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My teacher training experience: part 1 – Stephen Pearce

Thu 21 March 2019 - 16:36

By Stephen Pearce in Teacher Training

As the end of the PGCE course seems in sight, I have taken the opportunity to reflect on my experiences. If you are reading this you are probably at the same stage of your career or where I was last year, considering if this is what I want to do. If you are in the latter, please just do it, I won’t say you won’t have moments that you regret that decision but on the whole you will love it.
 
I am going to start off with one of the best things about the course. I started teacher training successively from an undergraduate course and your new classmates will seem very different. Mainly, you will notice the range in ages. This diversity means that your new classmates will have a variety of professional experience that you can learn from.
 
Honestly though, the other people on the course will be great for support and for letting off steam but your main asset on the course will...

From teaching assistant to qualified teacher - Tom Savagar

Tue 10 September 2019 - 15:25

By Tom Savagar in Teacher Training

As I come to the end of my teacher training, I’ve taken the opportunity to reflect on my experience of moving from being a teaching assistant (TA) to becoming a qualified teacher. As this is a transition which many teachers have made, I thought that I would share some helpful things to bear in mind when making the jump. As a TA, you’ve already shown that you can offer a great deal to the children you work with, so with the right support, there’s no reason you can’t become a fantastic teacher.
 
A new role
 
As a TA, you get a daily look at how teachers work. This means that you’re uniquely positioned to learn more about the path you’re about to embark on. The role of a teacher differs from that of a TA, and it’s worth taking this opportunity to speak to the teachers in your school, or any friends or relatives you have who are teachers, about how. 
...

Changing lives and getting paid for it – Pranav Patel

Mon 4 October 2021 - 15:43

By Pranav Patel in Teacher Training

 

I want to share with you my journey into teaching. An honest version of this journey because in this career you will face different challenges to any other career you undertake. Never doubt however that this is the best undertaking you will ever have.

My name’s Pran and I’m currently a Lead Practitioner in an inner London academy. The son of two immigrant parents, one from the West Indian state of Gujrat and the other hailing from the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

After graduating from the University of Birmingham with a Bachelor of Science in Physics, I flittered from a variety of career options until, by chance, I ended up supporting in a secondary school for a day. At this point for me it clicked. I’m changing lives and getting paid for it, does it get any better than this?

Born in a typically British Asian household I was always pushed to excel; be successful in every aspect of my life from academia to career. The...

Getting behaviour right from the start – Tom Bennett

Thu 25 July 2024 - 09:26

By Tom Bennett in Teacher Training

Anyone who wants to be a teacher should know this: getting behaviour right from the start is one of the most important things you can do. If you hope they'll behave, good luck. Maybe they will. Maybe some will. And maybe they won't and you'll need to know what to do. In-school training can be patchy. If you're lucky you'll find a school that knows how to train you in the craft of classroom management. Or maybe you won't; maybe your training schools will be civil and ordered and you won't see what it is that makes that happen.

I investigated behaviour training in 2015 for the Department for Education, and in 2016 we published our guidelines about what a new teacher should know in order to be 'classroom ready'. Running a room isn't a small part of our jobs - it's an essential component. Without good behaviour,...

Five tips for preparing a UCAS personal statement – what every parent needs to know

Wed 3 July 2024 - 12:06

By Dr Sharon Parry in Parents

This is the part of the university application process which causes a great deal of stress to teens – not to mention distress to their parents, who may not feel in the mood for an in-depth analysis of their son/daughter’s career prospects when they are trying to cook tea or put out the bins!

The truth is, we are ill-equipped to give that advice, and therefore need to be careful what we say. This time last year, I was going through the personal statement process with my eldest daughter, so I thought I’d share my thoughts and experiences just in case you are going through the same right now.

The UCAS personal statement
I started off full of optimism that I would be a great asset to my daughter as she prepared this extraordinary piece of writing. It wasn’t long before she had to point out my paragraphs were peppered with clichés, and I over-used the word ‘passionate’ – both of which are classic mistakes, apparently, so I turned out to be more of a liability...

Exam stress season

Fri 18 March 2022 - 11:26

By After the Playground in Parents

Dr Sharon Parry is a writer and editor of lifestyle blog @aftertheplayground. She is a Mum of three daughters who loves to write about the parenting, health and emotional challenges that parents face as their children need them less constantly.

Prior to establishing a writing career, Sharon was a Research Fellow in Public Health and has a PhD in Epidemiology.

I have been supporting my children through public examinations for nearly a decade and I’ve still got two years to go! Even within my own family, I have discovered that each child is very different in terms of what they need from me at this stage of their lives, and I have to learn to adapt to that!

So, here are the steps I...

Meningitis in students – what you need to know

Mon 22 July 2024 - 13:28

By UCAS in Parents

In the frenzy of excitement and emotion between A level results and a young adult leaving for university, it is unlikely that vaccinations will be one of your priorities. However it's important to check that you have had a meningitis vaccination. You may have had this when you were in school, but if not, there is a meningitis vaccine available for young adults. If you;re not sure, you can easily check by contacting your GP.
 
If you need the vaccination, make an appointment with your GP surgery to have the vaccination today. Your GP will know which one – it is called the Men ACWY.
 
Five reasons why you need to think about meningitis in students – right now!
  1. Meningitis is one of the major health risks for young adults in their first year at university. They are the second most ‘at risk’ group for contracting this disease.
  2. Most first year students opt to live in halls. Here they will...

What I wish I had known – Hannah Londorf

Tue 6 November 2018 - 15:53

By Hannah Londorf in Teacher Training

 

1.   Stay on top of things from day one

In those first weeks of starting your training you’ll only be teaching a few lessons and keeping on top of writing lesson plans and reflecting on your teaching practice will be relatively straightforward and not all that time consuming. However by the time March swings round and you are 6 months in, it’s a different story; with 15 or more lessons a week to plan and teach and all the responsibilities of a regular class teacher (think assessments, marking, homework…), you’ll be wishing that you put the time in to keep on top of things from the start. Getting into a routine early also means it can feel a lot less stressful later on in the game.
 
2.    Get to know your classes – make that extra effort
For me this has been the single...

My volunteering journey

Tue 20 August 2019 - 10:43

By NCS in Support

By NCS graduate, Georgie Burgess, from Birmingham.

I’d really recommend volunteering. I started by taking part in the National Citizen Service (NCS) programme in the summer after my GCSEs, and have continued volunteering through sixth form and my university studies. Giving back has changed my outlook on life. It’s also a great way to try out new things and push yourself to do whatever you can.

What was good about the NCS scheme? It gave me the opportunity to get involved in a local community project, addressing a real social need but in a supported and structured way. We decided to ask the public to sign a petition to...

Tips for teacher training interviews – David Douglass

Tue 6 November 2018 - 16:05

By David Douglass in Teacher Training

 
All teacher training providers have their own format for interviews. Some Higher Education Institutions and School Centred Initial Teacher Training providers will have individual and group tasks as part of their selection process. My tips below are therefore not an attempt to second guess interview questions, rather to act as food for thought.
 
Key areas to consider
A provider may wish to explore these key areas:
  • Why you feel you want to become a teacher.
  • How your experience and qualifications to date have prepared you for the role.
  • What specific qualities, skills and knowledge you'd bring to the role/school.
  • Your ability to reflect on lessons you've observed.
  • Areas of strength and areas you feel you'd need more support with.
  • How well you understand their course (vision, structure and aims etc.).
On the day...

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