As you will know, life in several areas of the country was severely disrupted last week after a freakish collision of hot and cold fronts ensured the dramatic descent of Artic conditions on communities across Britain.

As someone who remembers such snowy days as a regular feature of my childhood, waking up to find the fields and streets frozen and white never fails to raise a sentimental smile; prompting tender reminiscences of sledging on Wimbledon Common and building larger than life snowmen with my family. Such days bring back that strong sensation of pure joy that snow seems to cause in children: the feeling that for one rare, cold, joyful afternoon, the rules of normal life have been entirely cast aside.

Once I’d had a chance to listen to the news that morning, the scale of the bad weather – and its impact on transport and workplaces across London – became apparent. Almost all of the schools close to me were shut. Despite a fleeting temptation to forget the responsibilities of the day and participate in London’s growing faction of authorised truancy, I had a comparatively easy journey to work and managed to trudge through the snow to our office.

The impact of the weather on our own organisation became apparent as the morning went on. By 9:30 I was still the only occupant of our new premises in Highbury and by ten had fielded several calls from those turning back at suburban train stations as a result of cancelled services. Londoners too were incapacitated, with tube lines affected and buses out of action.

For a few surreal hours, I was alone in our normally bustling office, surrounded by abnormally quiet and bright white streets outside. For a brief time I was entirely without company. Although occasionally grateful for the novel sense of tranquillity, it also made me think a little about the unsettling nature of isolation. Although a quiet day, even the more routine and menial tasks of my schedule represented a greater burden without the company of my colleagues. Being alone that morning was a very unusual episode and only true in a momentary, physical sense. Isolation can be much more difficult and harmful when effecting people emotionally and in the long-term.

As well as heralding such unusual levels of snow, last week also saw the launch of Teacher Support Network’s new, online Starting Out Guide at www.newteachers.info

The written version of the guide, which is aimed at supporting Newly Qualified Teachers and trainees, is one of our most popular resources and we have distributed hundreds of thousands of copies over the last few years. The guide offers expert, comprehensive advice, tailored specifically to help address the unique challenges of trainees and NQTs. As well as advice on areas such as finding a job and managing money, it also offers deeply practical tips over issues such as preparing for the first day or understanding the politics of seating in the staff room.

By moving the guide online, we have not only made the information universally accessible but have been able to add some vital new features based on the experiences of our coaches and counsellors in their interactions with trainees and NQTs. One of the problems most commonly felt by such teachers is a strong sensation of isolation and loneliness amongst their busy, new school community. The challenges of teaching can be overwhelming in themselves but, unfortunately, many schools find themselves unable to provide sufficient emotional and practical support to new teachers, leaving them feeling alone and vulnerable.

By enabling visitors to the Starting Out Guide to add their own comments to every section of the site, to share their experiences and discuss new ideas, we hope that both NQTs and trainees will find a sense of community amongst their equivalents in other schools. We hope every training, serving or retired teacher across the country realises that there is never any need to feel alone: our trained coaches and counsellors are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week via our Support Line and online services to help with any problem. We also believe that the new site in particular will ensure trainees and NQTs realise that they are not the only one’s experiencing their problems; that it is ok to feel worried and find their jobs challenging and that through communicating with those in the same situation, they can help overcome their problems. Even if, like most of London last week, new teachers are snowed in, we hope the site supports them in their challenging but highly rewarding careers.