I am just now starting Week 5 of the KNSTE Initial Teacher Training, and it has gone so quick! I was in my first placement school for a week right at the beginning of the school term where I could focus on observing how my class teacher set expectations, got to know the children, and established rules and routine. I personally feel that being able to experience this is so important to our own pedagogical choices for the first day of school in the future!
After completing the first week in school, I was straight back into the SCITT based sessions for 2 weeks. We are taught in a variety of different ways including tutorials, a whole day based on P.E (the practical and theoretical side!), groups tasks and discussions and ‘lecture style’ sessions. I find the learning at the SCITT to be engaging and fun whilst still providing us with lots of opportunities for additional reading, CPD and learning. Maths has always been my ‘weakest’ subject, but I have found our maths sessions so far to be a great way back into a subject I have not touched since my GCSE’s and develop my subject knowledge in a variety of different ways.
I am now back in school on Week 5. It has been great to see how much the children have changed since I was last here and how familiar and settled they are within their routines. I have spent this week doing lots of observations of phonics, maths, music and R.E and have spent some time in Year 5 to observe the differences in learning and structure. I plan to start some teaching of my own in the next week and I am so excited to start to put the theory I have been learning at the SCITT back into my teaching at school!
KNSTE Trainee Teacher, 2023-2024 cohort.