Writing the personal statement

Howdy

Well, the application date has been pushed back by three weeks and now won't open until the 21st November. For those of us who have their personal statement ready to go and referees informed, it's a little annoying. However, for those who are still working on the personal statement, it's probably a relief and a chance to get that statement done!

The personal statement is very similar to the one you may have written when applying for your undergraduate degree. It will have a character and/or line limit and is your chance to put, in not many words, the reasons why they should pick you for interview and, ultimately, teacher training.

Remember to include the reasons why you want to teach and be truthful, citing experience that you have had that made you realise teaching was for you. Also include why your undergraduate degree is relevant to the subject or age range that you want to teach. You will have space on the application form to put your work experience details - this will be things such as dates and places. On your personal statement, however, you will need to reflect upon this experience. What did you learn from it? What skills did you develop?

You have to sell yourself, so don't be shy ;)

Don't forget that you should be asking your referees if they will write you a reference, and inform them of the date you will need it by. You will need a reference from the headteacher where you have worked or volunteered and, if you have graduated within the last five years, one from your personal tutor. If you graduated over five years ago, then a work reference will suffice.

Finally, get someone to look your statement over for errors or anything that doesn't make sense!

Mine is all done, although I'm sure I will go over it a few more times before the 21st.

Good luck!

More experience!

I've just finished two full weeks at a primary academy where I absolutely loved it! I had so much fun, learnt a crazy lot of stuff and made some great friends. I can't wait now until I have time to go back and help out some more!

I got to sit in on, and take my own, phonics groups. These were 10 minute long phonics sessions which all schools are now doing to meet government expectations in literacy. I watched maths lessons and took part in helping the children to finish their own independent maths work. I saw every class (very small school, mixed years in class, only five classes!) and so was able to make a decision about where I would prefer to work. I decided that I really loved the year 3 and 4 class and spent the whole of my second week there.

Luckily for me, I had a fantastic teacher who let me teach four lessons with one group on my area of strength (literacy) and I was able to plan my own lessons, make my own resources and assess the children's progress. I decided to teach using Julia Donaldson's A Squash and a Squeeze. I did an introduction lesson where we looked at book blurbs and covers and then settled on the cover for A Squash. We went over what the cover made us think and feel and whether we would buy the book based on the images we could see. Then I read a text only version of the story - no pictures! - and stopped just before the end. We then  made predictions about what would happen at the end of the story and started to make storyboards based on what happened.

Our second lesson was to see if our predictions were right! We finished the story and finished our storyboards, adding our own sentences to them to make our own story. We also added our own ending instead of using the one in the book which the boys found fun.

The third lesson was on punctuation in the book. They had to correct a passage that I'd typed up with no punctuation in and we had a good discussion on why particular punctuation was used. Then we checked their storyboards to see if they had used the very punctuation we had been discussing.... mostly, they hadn't! Capital letters were absent and there was no other punctuation other than a few inconsistent full stops. I reiterated to the boys that they did know what kind of punctuation to use, because they had just told me all about it! They needed to start to apply that to their own writing. At the end of the lesson, we corrected and started to colour our storyboards.

The final lesson was about word classes. I made a few mistakes with this lesson. I made it a little harder because I felt that the previous three lessons were a little easy. However, it was probably to confusing for them. This lesson should really have been simplified and spaced over about two or three lessons. We discussed what nouns were, and then had a competition to find as many as we could. Then we discussed adjectives and had another competition. I had typed some short passages from the book and added some blank spaces where nouns and verbs should go, giving the boys the instructions to fill them in with something else *different* than the words in the book. This confused the boys because they didn't know what verbs were! I attempted to give them an idea (I had already printed out cards with explanations and examples on) but they were confused with the blanks and kept putting nouns in all blanks, including the ones for verbs. In hindsight, I feel I should have just started with nouns and had a worksheet (made by me, of course!) with just blanks for nouns in, before moving on to adjectives, verbs and adverbs. However, the boys still had fun doing this and came up with some really funny sentences!

I really enjoyed doing this - it gave me an insight of the amount of time a teacher will spend planning and making resources for just one lesson. Altogether, it probably took me about 3 hours to plan and make resources for four 50 minute lessons. It also made me feel quite proud of myself. It really is one thing to teach using someone else's planning and resources, but to know that children are getting something from, and enjoying, your ideas and resources really is exciting.

There was a little bad point in the week where I was almost assaulted by one boy! But this was dealt with by the headteacher swiftly and I received a letter of apology from the boy concerned. The incident itself did not bother me, but I did realise at the time that I really don't know how to deal with things like that. There was another incident, where a girl was about to sit on her chair and a boy pulled it away and she fell down with a huge bang, hitting her neck on the chair. I shouted at the boy, and told him it was unacceptable. I could feel I was getting quite mad with him, and I thought I wrong to shout but then a teacher came over and shouted at him! Also, I felt like the children didn't really respond to my shouty voice as much as they did to the regular teachers'. I felt more like the good cop, the one who got hugged more than anything! I think I need to stop getting so emotionally attached to the kids and concentrate on being firmer with them. It is hard though, when you're new and you don't want to overstep the line. I need to be more of a presence in the room, an authority figure. Any ideas how to do this? I thought I'd find it easy, having four children of my own!

