About Me
For me, teaching is a unique profession. I believe that I have a very lucky and enviable position where, through my teaching, I am able to not only share knowledge and skills with children, but I am also able to plant the seeds of a love for learning in all the children I teach. Therefore at the heart of what I do is to plan and teach exciting and engaging lessons. I bring subjects to life using lots of drama, ICT and hands on practical tasks in all subjects. For example when teaching fractions I had the students stand behind the chocolate bar that would give them the most chocolate - keeping in mind they had to share with whoever else was behind that bar.
I have worked in a variety of schools, and have used a range of schemes of work and approaches to teaching. I currently work at St John Fisher, where I am a Year 5 teacher. I have a good understanding of the National Curriculum in the UK as well as the Curriculum documents in Ontario. This year I have transitioned into teaching the new curriculum in the UK. The transition has been made easier for me by the fact that I have always focused on the pedagogical understanding that underpins learning. For example, I understand that children learn multiplication first as repeated addition, then as arrays, then as skip counting and finally as multiplication. All of this means that I am able to plan the children’s progress not only over a unit of work but also across a half term and across the year as a whole. Further to this, because I have a good understanding of how children learn, I am able to explain this to support staff so that they can have a meaningful impact on children’s progress throughout each lesson.
In all the schools that I have previously worked at, I often met with parents to discuss progress, attainment and any other concerns. I have provided written reports and have also shared Individual Education Plans, advising parents how to support their children at home. I feel it is important to pitch learning at the level that is appropriate to that child, and will emphasise to all parents the importance of allowing children to learn and develop at their own pace.
I regularly set ambitious (but attainable) targets for the children in my class and through rigorous assessment, I am able to chart their progress and address their strengths and weaknesses. I believe that assessment goes hand in hand with teaching and learning. It is vital that we take prior knowledge into account, so that informative, inspiring and challenging lessons can be planned and delivered to the children. I use marking as a way of measuring how well a child has performed against the learning objective. I often share my marking comments with children in my class, so that they know what they have done well, but also what they need to work on. I am experienced in teaching children with a wide range of recognised needs, including behavioural needs and feel that this is a particular area of strength.
With regards to behaviour management I have high expectations from pupils, both in class and across the school. I believe in teaching children to be responsible for their own behaviour by: encouraging them to reflect on their actions; being absolutely consistent; and having daily circle times to bond as a class. I enjoy the prospect of getting the children to realise that a class is a community; from that I was able to build the children’s respect for each other, their teamwork, and their self-esteem.
To sustain this atmosphere I maintain high standards and have high expectations not only of the children, but also of myself. I like to foster a passion for learning and feel that as a life-long learner, there is always something new to discover and share. As a result of this, I encourage good quality dialogue in the classroom. I want children to ask and answer questions that require higher order thinking. I do not believe that this can only happen with older children. When a teacher holds high expectations of their pupils, I often find that children respond well, regardless of their age or ability. The appearance of my classroom reflects my belief in a class community, and I have many displays, including working walls, which celebrate children’s work and achievement, as well as also supporting, inspiring and stimulating learning.
I believe that it is important to keep abreast of any changes in education and I enjoy attending courses; as a reflective practitioner, I know how vital it is to maintain knowledge of good practice. In addition to this I have benefitted working with an assistant head teacher from a neighbouring school. We met once a week to share teaching strategies, lesson ideas, appropriate and practical displays, and behaviour management techniques.
I have worked in a range of contexts. However, I know that children are children wherever you go, creative, playful and enthusiastic, and that all should have the opportunity to achieve the best of their potential. Each child needs someone who will champion them and inspire them and that is something that I do. I have been told by my current head teacher that I have a natural way with children and this is something that I recognise and appreciate. I have worked with children since adolescence and have always enjoyed the interaction with children and their incredible sense of humour.
I really enjoy being a part of the school and the community, and truly appreciate the unique feeling of belonging that one feels when working at a primary school. In my time at St John Fisher I really enjoyed working with parents and PTA at many events, including school fairs, class plays and school discos. Similarly I have run clubs at St John Fisher, which includes a knitting club for children in Years 2 to Years 6.
I really enjoy working as part of a team. I like to be inspired and to inspire. I believe that teaching is at its best, when the whole school community works as a team, with everyone taking responsibility and supporting each other.
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