New Teacher Onboarding Checklist

A printable new teacher onboarding checklist for schools — track every step from job offer to the end of the first term: HR paperwork, technology setup, building access, mentor pairing, safeguarding induction, and the check-ins that keep a new hire supported past the first week.

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1. New Hire & Placement

• New teacher name: [NEW TEACHER NAME]
• Role / subject / grade level: [ROLE, SUBJECT OR GRADE LEVEL]
• Start date: [START DATE]
• Assigned classroom or room: [ASSIGNED CLASSROOM OR ROOM]
• HR / onboarding lead: [HR OR ONBOARDING LEAD NAME]
• Assigned mentor: [ASSIGNED MENTOR NAME]

One completed copy per new hire, kept on file — it doubles as evidence of induction if a licensing or inspection visit ever asks for it.

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2. Before Day One (Pre-Start Readiness)

• Contract signed and returned: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• ID checks / background-check confirmation received: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Payroll and tax/benefits paperwork completed: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Email account and system logins created (SIS/LMS/gradebook): [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Classroom assigned and basic setup ready: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Welcome pack or first-week schedule sent to the new teacher: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Notes: [PRE-START NOTES]

Front-load logistics, not philosophy — a new teacher who cannot yet log into the gradebook does not benefit from a curriculum orientation on day one.

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3. Day One

• Building tour completed: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Keys, fob or access card issued: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Technology logins tested and working (email, SIS/LMS, photocopier code, shared drive): [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Introduced to the principal / head of school: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Introduced to the assigned mentor: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Classroom walkthrough completed with a colleague or mentor: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Safeguarding / child-protection induction briefing scheduled (see Section 5): [ ] Yes [ ] No

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4. First Week

• Policy review completed: behavior policy: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Policy review completed: attendance policy: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Policy review completed: emergency procedures: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Policy review completed: code of conduct: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Curriculum and lesson-planning orientation held (scope and sequence, planning templates, where resources live): [ ] Yes [ ] No
• First mentor meeting held: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Technology training beyond login — day-to-day use of the LMS/gradebook: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Assessment, grading and reporting calendar explained: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Introduced to the grade-level or department team: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Introduced to office and support staff: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Notes: [FIRST WEEK NOTES]

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5. Safeguarding / Child-Protection Induction

• Briefed on the school’s safeguarding / child-protection policy: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Told who the school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead (or local equivalent) is, and how to reach them: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Given the school’s own safeguarding policy document to read: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Formal safeguarding training session completed: [ ] Yes [ ] No — if not yet, scheduled for: [SAFEGUARDING TRAINING DATE, IF NOT YET COMPLETED]
• Sign-off — safeguarding lead name: [SAFEGUARDING LEAD NAME]

Safeguarding/child-protection induction is treated as a compliance step, not optional “nice to have” onboarding, in most jurisdictions BeeNet schools operate in — but the exact legal trigger point and required content differ by country. England’s statutory guidance (“Keeping Children Safe in Education”) is a well-documented example requiring safeguarding induction for all new staff at the start of employment; treat this section as the minimum good-practice baseline and confirm the specific requirement that applies in your own jurisdiction before treating any single timeline as a legal deadline.

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6. Mentor Assignment

• Mentor name: [MENTOR NAME]
• Mentor’s own subject / grade / department: [MENTOR SUBJECT OR GRADE]
• Protected meeting time allocated (day/time each week): [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Meeting frequency agreed: [MEETING FREQUENCY, E.G. WEEKLY]
• First mentor meeting date: [FIRST MENTOR MEETING DATE]
• Coaching toolkit or resources shared with the mentor: [ ] Yes [ ] No

A mentor assigned “on paper” with no protected time is the single most common onboarding failure the sources for this template flagged — confirm the meeting slot actually exists on both calendars before checking this section complete.

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7. First Term (Weeks 2–12)

• Weekly check-ins held, tapering to bi-weekly as the term progresses: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• First formal classroom observation completed: [ ] Yes [ ] No — date: [FIRST OBSERVATION DATE]
• Feedback session held after the first observation: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Professional-development need identified and a session/resource assigned: [PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOCUS, OR “NONE IDENTIFIED YET”]
• Mid-term review meeting held with the head teacher / line manager: [ ] Yes [ ] No — date: [MID-TERM REVIEW DATE]

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8. Beyond the First Term (Optional — First-Year Tracking)

• Induction is treated as continuing through the new hire’s first year, not just the first term: [ ] Yes [ ] No — acknowledged
• Second-observation or mid-year review date planned: [NEXT REVIEW DATE, IF PLANNED]
• End-of-year induction review scheduled: [ ] Yes [ ] No

Optional — use this section if your school tracks induction across the full first year rather than closing the file at the end of term one.

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9. Sign-Off

• New teacher signature and date: [NEW TEACHER SIGNATURE AND DATE]
• Mentor signature and date: [MENTOR SIGNATURE AND DATE]
• Supervisor / principal signature and date: [SUPERVISOR OR PRINCIPAL SIGNATURE AND DATE]

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How to use this template

• Start the checklist as soon as an offer is accepted — Section 2 is meant to be worked through before the start date, not on it.
• Complete Sections 3 and 4 in real time during the first week; do not batch them and fill them in from memory afterward.
• Keep Section 5 (safeguarding) as the one section you never skip — confirm your own jurisdiction’s specific requirement rather than relying on the general guidance printed here.
• Section 8 is optional: use it only if your school’s induction program runs the full first year rather than ending at the first term.
• File the completed, signed checklist with the new teacher’s HR record — it is your evidence that induction happened, not just that it was planned.