On a lighter note, though, I did really enjoy PE which I didn't think I would! It gets exciting when you're watching two teams of 6-8 year olds trying to beat other at Benchball! It was also good to see some of the children who didn't shine academically, shine at something else.

I only left yesterday but I'm missing the kids and staff already! Can't wait until I've got some more free time to go back.

Better get started adding some of this to my personal statement!

Routes into teaching

Hi,
This post will look at the different graduate routes into teaching and will include Teach First, School Direct and the PGCE.

Firstly, lets look at the usual entry requirements into teaching. To teach secondary, you normally need to have GCSEs in English and maths above a C grade. For primary, you need the same plus a C grade or above in a science GCSE. School Direct and universities that offer the PGCE require experience working in a school setting but Teach First does not. We will begin, then, with Teach First.

Teach First

Teach First is a charity that employs good graduates to work in schools for two years, during which time they teach their own classes from day one, earn an unqualified teachers' wage and train for a PGCE. The application is rigorous but they do not require any classroom experience. What they want from their applicants, is to see that they meet the competencies outlined on their website. Teach First is good for those who want to develop their leadership skills for other roles or for those who want to work in schools where the socio-economic background of those families with low incomes affects the educational well-being of their children. 

School Direct

School Direct is a relatively new way into teaching and it replaced the GTP this year. It is similar to a PGCE offered by a university except that the trainee is placed in one school (or more than one school within a cluster). You will still have to complete assignments and attend university. This is a new role and therefore there is not much information about it. Your best idea is to contact your local schools to see if they are part of the School Direct programme and then ask what their requirements are, what they are looking for and any other information on the scheme. 

PGCE

The traditional route! Most people think of this route when they think of teacher training. PGCEs are offered by universities and the trainee is placed in two or three different placements in various schools. This route will include assignments, lectures and seminars.

I've created a brief table showing the various routes. I hope this helps you to decide which one is best for you! 

Good luck!

Mrs J

Volunteer experience in schools

Hello again!

If you're at the same point as me, ie about to apply for teaching training, then I assume you have already had some classroom experience. If not, then read on and I'll let you know:

• How to get classroom experience
• What to expect
• What to get out of it

First of all, experience should be about you finding out if teaching is right for you. Use the experience to watch the teachers and bond with the children, in order to see if you can do this job day in and day out FOREVER. Well, almost forever. 

Secondly, the experience will help you when you write your personal statement and during interviews, so you need to be reflective about what you have done and seen. Use this opportunity wisely as lots of people find it difficult to get volunteer placements! Which brings me to my first piece of advice:

How to get that classroom experience

Always take a letter in, in person. Try and speak to the head-teacher or the head of the department you want to work in. The letter should look professional and you should address it directly to the person you want to read it - don't just put 'sir or madam' - do your homework! 

Schools are more likely to want you there if you can offer them something. This means DON'T just ask if you can observe! Show willing and offer them your services doing anything (OK, almost anything) from putting up wall displays to listening to readers or from helping clean up after art club to sharpening the pencils. 

Primary schools seem to be harder to get into than secondary schools and I assume this is because more parents are likely to help out while their children are younger and so the schools can be quite 'full' of volunteers. But keep trying! Start local and then quickly start handing out letters further afield.

Another way into the classroom might be through your university. My university had a programme for volunteers who wanted to work in schools. They worked as mentors, classroom assistants, coaches and after school club helpers.

When you get offered a placement, don't say you can do days that you can't or that you're flexible if you're not. Work together with the teacher to find days that suit both of you and ensure you give notice of days that you will be absent. You may need to use them as a reference, so be good to them!

What to expect

So. It's your first day and you walk up to the door of the school and pull open the handle. Then you realise that you need to be buzzed in so you look around to check no one saw you yanking on the door and buzz. The door clicks and in you walk. YOU'RE IN A SCHOOL.

It's exciting. Oh, and scary! You have so many (silly) worries, like will you remember the kids' names? What about the teachers? How will remember their names? What if you get lost??? What if the children don't like you!??! What if THE TEACHERS DON'T LIKE YOU?!??! You suddenly start doubting your abilities and your desire to teach and check your phone to see if it's half past three yet. 

First piece of advice: CHILL THE CHUFF OUT. No one will expect you to know everything on day one, and at the minute you are just here to see whether you like the idea of teaching.  

Ensure you know and understand the school policy and things like the fire exits and escape routes. Ask your supervising teacher what boundaries they want you to have, whether you can issue sanctions and rewards, for example. If you're in primary, you're likely to be with the same teacher and class all day. If you're in secondary, you will be in the same department but with different classes and teachers for each period. I'm going to start with my experience in secondary schools.

