For the first time in my life, I'm not clock-watching at work
‘For the first time in my life, I’m not clockwatching at work.’
As the saying goes, ‘if you want something done, ask a busy person to do it’. This certainly applies to trainee teacher Sam Bloor. She joined our ITT programme with a degree in psychology, a successful business, experience as an OFSTED-registered childminder, and three young children at home. Initially, her reasons for training as a teacher were pragmatic. ‘I was looking for a career that I could enjoy’, she explains, ‘and that would also allow us to be geographically flexible as a family.’
Once she started training, Sam realised that teaching was much more than she expected. ‘I didn’t realise that I’d enjoy it as much as I do’, she explains. ‘For the first time in my life, I’m not clockwatching at work. A lot of the time it doesn’t feel like a job at all.’
Training on your doorstep
Four days a week, Sam is on placement in a primary school. It was here she met her teaching mentor, Graeme. ‘He’s absolutely brilliant’, she beams. ‘I feel completely supported, personally and professionally. He treats me as a fellow teacher, rather than a student, and this has a huge impact on how the children view me too. I’m respected and valued as a member of the school community.’
On Thursdays, Sam attends training either at her local campus or online. ‘The children at my school ask me why I have to go’, she smiles, ‘which is very gratifying. I tell them that I’ll come back with even more energy, and even more ways to help them to learn.’
Sam’s current school placement has a large proportion of children for whom English is an additional language (EAL), and children with special educational needs. ‘It’s certainly challenging’, she says, ‘but to see myself making the difference that I was hoping to make as a teacher is enormously rewarding’. Her weekly training sessions help here too. ‘Recently we had masterclasses on teaching children with dyslexia and EAL’, she explains, ‘and I could take the insights and strategies straight back into the classroom.’
Whatsapp group and strong networks
Meanwhile, Sam’s cohort of fellow trainee teachers have formed a strong bond. ‘We have a WhatsApp group that we use all the time, and we talk to each other outside the training sessions’, she says. ‘It’s great to be making friendships and supporting each other through our placements, helping to iron out issues. It can be a bit overwhelming to start with, but if you stick it out and really put the effort in, then everything starts to fall into place, and the rewards are enormous.’
Here are Sam’s top five tips for getting the most out of your ITT programme:
- Be super organised and prepared: future-you will thank present-you for putting in the effort now.
- Make use of your mentors and take time to cultivate and invest in these relationships: a strong bond with a good mentor can last a lifetime.
- Your fellow trainees may well become your biggest support network: just remember that if you’re feeling a bit nervous when you sit round the table with them for the first time.
- Going above and beyond can be hugely rewarding: learn the names of the children straight away, get stuck into curriculum planning, and you’ll become part of the school community very quickly.
- Go into your ITT school placements with an open mind and prepare to be surprised: your life might be about to change in all sorts of wonderful ways.