Andrew Malcolm, head of economics and business studies at Churston Ferrers grammar school in Brixham, Devon
The single best thing about the entire job is the pastoral side of it: turning young people into great adults who are going to contribute to society. We look after them, nurture them and deal with their problems, whether they’re social, emotional or academic. I’ve known several students who would have dropped out of school, but one or two of us have managed to keep them on track. Some who would have left after their GCSEs have even ended up staying on to do A-levels and are now holding down good, well-paid jobs. That’s a great outcome.
Harriet Ward, year 3 teacher at Townsend primary school in Elephant and Castle, London
What I really love is building positive relationships with the children: really engaging in conversation with them, asking them questions, being interested. It’s about being solidly there for them. It’s satisfying making a big effort with the parents too. I remember that when my teachers and my mum were friendly I felt really warmed by it – I think the adults in a child’s life should be a team. When children trust and like you as a teacher, you get a lot more out of them in the classroom. They want to please you and they’re more proud of their work.
Sami Siddiqui, year 5 teacher at Little Parndon primary academy in Harlow, Essex
Seeing children develop over a year is brilliant – not just in terms of their academic achievement, but the way they become more mature and grow into young adults. It’s nice to watch children who are really shy become more comfortable, come out of their shells and end up doing things like taking lead roles in class assemblies and school plays. For me, that comes from encouraging an atmosphere in class where we bring everyone in and don’t have the same people talking all the time; if someone who’s a bit shy gets involved, the whole class show they appreciate it.
Sarah Warden, English teacher at the Elton high school in Bury, Lancashire
Teaching is different every day. It’s so busy, which is really exciting. I’ve done lots of other jobs where I would watch the clock and wish the time away, but I can honestly say I’ve never done that as a teacher. I adore reading and we’ve done a lot of work in recent years on reading for pleasure. It’s so lovely to see kids developing, learning things that are perhaps beyond their own range of experience. It gives them a bit of empathy and imagination. When they come to us aged 11, they’re still babies in many ways, and they leave as grownups.
Kim Seeney, Danetre and Southbrook learning village in Daventry, Northamptonshire
It’s those little “ding!” moments when things suddenly click and you can see they feel really pleased with themselves. Children who can’t read, for instance, and all of a sudden it all comes together, they can read a sentence and they go home and tell their mum. It’s not all academic – I just love seeing children try things for the first time. It’s about encouraging them, saying: “You’re going to make mistakes, but just keep going.” You’ve opened little doors for them to get access to lots of different opportunities.
Mark Adams, maths teacher at St Peter’s RC secondary school in Solihull, West Midlands
I can honestly say that I absolutely love being a teacher. There’s not a single day when I wake up and think: “Oh God, I have to go to work.” One morning recently, I set a problem to a year 9 lower set that had to be solved using Pythagoras’s theorem. They loved it when they found out it was a GCSE question. When they held up their whiteboards, I saw that most of them had got it right. I ran around the room giving everyone a high five. It was just a huge boost to their confidence. I told them: “I can’t believe it. It’s a really difficult question and you just got it right.” There’s no better feeling than seeing them beam from ear to ear.
