It’s all about the wow moments. “When you teach a child something that they didn’t know … and then you see the light bulb moment,” describes newly qualified teacher (NQT) Arnold Worton-Geer. Capturing children’s imaginations is similarly memorable for fellow NQT, Caroline Derriman: “When they say to you in lessons, ‘I had so much fun in that lesson, I don’t want to go out to play, I just want to carry on doing this.’”
Such moments are easy to forget when four in 10 new teachers quit within a year – a sobering statistic. “Yes it’s hard, yes you work more hours than the ‘9 to 3’ that everyone thinks that you work,” Worton-Geer admits, “but actually you make a difference to someone’s life.”
That’s not to say that teaching is all sunshine and rainbows. “Teaching is a challenging and complex activity,” acknowledges Gareth Honeyford, strategic lead for primary school initial teacher training at Essex Teacher Training (ETT). Candidates for ETT’s one-year training programmes must have “high quality subject knowledge and an appropriate personality to fit in, inspire and motivate,” he adds.
After all, ETT has some impressive stats to maintain – 100% of its trainees are graded as good or outstanding at the end of the training, and 100% that wanted employment at the end of the programme have gained it, Honeyford says. Data indicates that after five years, a high percentage of its trainees are still teaching – often in middle leadership roles. “We think that’s because they are immersed and trained in schools,” Honeyford says, “so they know what they are getting into, right from the beginning.”
So, what’s on offer? Trainees on the school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) and School Direct unsalaried routes pay £8,900 in tuition fees, while a school employs those on the salaried School Direct programme for the duration of the training, with salaries up to £21,000. The latter route is open to those with at least three years’ work experience and is designed for career changes, says Honeyford. Past applicants include lab workers, hotel managers and police officers.
Whether in age, gender or background, applicants are diverse, notes Chris Fluskey, lead for Harlow Teacher Training Partnership – one of ETT’s School Direct partners. Derriman, for example, made the career leap after a 17 year stint in media sales. “I was at university nearly 20 years ago. I toyed with the idea of training as a teacher and I never did.” The hands-on approach, coupled with the income, made the salaried School Direct a better training route for her.
Worton-Geer, who also trained on the School Direct programme in Essex, agrees. “For me, the best way to learn is in the classroom. You could read a thousand books but never know how it truly is in a classroom until you’re in it.”
Essex’s trainees enjoy certain advantages of school-led training – as opposed to university-led teacher training – like being interviewed by the school that they will be placed at prior to starting. “There is an absolute understanding right from day one that this trainee is going to fit into our school and be part of our staff,” explains Honeyford. “The school is already expecting them to complete the programme successfully because they’ve met them and done the induction programme.”
Trainees are well supported, with help only “an email away,” as Worton-Geer puts it. Mentors track trainees’ progress, give feedback and ensure that they’re getting all the right experiences and offered the right opportunities to learn, Fluskey says.
Weekly training courses provide ideas for lessons and build subject knowledge. The rest of the training is in class, and by the end of the year you’re taking over about 75% of the timetable, Derriman says. “Slowly over time, the class becomes yours.”
But while that 75% is part of the training specifications, it’s important for trainees to be treated as, well, trainees. “We never turn their trainee year into cheap labour – which is what some schools somewhere do, I’m afraid,” says Fluskey.
Trainees also spend a term within a different key stage at a different school, says Derriman. “This helps provide a greater knowledge of the different year groups and key stages as well as giving you experience of different schools and their practices”.
Derriman now works at Harlowbury Primary School in Old Harlow, where she did a six-week placement during her training. So, what’s life like as a fully-fledged NQT? “The staff are very supportive, really helpful,” she says. “The class I teach are really lovely children and the school community is a really nice one.
“Essex has given me that opportunity to do something that I always wanted to do.”
Continuing in the same school means the NQT year is fairly “seamless”, says Fluskey. “We continue to give additional support to them as NQTs.”
Similarly, Worton-Geer is working at the school he spent his six-week placement in – Tany’s Dell Community Primary School. He describes the training as a “rollercoaster” but ultimately “the biggest job satisfaction you will ever get.”
After all, working at a school makes you part of an extended family, says Fluskey. “The kind of relationships you develop with people is very significant, and the kind of influence that you can have – sometimes you’re not even aware of it.”
Find out more about becoming a teacher in Essex here.
This article was produced and funded by Essex Education Services.
