I’m writing for new teachers who are trying to find a work-life balance and some teaching ideas while they’re head-in-hands looking at the cursor flashing on the title slide for tomorrow’s ‘inspiring…motivating’ first-period lesson. Maybe you’ve made your unmarked papers into a tunnel: a creative solution, yes, but you still have to go through them. It’s easy for tired brains to lose creative velocity: my aim is to share some teachers’ ideas, resources, and notes which chance upon inspiring you.

I’m a runner and generally love sport. Don’t be put off. I’m trying to navigate doing sport alongside organizing the rest of my life. You won’t be surprised to hear that I’m also passionate about involving young people in sport and using sporting achievements to get kids out on the field for co-curriculars. I’ll be uploading tips for planning competitions and regular training into your big teaching schedule.

My brother just Googled and told me that the UK has the second youngest teacher workforce in the OECD. Brill – I guess we’re all in this together.