This week is the final week of my latest position at a wonderful Primary school called Ingram Road Primary in Leeds. I have learned and developed my understanding more in this school than any other and it will be hard to leave the school come Friday for the six-week hiatus that heralds in the summer holidays. This has also been the most challenging school in terms of needs that I have had the pleasure of teaching.
The school is small with a simple welcoming character displayed most profoundly by the front desk staff. Over the last 6 weeks, I have had the opportunity to meet and converse with many of the existing personnel. One, in particular, has given me the knowledge of what to expect when I apply to do the direct-to-QTS route into getting my teacher’s license. This journey has cumulated in me regaining my passion for wishing to become a teacher in the UK. The other staff has welcomed me most wholeheartedly, especially the class HLTA Mrs Ridge, who beyond doubt has represented all that is good within the industry. Always positive, supportive, and offering valuable insight from years of experience. The dedicated and loving nature of the SEN staff has proved to me the need for such talented individuals within education and reinforces the idea that they should be paid more for crucial work they contribute every day, often going unseen.
19/07/2023 Sports Day
07:30 AM I arrive at the school to set up and prepare for today’s events which include sports day and an afternoon party. At 9 AM we take the register and the children have changed into PE clothes for their Sports Day alongside elements of the other year groups. We pair them up and have them carry their water bottles and jackets because of the unpredictable weather in the UK which is at its most temperamental this morning. We march them onto the playground at 9:15 and with the support staff in tow, proceed along the outside perimeter towards the nearby school field where a range of traditional school sports have been prepared for them and where they can meet their parents who have come to observe the proceedings. We are lucky that the weather has permitted this happy occasion.
The children’s faces contain a plentitude of smiles as they are informed of what activities they will get to take part in from the egg and spoon race to the penalty shootout with their year six comrades. There are fewer scenes in education where children is simply allowed to avail themselves of their boundless energies like that of recreational sport. Full of vigor they throw themselves into the day’s activities, children previously idle in other subjects, are seen in a new light, demonstrating vividly the style of learning that would work best for them, providing future insight to make their learning personal.
After an exhausting two hours broken up only by the tending of battle scars and water breaks the children are euphoric and thankfully tired making the return to the school all the more calmer. The children wash and get ready for their lunch in the hall where I hand them the trays and bear their water to their cups, ensuring all the children are getting enough nutrients, after tending to them for ten minutes I go for my own lunch in the staff canteen where stories permeate of the different survival strategies each member of staff employs in every lesson, the child/children who give them the most pause or cause for remembrance, these war stories glue the fabric of the school together as they aptly allow staff to support each other and make the job seem less stressful. At 12:35 I return to the classroom to sort books into different student names for they are to take the books home as the children are going through transition time and being presented to their new teachers for the first time. The children show a mixture of surprise and happiness as they find out if they will share or not the same class as their friends next year.
The children go to the playground after their lunch until 1 PM where I do register and allow them time to use the toilet and drink some water after the hot and active day. We explain to the children that they will have a party followed by lots of snacks the children themselves have taken in from home. They are instructed to get changed into their party clothes and ready themselves for the party.
The class is amongst the most challenging I have yet encountered. This is because the class had three previous teachers before my arrival. This means that they have encountered three different styles of teaching and had to adapt fast. The class is also very challenging in a number of ways such as a high prevalence of children with SEN needs, evidenced by the need for three dedicated SEN staff to manage their different needs. Their work is super challenging as the children have very particular needs from each other. There are also at least five children who are EAL who struggle but try to learn the language. We have a child going through an unbelievably tough time as they are separated from their parents creating a young person with high levels of stress that needs constant attention or they act out.
We log on to Netflix and have the children watch the latest iteration of The Lion King while handing out plates for them to receive their snacks. The children have at last calmed down and are glued to the screens whilst stuffing their faces with sugar and salt. We play a few dancing games and then it is time to say goodbye. So at 3:00 PM, it is very emotional for me because I have come to see them as my class and I am sad to be leaving them. They are picked up by their parents and I wave them off, they know little of how much they have impacted my life, I will not see how they develop or what their future holds but that I have played my small part in that outcome fills me with immortal pride, the reward for my stewardship of their education, however minuscule.
Despite how difficult it was at times, I learned a lot of practical knowledge for me to take with me such as behavior management and the skills needed to become a worthy educator because my role is not merely to pass on knowledge but to adapt and upgrade my methods as I decide my future in this industry. The staff at the school were open and supportive, forgiving and helping in equal measure, special thanks to the HLTA Mrs. Ridge who made it all worthwhile, always encouraging and with a way of picking you up when you were down, I wouldn’t have lasted long without her.
Strangely, as of the time of writing, I have been offered better work if I return to London and I have accepted because I am determined more than ever to reach my potential by gaining the coveted QTS certification so my career can really take off and I can get ahead in life. I’m 39 years of age and only now am I finding what it is I really enjoy doing. It’s often challenging, difficult, and emotional but also very rewarding. They have offered me a little more money and I’ll need it considering the cost of living right now, my rent, for example, is 25% higher than last time. Moving back to London was tough but after settling in again I’m reminded why it can be a beautiful place to live. The multicultural world is evident everywhere here, accents and languages galore fill the environment, the future human society is already here as London is a melting pot of influences, I can eat from every culture on the planet and meet many different types of people.
Finally, Summer has arrived and I find myself trying to find work to keep my going during this time, this is the crux of being a supply teacher. We enjoy more freedom to choose but receive few tangible benefits in the long term. The six weeks off is very painful for me to endure as I apply for every single job going even if it is two hours away by train just to make ends meet. I love my job mostly, I’m eager to get up and go and make this year the best and get recognized for my career path, and then hopefully carry myself around the world again.
Caio everyone.