Take your firsts step with Harris ITE

Training & Development Back

Looking to step into Education? The Harris Initial Teacher Education Team is holding a Q&A morning for prospective trainees. During this online event, you will be able to meet tutors available to you during your training as well as the dedicated team of staff at Harris ITE working to support you throughout your teacher training journey.

The free online event will take place on Tuesday, 2nd March 2021 between 8.30am and 10am. Please click here to sign up. We look forward to welcoming you on the day!

We’ve compiled some of our fantastic entries of both trainees and NQTs to give you an insight into the early steps of teaching for our very own. Starting with Harriet, who is part of our current cohort of trainees. As a Primary Trainee, she talks about why she chose to get into teaching.

HM: “So, what convinced me to take the plunge? I’d always been motivated by working with people and in roles which help change communities for the better. I previously worked in fundraising for some incredible charities, and although I got satisfaction from knowing that my work was having a positive impact on people’s lives, I became frustrated with the day to day and my enthusiasm dwindled. I wanted to find a role where every day was different, and I could see the immediate impact of my effort. After some soul searching, I quit my job at a leading mental health charity and volunteered at a local primary school. Fortunately, I was soon offered a job as a TA, and I’ve never looked back.”  

Our one-year School Direct courses are ideal for primary and secondary trainee teachers across a wide range of subject areas. You’ll learn on-the-job at a placement in one of our 48 academies, with all courses leading to qualified teacher status (QTS), a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and 60 Masters Level Credits.

Whether you are a successful graduate or a career-changer looking to bring your invaluable industry and subject expertise into the classroom in a range of subject/phase options to choose from.

HM: “I can honestly say that my experience so far with Harris Initial Teacher Education and my host school has been fantastic. I have yet to wake up with that ‘can’t face the day’ feeling which I used to know well. Even when I’m exhausted or daunted by the day ahead, the thought of my brilliant year five class and my encouraging colleagues helps get me going. The support has been great; my academy mentor and partner teacher are amazing, and I have learned so much from them already. Also, my link tutor at HITE has been really helpful in getting my head round our first PGCE assignment (it’s been a fair few years since I was at uni, and even then, essays weren’t my strong point!) The training curriculum goes beyond ticking the boxes of the teachers’ standards, and extends to environmentalism, wellbeing and social justice. In school, getting stuck in with whole class teaching has been so rewarding and a great, practical way to get to grips with the job quickly.  

 

Of course, there have been challenges: COVID-19 measures meant that the first few weeks were a real juggling act – with the timing of the school day shifting to accommodate the movements of year group bubbles and ending up with year five having to eat lunch in their classroom. It’s tricky to launch into a lesson on the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy when the children haven’t had as much time outside as we’d like, and there’s ketchup all over their desks. That said, it’s certainly interesting to be joining the profession in the midst of a global pandemic. Learning of the different ways that lock-down has affected the children in my class really highlights how vital schools are in supporting their communities they serve. I can’t wait to continue to get to know the children in my school, and hopefully become the teacher they need me to be.”

 

Support and Placements that fit around your teacher trainee journey.

As a trainee teacher, you’ll be based at one of our 48 Harris Federation academies, where you’ll learn to teach alongside expert classroom practitioners in an exciting, vibrant environment. Your invaluable on-the-job training will be supplemented by practical subject and pedagogical training each week, usually at our training centre in Bermondsey, South East London. We are partnered with Kingston University who validate the PGCE element of our course. We also host specialist training sessions at other academies in the Federation on topics such as behaviour management, early years curriculum and KS5 teaching at Harris Westminster Sixth Form. These allow you to experience the environment of your peers’ working spaces as well as your own placement schools.

 

Ready to take the first step? Click here for everything you need to know about Teacher training at Harris. It’s not too late to sign up for our Free Online Q/A event! For more info on the event, click here. For more stories, click here.

 

 

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