Name: Danielle Hornsey

Degree Studied/year gained: Childhood and youth studies/2024

What made you choose Lincolnshire ITT as your training provider? I chose Lincolnshire ITT because I wanted to do my teacher training in the most hands on way and be in the school for most of the year. After being a TA for 5 years, I had worked with trainee teachers both taking the PGCE route and the SCITT route (some with Lincolnshire ITT). This allowed me to see the experience as an outsider and get a good feel for the different options for training. I have always enjoyed being in school and have had the opportunity to cover class lessons and therefore have experience teaching, this lead me to believe SCITT would be the best progression into teaching with it’s individuality and personalisation based on experience and confidence. Lincolnshire ITT had a wide range of schools to work with so there were so many to pick from that are nearby to you and they work really hard to facilitate a school to you based on considering factors personal to you.

What is it like being in a school from the start of the year and knowing your placement before the summer? I found it was really beneficial knowing my school before I went off for summer, this gave me opportunity to get into contact with the school and have multiple visits to get to know the children, school and staff. I met my mentor twice before summer and this gave me comfort knowing who they were so I was not worried over summer. I also got to meet my class by going to my placement school for move up day, this was a great experience and gave me some time to get to know them before September.

How would you describe the start of the course? The start of the course was quite full on as it was a big change, however, I feel that SCITT and going into your school prior gives you the foundation of security within the school and reduces the anxiety of starting. You are only given the information that you need (if you are like me and likes to look ahead and know everything this can be difficult but I have now realised this is to support the workload and prevent anxiety and feeling overwhelmed) and it is released in stages and there is brilliant communication from the SCITT team on when and where information you need will be.

What kind of support does your school and Lincolnshire ITT provide? My school have great experience with SCITT trainees and are facilitated really well to meet the needs of a trainee, they are extremely supportive and kind, this is very important as a teacher and especially in your training year where you are learning. Everyone is willing to answer any questions, they are receptive to observations and helping with any aspects.

What inspired you to teach? I have always enjoyed being around younger children, I have always loved being around my little cousins and helping family out. I even used to go round to my mum’s friends house who is a childminder to help her with the children, I just really enjoyed how happy younger children are and how you can help them. I always made my family be children and I was the teacher, I had all the things you need-a whiteboard, stickers, writing books etc, I just loved playing the teacher. I lost this during secondary school and looked down a different route. When struggling in college doing art I then looked into supporting teaching and learning in schools to become a TA and start this dream of becoming a teacher.