Throughout the year, I have realised the importance of time management, especially with deadlines looming, and adapting to changes at short notice. This has made me resilient and adaptable in my working environment. This bespoke programme has helped me gain confidence in my first steps as a teacher. The individualised support process has helped to support me.

The opportunity to work alongside outstanding teachers has been really beneficial and I was particular fortunate to be placed with my mentor who is an SLE in maths. Mentors are key personnel on the programme as they provide the direction for you to progress with your professional development, offer support and guidance where needed and act as a sounding board providing valuable feedback on lessons and use the training in my daily classroom practice. Furthermore, my mentor has coordinated feedback from many colleagues in order to help me progress and meet the Teacher Standards, encouraging me to try new strategies or creative ideas.

Moreover, having an approachable and knowledgeable phonics tutor with helpful observations has really developed me as all-round reflective practitioner. Additionally, our Hub Lead and Programme Lead have been very supportive with ongoing communication and are on hand to help at all placements to coordinate the smooth running of the programme ensuring that all training days are worthwhile, meaningful and effective to our own individual classroom environments. The programme is flexible but firmly rooted and focused on the outcomes that are needed to be achieved while being assessed holistically. Furthermore, the progress made and learning process is monitored by the Programme Assessor with the Shade and Grade and Assessment Reports who gives you further ideas on a termly basis to further improve practice.

The training year has been a challenging, steep learning curve but has passed quickly. I have learnt a lot and will continue to learn in my NQT year. The new working environment and day to day challenges of working in a school have made me persistent and adaptable to change, able to grow, learn and develop.