I've worked in three secondaries, all in the English department. In the first one, I was expected to observe and not much more. I was allowed to ask the children how they were getting on with work, and my mentor showed me schemes of work and let me see lesson plans and assessments, but I was not allowed to be properly 'involved' in class. My second experience was a lot different as it was arranged through the university and I was to be a classroom assistant, helping out small groups of low-level-literacy pupils. This placement could have gone better! I had no guidance really, and should have asked for more help. I didn't want to be annoying though... but yeh, I should have asked. The groups were great, I bonded with all of them, and with two year 7 boys in particular. I used my initiative in this role and took in homemade resources that I had come up with, to address particular problems they were having in their reading. My only problems were that I was left to my own devises with absolutely no supervision, and also that I wasn't having any experience in the actual classroom. Finally, my last volunteer placement - and the one that made me realise I wanted to do primary - was really good! I enjoyed it so much. I know, you're thinking 'well, why did it make you realise you wanted to do primary?' and I can answer that. I know that although I love love love English, I actually want to teach across the curriculum. I want to be able to link English and literacy lessons to others areas like history and geography. I want to teach the same year group all day, all year. 

But back to my placement. It was fun. The kids were awesome and I was allowed a lot more freedom to help children, teach small groups and tell kids off! Gotta love a bit of telling kids off. That first time that you warn them with your teacher voice, makes you feel quite teachery. It's bizarre. But I'm not going into this game to tell kids off, I have my own four children for that!

This placement also made me realise that there is so much more to teaching than just.. well, teaching. Behaviour management was a big thing in this school, as it was bordering on special measures. Differentiation was also a major process in planning as all classes were mixed ability. This was also the first placement where I took in a notebook and jotted down the different teaching ways. I noted how lessons were organised (starters, mains, plenaries) and how the teacher interacted with the pupils. This sort of thing is useful for the old personal statement and interview. 

Onto primary schools. I've worked in years one to four and this September I will be doing three full weeks in another primary school where I will experience every year from nursery to year six. I know that I prefer Key Stage 2, and probably years 3 or 4, but it is always good to get experience of all years. Even if you're going for primary, try a few days in a secondary and vice versa. It's good to be able to say to your ITT provider that you know which age range you want because you've had lots of experience in all age ranges. 

Primary schools are FUN. You'll always get at least one child who wants to hold your hand everywhere and another who just stares at you. But you'll always have a great day! The only thing I dislike about primaries, is playtime. I don't really like playtime. My goodness, the kids are so rough with each other! That kind of scares me. Even more than teenagers at secondary school swearing and punching each other. But anyway, the day is usually set out the same way each day and it might go something like this:

• Register
• Phonics
• Assembly
• Break
• Literacy
• Numeracy
• Dinnertime
• Topic work
• Hometime

Working in primaries in more hands-on with regards to resources. There are more things to cut out and laminate and more things to pick up and tidy away at the end of the day. 

What you can get out of it

Take in a notebook and jot things down, like I did. Don't do it during lesson of course, but do it as soon as you can afterwards. Don't be scared to ask things of the teachers, such as 'can I see the lesson plan?' or 'why did you do that?'. 

A good idea is to write down what you want from the observations, then you can fill it in a bit easier. You might want to think about:

The age range of the class

The learning objective

Number of pupils

Lesson plan and content ie how is the lesson organised?

Short and long term objectives

Classroom management

Are pupils enjoying their work?

What rewards and sanctions are used?

How does the teacher get their attention?

What is the layout of the classroom?

What is the teacher-pupil interaction like?

How is differentiation used for SEN and EAL?

Do the pupils look like they have gained some knowledge at the end of the lesson?

Were they bored by the lesson?

Did the teacher assess learning?

You might not want to think about all of these in one lesson, but just focus on one or two areas, eg lesson plan and oragnisation, and classroom layout, or perhaps learning objective and assessment. Being able to reflect on these things will help you when it comes to writing your personal statement and attending interviews. It may also help you to think what kind of a teacher you want to be!

I hope this helps you a little bit, good luck!

Mrs J

A bit of background...

Hi, my name's Justine and I'm a happily married mum of four.

If you're reading this, then you're probably on a similar journey to mine. We want to be teachers, right? It starts differently for all of us, though. I'm a mature student, and it wasn't until I went in as a parent helper at my son's school that I realised I wanted to teach. It wasn't that easy for me because I did not have the relevant GCSEs nor did I have A-Levels and - I'm sure you've guessed already - no undergraduate degree!

This is what started me on this long long lonnnnng journey five years ago. I retook my GCSEs and completed a part time Access Course. I'm now about to start my third and final year of an undergraduate degree in English Language and Literature.

I enjoyed the primary school experience that I got at my son's school, but I wanted to try secondary as well. So that's what I've been doing while studying - volunteering in five different schools. I've been in two primaries and three secondaries and have definitely decided that primary education is where I want to be.

And so, after five years and with another year to go (plus a year on top of that for training!) I am finally getting closer to my dream of being a teacher. There's so much to think about and so much to do, but in my next post I'll talk about volunteer experience in schools and what to expect.

See you soon,