Oluchi: My time in school so far...

My training school is at Metheringham Primary School and upon arrival, I was made to feel very welcome. Immediately I felt that this would be a great school to train in as all the members of staff were very experienced, and more so with their year groups. I chose to begin my teacher training in a year 4 class as this is where I felt I would be able to begin developing my subject knowledge in most areas.

I chose to take a steady approach into teaching lessons, not rushing into anything until I felt ready. I began by delivering maths starters each day with the help of my mentor. Initially, during our PPA sessions, my mentor and I would go through a lesson plan which she had prepared and I would create the resources required to deliver the starter. This allowed me to develop an understanding of both the planning aspect and how to deliver a lesson.

Content from the training sessions has been very effective and I found that I was able to implement things that I had learned.

From the very beginning I built a positive relationship with my mentor. Initially I was apprehensive as she is the Deputy Headteacher however this has been advantageous as she is a very experienced class teacher.

Over the last few weeks, my subject knowledge has improved greatly. I have spent a lot of time researching topics which are being taught in order to gain a deeper understanding. It has also been important for me to read the National Curriculum every time I am planning a lesson so that the expectations for the year group are clear.

By keeping an evidence bundle I have been able to reflect on the work I have done with a small group during maths as well as any progress they have made. In addition to this, I have been able to highlight any areas of weakness and inform the class teacher.

Oluchi