Part of my intention on writing this blog was to highlight the experiences of training as a teacher in 2020/2021. I wanted to share a recent job application I made to a school as part of that journey. As a kind of meta-cognitive introduction I felt I wanted to express that I found sharing this made me feel oddly vulnerable. I’ve never been very comfortable with praise, or thought of myself as very self-congratulatory so naturally I wrestle with writing about myself in personal statements. Having said that I also found the process of writing this application to be cathartic. It gave me a space to unpack some of the learning and experiences of the SCITT course I’m currently enrolled on and to start to bring together my emerging sense of pedagogical ‘handwriting’. It also helped me to sharpen the pencil on what I want from a career as an educator. I’ve applied for innumerable jobs during my career outside teaching, but this one felt different. More important maybe. It was nice applying to a job and feeling like my voice and approach mattered. Not having to drag up old tropes such as ‘works well independently or as part of a team’ felt liberating. The knowledge the SCITT has given me felt like something to be proud of. If you, like me, are currently learning to educate I hope you find this useful. Names of institutions/training bodies/cities have been (indiscreetly) changed. If you can guess where I sourced my nomen novum I’ll give you a polo.
Hi I’m Robbie, an associate teacher of Design and Technology enrolled on the Lakeshore SCITT, currently placed with Bash Street School, with whom I have a standing relationship as visiting lecturer and instructor teacher of Design and Technology. I attended the virtual Staff Information Event and so much of the Greytowers School ethos inspired me. I’m excited by the opportunity to apply to the Greytowers School and I hope you enjoy reading about my experiences and pedagogy to date.
As an introduction I’d like to talk you through my aims and values as a teacher. I am passionate about providing equity in access to education for all learners. During my time at Bash Street School I have sought to instil a presence of mind in all learners that will serve to foster ambition in them. To me the aims of education are to improve the lives of students and those of their wider community. I aspire to demonstrate integrity by example for students through a nurturing, whole child approach to teaching and learning with kindness at its core. Access to opportunity is important to me, I have a particular interest in the role of self esteem in our most vulnerable learners. My teaching practice with Bash Street has had a focus on access to education for SEND and SEMH students through an empathic approach to excellent teaching practice. One of my core aims is to help ‘close the learning gap’ created by the realities of living in a diverse socio economic community such as Beanotown. I believe in quality first teaching practices that support all learners and provide opportunity to access cultural capital.
Through my practice and wider reading I have developed a special interest in behaviour management. I have elected to work with Bash Street School literacy intervention groups in addition to my training timetable. Students within these intervention groups can present significant behavioural needs. In this time I have built meaningful relationships, particularly with students on the Autistic Spectrum, by providing pastoral and teaching support. I believe that a whole school approach to behaviour underpins the facilitation of a successful learning environment for students of all backgrounds. In my experience I have found that positive classroom culture is built by the bricks and mortar of enforcing routines, positive reinforcement and high expectation. A robust behavioural policy provides essential opportunities for praise at a functional level, as well as the grounding of a consequence system. I strongly believe in behaviour as an expression of need and that self esteem in learners is essential to their feeling of inclusion in, and contribution to life in a school. I’m very interested in the Greytowers School approach to a centrally planned curriculum in providing a consistent learning environment, which I believe is key to inclusion for vulnerable learners. I was impressed by the approach to formative assessment and use of intervention with a focus on integration and the value placed on your evidence based approach to teaching and learning.
The Greytowers School electives program excites me as a teacher and a creative professional. I feel that to attempt to ‘close the gap’ we must offer equity in opportunity and access to cultural capital for all – especially our most vulnerable. In my experience the most vulnerable learners in schools often miss out on opportunities to experience cultural capital and expand their personal ambit and grow self esteem. Personally I would love to offer my tacit knowledge and industry experiences as a tailor, fashion designer and small business ownership to foster an elective interest amongst students and share real life experiences as a means to inspire aspiration. My previous professional experiences have helped to lay a foundation of transferable skills that I have built upon to start my long held aspiration to teach at a secondary level. I have dedicated my career to Design and Technology, a subject that, educationally, links vast areas of the wider secondary curriculum and promotes critical thinking processes as well as promoting creative skills. The practical application of concepts that Design and Technology offers can provide an accessible immediacy, excellent for well being and self-esteem in all learners. It’s particularly effective for those students who may struggle to experience success in other areas of the curriculum. During my time at Bash Street School I have had experience working as a lead teacher in KS3, 4 and 5. I hold mandatory, subject specific health and safety certificates enabling me to use and teach a large, cross disciplinary variety of design equipment. I currently specialise as a Textile Design teacher, though I have experience teaching Product Design and Food Technology with Bash Street School as well as speaking as a visiting lecturer of Art and Design with Monsters University Art and Design Foundation.
The Greytowers School vision of a broad and balanced curriculum, with academic knowledge at its heart is of particular interest to me. Working as an Instructor teacher and training as an Associate Teacher both with Bash Street School during the COVID-19 pandemic has helped me to think hard about the aims of the Design and Technology curriculum and how to best deliver it without access to specialist facilities of equipment. I have found success in supporting students through developing my own accessible scheme of work I have been delivering both in person and remotely. This scheme of work is grounded in the underpinning principles of my subject area and designed to offer opportunity for success to all. I also look forward to re-integrating blended learning experiences (digital and in person lessons) to help support SEND, SEMH and PP learners in the future and to continue to develop my personal pedagogy in a nurturing environment.
I practice a reflective, support based approach to teaching and learning grounded in cognitivism and quality first teaching approaches. My mentor, Morpheus and the Design and Technology department at Bash Street School have been instrumental in developing my personal pedagogy, directing my lesson planning, as well as building valuable pastoral relationships with students and their parents and carers. I have a personal interest in pedagogy and have really enjoyed the access to CPD provided by the Lakeshore SCITT and the wider teaching community. I recently started a reflective blog document my journey as an Associate Teacher: https://atoxrobbie.edublogs.org/ with an aim to share my experiences with, and learn from, a wider community of learning professionals.
I would love the opportunity to discuss how my experience and skills could make a positive contribution to the Greytowers School. The prospect of working at one of Beanotown’s newest secondary schools really inspires me. I have a keen appreciation for the school ethos and would love to work with the Greytowers School in developing effective practices that can make a difference to young learners’ lives in such unprecedented times.