Lily's journey: Autumn Institute to Teach First trainee
Lily chose teaching to combine her passion for history with a fast-paced environment where she could make a tangible impact in students' lives.
Why teaching?
After studying history at university, I wanted to be able to continue engaging with the subject, but I wanted to work in a fast-paced environment where I could make a tangible impact.
I think that teaching allows you to engage more with your subject knowledge and expertise than another career would allow you to do, as you are looking at it from an entirely new perspective.
Choosing Teach First
Teach First stood out due to the clear process of application, delivery and outcomes - as well as being paid at the same time as training. This made teaching accessible to me.
I had also recently finished four years of studying at university and so I wanted to be working and not just studying.
After researching Teach First, I realised that teaching was something I was really excited by – being able to develop knowledge of a subject I love, gain a qualification and invaluable experience, and make a difference to the lives of young people.
Joining Autumn Institute
I applied to Autumn Institute instead of Summer Institute as I came to the process later. I had a seasonal job over summer and was looking for the next step. I applied in July and was teaching by October!
One benefit of joining Autumn Institute was the group of trainees from Summer Institute in my area, who had already established support networks and who could offer relevant advice from recent experience.
Support at school
It has been excellent having a network of trainees in Cumbria to discuss the programme with, as well having group chats and organising meet ups. This has provided a great sense of solidarity, having similar experiences and gaining different but informed perspectives.
Both my Programme Development Lead and Subject Development Lead have been a brilliant support base in terms of communicating expectations, providing clear guidance and answering queries. This has been a great help throughout my training.
Throughout this process I have been supported by other trainees, Teach First and my placement school.
My placement school has been a welcoming environment, whether it has been staff members saying hello every morning, offering support and advice or making me feel included in the school community. And my mentor has been incredibly supportive which has helped me to feel informed, welcome and trusted throughout the training process.
This has made training a rewarding experience. The demands of training can feel like a lot of pressure and difficult to manage, but having this support network has been a good reminder of the end goal and the fact that you are not expected to complete it alone!
What I’ve learned
The Training Programme has allowed me to develop my leadership qualities as each lesson can be viewed as a small project within a larger plan. This has helped me learn to project manage.
In teaching, you are continuously tasked with problem-solving, including how to teach pupils to problem-solve themselves!
Clear communication and delivery is essential to the role and so I have developed my ability to present, deliver content with clear steps, and to listen to and understand each pupil.
My ability to adapt has grown too. In October, I was adapting to an entirely new environment, each term I adapt to new situations and new courses, and every day I adapt to new challenges, opportunities and interactions.
I would say the key skill that the Training Programme has taught me, in terms of leadership, is organisation. Teaching requires exceptional independent time management in order to make the workload not only manageable but sustainable.
Considering a career in teaching?
Join hundreds of other trainees like Lily on the Teach First Training Programme. Find out more about training to be a teacher on our website or speak to a recruiter.
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