Secondary SCITT Pen Portrait 2
Having left school at 16 with a handful of ‘O’ levels and attending night school to further my studies I embarked on a career in IT that would last 18 years. It was only when my oldest son started primary school and I became involved in the school firstly on the PTA and then as a parent governor that the idea of teaching as a career came to me.
As my IT contract was nearing its end and I had no desire to continue I enrolled with the Open University in order to gain my degree so that I could start teacher training. At this point I attended a Teacher Taster Course for three days which included spending a day in a high school in Ipswich, which confirmed my decision to enter the world of education.
After two years of part-time administrative work for an education company I decided that the time was right to gain experience of working in a high school. I was successful in gaining a position as a Cover Supervisor in a Suffolk High School. It was there that I first learnt about the SCITT programme.
Having been out of education for many years I quickly learnt that there have been many changes. The training I received in Behaviour Management and the support I had from colleagues during my initial teacher training ensured that I was confident in the classroom, and knew that I would have support if I needed it.
The SCITT programme was ideal for me as it was local and I was based in two very different schools, thus giving me an excellent insight into the schools in Suffolk. It was in my first placement that I realised how invaluable my experience as a Cover Supervisor had been. I didn’t have the initial concern of standing up in front of a class for the first time, and only had to concentrate on everything else a teacher does!
Now that I have embarked on my NQT year, I realise that the SCITT programme has prepared me thoroughly and that the balance of classroom experience and theory suited me perfectly.
I will be forever grateful to the Deputy Head teacher at the school where I was a cover supervisor. He told me that the Suffolk & Norfolk Secondary SCITT programme was an excellent local course and that I would enjoy training to teach in this way. I am very pleased to say that he was absolutely right! I am now a very satisfied Maths teacher.
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