Partnership working is a huge part of our every day at South Bromsgrove. This post describes some work carried out in partnership with University of Worceser, Institute of Education and the PGCE PE cohort in preparation for their school placements. We are grateful to Kim Hibbert-Mayne for providing this account of the day.
So you’ve decided to pursue a career in teaching. Congratulations, you have opened your mind to potentially the most rewarding career there is. You will spend your teacher training year, your NQT year and potentially the rest of your working life, sharing your knowledge, expertise, passions and interests with younger generations. They will learn from you, they will teach you, they will test you and surprise you. You will laugh and you will cry and every day will be different. A career in teaching means being committed to enhancing the life chances and wellbeing of all young people, so what is the best way to prepare? Read our three tips below to get you on the path to a successful training year.
Securing good behaviour in the classroom can be a worry for new or less experienced teachers, but all teachers will, at some point, come across challenging behaviour. This post, by Deputy Head James Siddle, provides some useful and timely advice on how to be proactive in securing an orderly and purposeful learning environment.
The challenges that come with adult learning are common and absolutely predictable. The key to understanding the challenges of adult learning comes with an appreciation of the fact that adults arrive at the table with a significant body of existing knowledge and experience. It is this prior learning that creates problems when we are leading teaching or training that challenges existing practice, or introduces new concepts.
This week's Monday Blog comes from a talk given by Miss J Dodd, teacher of English and NQT here at South. In this talk, she shared her wisdom on what to expect during your NQT year.
This week's guest blog is provided by Jenny Wright, one of our Recently Qualified teachers and former School Direct Trainee. In this post she describes her experience of seeking her first NQT job and offers some words of advice to current trainees.
This week's guest blog comes from @Y3NQT who writes and tweets from the perspective of a primary NQT. This post is based on a presentation she gave at our annual #NQTeachMeet18 in May 2018.
Being an NQT mentor is a hugely responsible but also rewarding experience for a teacher. But what distinguishes a ‘good’ mentor from a ‘great’ one? Our NQT Training Director James Siddle gives his top tips on what makes a ‘great’ mentor.
There is a growing Mental Health crisis in schools. Evidence shows that across the UK Mental Health issues in children are increasing, while child well-being is deteriorating. In a recent study carried out by Young Minds, 90% of school leaders reported an increase in the number of students experiencing anxiety and stress in the last five years.
We are delighted to share a guest blog with you this week, from our friends at Decisive Element, Gary Toward and Chris Henley, authors of the 'Art of Being Brilliant' series and all-round good eggs.
While there is no reliable way to measure the number of teachers using twitter, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that this platform is fast becoming an essential resource for teachers of all phases and sectors around the world. A quick search of ‘why teachers should tweet’ returns a number of different testimonials from teachers reporting that the use of twitter for professional purposes ‘changed practices’, ‘renewed enthusiasm’ and even ‘improved wellbeing.’ With so many teachers now using twitter regularly to engage in debate and discussion, to share resources and to access the latest news, events and developments from across the educational world, it would be difficult to deny its potential power. Read our 3 reasons to engage with twitter below…
A person is described as resilient when they are able to ‘bounce back’ from problems, challenges and set-backs quickly and effectively. Being ‘calm in a crisis’ or being ‘everyone’s rock’ is not necessarily the same as being resilient. The demonstration of resilience requires the presence of difficulty, challenge or upset. The most resilient people don’t simply bounce back unscathed, but rather they learn more about themselves through failure and often return stronger and more competent.