioritization tool on the platform.

This helps teachers identify what is holding learners back right now — and provides teachers with HOW2 techniques that offer solutions they can try straight away.

For new teachers dealing with the unpredictability of classroom life, this is one of the most valuable aspects of the platform: it provides timely, practical support exactly when they need it.

Alongside the four core practices, Wigan & Leigh uses two weekly routines to maintain momentum:

• HOW2 of the Week — a single technique pushed out to all new teachers to discuss. Andrew and his colleague Lee showcase this technique and encourage conversation around it.
  
  

• My Time (reflection) — protected time each week for teachers to explore, reflect, and create Sets of techniques for the following week.
  

These routines help embed professional learning into the rhythm of the week without adding workload or complexity.

Bethany Southern, FT PGCE trainee, explains the impact of this support: ​“The TeachingHOW2s Platform has massively supported the development of my pedagogy through the use of assessment for learning techniques and identifying barriers to progress. As a trainee teacher, these tools have been a huge advantage to me as they have aided my evaluation of a learner’s progress in a more simplified and understandable way.”

Bethany’s experience reflects the wider response from trainees using HOW2s at the college.

Wigan & Leigh College’s work demonstrates how the HOW2 Platform can be integrated into ITE in a practical and sustainable way. By curating simple Sets, linking observations to concrete techniques, making experienced practice visible, using the HOW2 Platform’s Barriers to Progress feature to tackle challenges quickly, and embedding weekly reflection routines, the college gives trainee teachers exactly what they need:

• clarity
  
  

• confidence
  
  

• practical strategies they can use immediately
  
  

• and a supportive community around them

This approach offers a clear, highly practical example of how one college is using the HOW2 Platform to strengthen the experience of new teachers — by turning guidance into everyday classroom practice.