Visiting my future school before September
Back to School...
In the third week of Summer Institute (SI), Teach First's summer training from June - July, I had the privilege of spending four days in my future school. For me, these days (known as the 'employment days') were invaluable. I learned how my school ticked and was able to get a sense of its culture and core values. I knew that I'd be teaching in year 1 in September, and I spent the days in Key Stage 1 and Reception. It was great to meet the children in early years who'd be making those momentous steps into year 1.
During the four days, I observed my school’s teaching and learning, and I was impressed with the standard of behaviour across the school. The teachers weren't the shouty kind, but they were firm and had control of their classrooms. The classrooms were perfect learning environments for pupils, with learning walls and displays to support their learning. Pupils showed excellent behaviour for learning, and I was amazed by all the silent signals that the teachers were using. The hand signals were nonverbal cues that indicated when pupils should sit, stand, stop or walk. They created a calm, focused and obedient culture that was embedded throughout the school. I vehemently hoped that I would very quickly become as slick, as calm and as in control as the outstanding teachers that I observed.
Having learned about classroom management strategies and teaching techniques, it was good to see teachers implementing them in their practice. Throughout SI, I was also taught about Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction (see post on cognitive science & Rosenshine) and studied them in detail. It was good to see my school actively implementing them, and I was given a copy of 'Rosenshine's Principles in Action', by Tom Sherrington.
During my employment days, I had several tasks to complete, and Teach First gave me a checklist. I had numerous observation tasks, as well as teaching tasks. I observed four different expert teachers and took notes on their outstanding teaching. My teaching tasks involved planning a short lesson, and I used the Teach First lesson plan template. As well as meeting with my mentor, I also familiarised myself with key members of staff, such as the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL).
During the week, I was lucky enough to join a Year 2 class on two local trips. The first trip was a trip to the local library, and the second was a walk around the local area. On the walk, pupils were identifying human and physical features as part of their geography topic. It was helpful to observe how school trips work, with regard to expectations, parental support and safety. The summer term is often full of fun activities, and year 2 also had a dragon dancing workshop during my time with them. This was part of the school's diversity week, where each class learned about a different country. An external visitor led the workshop, and the pupils really enjoyed parading around in a dragon costume.
To complete my full emersion into school life, I also observed an unexpected and unplanned fire alarm. It happened during lesson time, and pupils knew to line up in silence and to remain silent. Everyone walked to the assembly point, and the class teacher did a head count. Thankfully, it was just a smokey oven that caused the alarm during a cookery lesson, and everybody was safe.
On my final day, I was given a fob for the school's security gate and was told to read the school's policies. I left my school feeling excited about September and all that was ahead of me. My mentor and I exchanged email addresses, and I was looking forward to receiving my class list from her. She also took my mobile number and added me to the Year 1 WhatsApp group. Everyone says that you always remember your very first class, and I was just weeks away from making memories that would last a lifetime.
