Early Years and Primary Lead
I would highly recommend Leeds Trinity University for obtaining a teaching degree. The educational skills you will learn and the rich experiences you have will help you on your way to becoming the best teacher you can be.
Why I chose to study at Leeds Trinity University
From the age of 10 I aspired to be a teacher and spent almost all of my secondary school INSET days volunteering in my local Primary school and I never considered a career doing anything else other than teaching.
After my A levels, I chose to study at Leeds Trinity University, or Trinity and All Saints as it was back in 1999, because of its outstanding reputation for teacher training. The course they offered was a thorough four-year training programme that allowed me to gain experience and knowledge across the whole breadth of the primary age range curriculum.
Once my course started, my weekly timetable was absolutely full of lectures, study time, classroom workshops, dedicated tutor time and school-based training. After my four years at Leeds Trinity, I felt thoroughly prepared and excited to begin my dream career.
My early teaching career
In 2003 I graduated and was thrilled to be offered a full-time teaching position as the Year 2 teacher in the school where I had completed one of my teaching placements. I already knew the staff at the school and the children in the class I was to teach so it made my first year of teaching just that little bit easier.
I stayed at the school for 10 years where I had the opportunity to lead several subject areas including Science and Music. I was the Foundation Stage Leader for two years and the Key Stage One Leader for four years. I also trained as a school-based tutor working with a range of colleges and universities including Leeds Trinity – it was a wonderful experience to support trainee teachers with their own training and also work alongside the staff at Leeds Trinity who had taught me.
As part of my CPD I studied part-time for four years with the National College of School Leadership to complete the ‘Leading from the Middle’ qualification and subsequently the ‘Leadership Pathways’ qualification.
Leadership
After 10 years I moved school for a promotion to become the SENDCo and Year 1 teacher in another local school. During this time, I was invited to work alongside Leeds Beckett University and asked to deliver some Science lectures to teacher training students. Making these links between the school and university enabled us to offer an exciting range of science provision within the school in addition to supporting new teachers into the profession.
I had longer term ambitions of working in a leadership role for the local authority to share my knowledge and experience with many teachers and leaders and in 2017, I successfully interviewed for an advisory role for my local authority. I am currently the Early Years and Primary Lead and enjoy supporting schools within my local authority, sharing good practice, offering advice, chairing educational meetings, delivering training and having a wider impact on promoting an excellent quality of education to secure the very best outcomes for children.
My advice to prospective students
The lecturers who taught me were inspiring and approachable. I have used so many of their ideas in my own classroom over the years. The placement team worked hard to find suitable school-based training placements close to where I lived and ensured I had the opportunity to gain experience across a range of Key Stages in a range of schools. I felt prepared for my first year of teaching due to the thorough structure and content of the course and when the time came to become a subject leader, I knew exactly what I needed to do.
I met two of my best friends at Leeds Trinity, we supported each other through our studying and still meet up regularly. We made good use of the well-resourced campus library during our training and have visited it since during our teaching careers to source information.
I would highly recommend Leeds Trinity University for obtaining a teaching degree. The educational skills you will learn and the rich experiences you have will help you on your way to becoming the best teacher you can be.