I accidentally started a new job this week. I had no intention of taking on any more teaching so it’s quite a surprise to be back in the college saddle.

I’ve been having a gentle time over the past year or so, doing an almost full-time week of writing, teaching in the community, and studying for my degree. I’d been overdoing it on an epic scale for years, grasping every offer of work that floated in my direction, as is the way of the feast or famine freelancer.

My physical and mental health was suffering, so it was time to pause for a big ol’ think about how I really wanted to spend my days, rather than what I imagined was expected of me. Having the opportunity to take a small step back and still (only just) cover my outgoings is of course a luxury, but I’ve never had a proper job so I’m comfortable flying by the seat of my pants.

Part-timers: valuable or disposable?

I’m settled in my more relaxed way of working and at peace with plodding along without any ambition to be anything but happy. However, after years of perceiving a 60, 70 or 80-hour working week as normal, a 35-hour one sometimes seems like an everlasting weekend, and I can’t help feeling like a lazy old moo. I believe (huge generalisation klaxon) that we are built for the structure of a working week. I never look longingly towards retirement because I can’t imagine retiring. I need some sort of framework to hang my days round.

So, when a couple of days a week of sessional teaching came out of the blue at a place I taught at years ago, I was torn. Mainly because I’d had such a lovely time working there in the past and want “having a lovely time” to be central to my life.

Sometimes, being a sessional member of staff leaves you feeling like an outsider. I’ve worked in some places where I’ve felt like an unwanted but necessary visitor. On those occasions I could have been paid double the hourly rate and it still wouldn’t have been worth it.

One of the gang

I’ve also had the opposite experience. Where, regardless of my comparatively diminished contribution of hours and status, I was welcomed as one of the gang immediately and without question. Though the college structure has changed since I worked there, I remember my time at my new/old place with nothing but a smile.

So, here we are again. I’ve popped my loungewear in mothballs and slipped into something more comfortable -  a new lanyard. I was nervous about stepping in front of a group after a spell on the benches, but fell straight back into it. I’ve been at it a while and feel confident that I know what I’m doing. It’s the other stuff that has me more of a dither. The paperwork, communication over students, exam admin, fitting in with an established group of colleagues - playground nerves never fade. I shouldn’t have worried though. By 10am I knew I’d made the right decision.

So, if you are about to introduce a new member of staff into the fold here are a few tips to make sure that they feel as at home as I do. 

Top tips

• DO show them who to ask for help with admin and introduce them to the IT support team.
• DON’T assume that because they might be experienced teachers that they will be able to plunge straight into unfamiliar college systems.
• DO give them a place to call home. It might make more sense to house them in a hot desk, but at least give ‘em a shelf or a drawer. A small nook to store stuff.
• DON’T let them flounder in the staff room. Every teacher needs a place of sanctuary between classes. Perching on the end of someone else’s desk is irritating for both parties.
• DO include them in the small stuff. Show them where to make a cup of tea, clue them in on the admin hacks that full-timers use, share a bit of department history.
• DON’T assume that because they might not be as personally invested in office traditions and social events as the people who work there full-time, that they don’t want to be at least asked to join in.
• DO be sensitive about team meetings. It doesn’t take a time management genius to stagger team meeting days so that even if sessionals only do one day a week, they’ll be involved once every five weeks.
• DON’T exclude them from team meetings because “we’ve always done it on Wednesdays”, then expect them to be on top of any new developments.
• DO be aware that many sessional staff are earning significantly less than those on longer-term contracts who are doing a similar job. Nudge any admin that isn’t completely essential out of the way.
• DON’T expect that sessional staff will work additional hours for free because they love the job. In fact, don’t expect that anyone will (apart from those in senior leadership positions - to paraphrase Spider-Man, “with whacking great wedge comes whacking great responsibility…and often whacking great hours”).

‘Kindness is a valuable investment’

On my first day, when I came back to the staffroom for lunch, without asking, my manager had placed a cup of coffee on my desk, just as she had on everyone else’s. It was something and nothing, but small thoughtful acts like that help us feel like we’re part of the gang. It’s these little things that create good staff morale and keep sessional staff galloping back for more. And in these days of crap money and little job security, not just for the hourly paid workers, kindness is a valuable investment. 

Sarah Simons works in colleges and adult community education in the East Midlands and is the director of UKFEchat. She tweets @MrsSarahSimons