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During the induction day at my placement school, I had the chance to really get a feel for the school’s culture and how it was run.  I had preconceived ideas about teaching in an inner-city secondary school, we hear so many negative stories in the media and so on, but I was truly thrilled to find out that, as I’d hoped, students are good, and teachers genuinely want the best for them.  

I met my mentor during the second half of my induction day. He was thoroughly professional and went through the requirements and expectations with me in detail. He did though volunteer for me to start a drama club! Baby steps I thought. But, even with that, it was an insight into the opportunities available in the English department and a glimpse of how you can really use your subject knowledge to impact a school. 

As a school direct trainee, I was immersed in the school experience immediately. I felt part of the workforce and school community from the start. As a linguist,  I particularly like that you are not referred to as a trainee teacher, as learners can often see this as the lesser role and frankly make you target for class ‘banter’. Being spoken to and treated by other teachers as equals helped me to adopt a more professional role as a teacher.  

A key moment for me, and many others, I assume, was when a year 7 student bounded over to me to ask ‘ Have we got you today Miss?’ This feeling of being noticed liked, and having built a rapport with a student really filled me with glee. It is one of the main reasons I entered the profession in the first place.  

My mentor meetings take place weekly and provide an incredibly useful and meaningful space to systematically reflect on my teaching experiences that have occurred in the week gone. Typically, we discuss expectations, objective-centered reviews of lessons or starters, and what I ( we ) can do to develop specific skills going forward. For example, my mentor noted that during a discussion with a year 7 group, I had become a victim of being drawn off task and venturing on a tangent. Although the tangent was related to the topic, the feedback helped me to be aware of my class time and interactions during activities.  

There is only one way to truly become a quality secondary school teacher and that is to be surrounded by qualified, experienced teachers- This is, I feel, what I have been provided with through this training course - quality.