February half-term is typically a time for trainees to start turning their attention towards job applications.

Of course, there will be some who were quick off the mark and have managed to secure a job already. But those super-organised rarities only add to the sense that application season is open for real, and that you need to be thinking about your future career pretty sharpish.

This is hard enough to fathom when you’re in the midst of a final placement after three or four years of training. But for those trainees taking a one-year route, the pace is breakneck. Suddenly, having barely started getting your head around what the job even is, you’re required to think about committing to a school for the long term.

Teacher trainees should keep calm

In any ordinary year, I advise students not to panic at this stage. Yes, maybe the super-brilliant student who always aces every placement has already landed her dream job in the perfect school. But for most, the very prospect of filling in an application form is enough to send chills down the spine. 

In February, I’d say, don’t panic yet: the big surge of jobs comes closer to Easter. And, even then, the golden market for NQTs runs well into the summer.

Even under normal circumstances, the oddities of the resignation dates mean that many jobs are advertised well into June, which would suit new teachers. So while February might feel like the starting pistol, it’s a long way from the finish line.

This year, that’s probably even more true. As a student, you might be worrying that, at the halfway point in the year, your training and experience has been hugely disrupted. The good news is: so have schools’ recruitment plans.

Selection processes thrown into chaos

Even headteachers who know that they’re likely to need a new teacher in September will have been wary about starting the ball rolling too soon. It’s a huge leap of faith to consider recruiting a new teacher when all of the usual selection processes are thrown into chaos.

The informal phone calls, visits and tours, and the emailed queries all make up a small part of the process - and all are affected by the current restrictions. The prospect of carrying out interviews and making judgements about teachers’ styles and skills without actually being able to invite them into the building is another big commitment.

Some schools will make that choice, perhaps hopeful that the early bird catches the worm. Others won’t even know yet that they’re going to need new members of staff. 

But this year there’s a notable third group: schools that know they want to recruit but are just hanging back for the moment to see what the next stage of reopening looks like.

If 22 February brings us clarity about when schools will reopen and if or when face-to-face interviews might be a possibility, then perhaps we’ll see another flurry of adverts. As 8 March comes and goes, headteachers’ attention might be able to move to thinking of next year, and the perfect post might come up. 

And, if nothing else, come Easter time, as budgets are confirmed and vacancies become clearer, we’ll see the usual flurry of posts on offer.

But, just as in every other year, there’s no need to panic. For while there may be trainees looking for their newly qualified teacher post and worrying that they’ve missed the proverbial boat, there will also be headteachers faced with the need to recruit a good new teacher and hoping that they’ve not left it too late.

And, like with any other relationship, you only need to find the right one.

Michael Tidd is headteacher at East Preston Junior School in West Sussex. He tweets @MichaelT1979