NQT: Piper Hill High School
School Direct Primary with SEND
Post Graduate Certificate of Education and Qualified Teacher Status
Before embarking on my PGCE with Teach Manchester I sought out a position as a teaching assistant with Piper Hill Specialist High School, knowing they had links with the PGCE course. I spent two years working as a teaching assistant working with pupils who have serve learning difficulties and loved every minute. Not only were the pupils amazing but the support and ethos of the school made me feel comfortable and confident that I was in the right place to start my career in teaching.
The course was ran really well and the support from both the school staff and the university was amazing. The course was thought provoking and had a good balance of theory and practical elements, which helped develop my confidence in my own teaching practice. Due to COVID I only had two placements, on both occasions I was paired up with experienced mentors who were exceptional teachers. It was a privilege to be able to observe them and get feedback on my own teaching by such talented practitioners and was invaluable experience.
When the time came to begin applying for a teaching post the support continued to be there with application writing and interview preparation. I felt incredibly lucky to get a position back at Piper Hill, as a class teacher working with pupils with severe and multiple learning difficulties, which was my ambition. I was due to undertake my final placement at the Piper Hill ahead of teaching there in September but due to COVID we all had to finish our course remotely. That was strange but the university put together an impressive remote offer and their representative continued to be immensely supportive. Piper Hill also were keen to ensure my transition to teaching with them would be smooth and invited me to join department meetings ahead of September and sent me on courses which helped me feel part of the school community and a little less anxious about starting.
With COVID still being around my NQT year has been… different. Not only getting my head round having my own class but also teaching remotely. I’m lucky to be surrounded by a fantastic team, my teaching assistants are amazing individuals and through developing positive relationships with the rest of the teaching staff means I feel a wealth of support. It’s a challenging year and you can feel overwhelmed at times but sometimes when a day or a lesson goes well you also end up feeling pretty great!
