I have not been on my blog for a long time due to having a year out with my baby boy. I have just read through my last blog post and smiled as I read that I would definitely want a role in the EYFS as I have just accepted my first teaching role in a nursery school! I am so excited to start and can't wait to get stuck in and meet the children in September!
Hello!
I have not been on my blog for a long time due to having a year out with my baby boy. I have just read through my last blog post and smiled as I read that I would definitely want a role in the EYFS as I have just accepted my first teaching role in a nursery school! I am so excited to start and can't wait to get stuck in and meet the children in September!
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It's been an extremely busy journey to becoming a qualified teacher.. hence why my blog has suffered! I had my final placement back in a reception class with full time class responsibility and loved every minute of it! This placement reinforced what I have always had in my heart... an early years professional and becoming a teacher was to broaden my opportunities to continue to work with children in their early years.
Coming from an Early Years background and having the privilege of working with small groups of children along with good staffing levels (largely with two year olds and having 1 staff to every 4 children plus regular volunteers and students) I have previously wondered about why children would need to be 'grouped' according to age or ability levels. Obviously that view is clearly linked to my previous experience and on coming onto the PGCE course I have now realised the challenges that teachers face working with children at much lower staffing levels. It is clear that higher staffing levels, especially working with children at a young age is extremely beneficial as you are then able to have the time to work at every child's pace as an individual. Wouldn't that be great? This also clearly links to children's early experiences and being able to progress through their early years at their own pace, therefore extending children's entitlement to this, as with many well known countries where this works well for children up to 7 years old is the answer. Problem solved...or it would be if our children's lives weren't in the hands of the political government who keep adding pressures of testing young children based on their views with poor research evidence (or the lack of any!). The government clearly know of the campaigns from very experienced, qualified professionals who know best, such as the #Toomuchtoosoon campaign.
It's been a while since I have wrote on here as I have been busy on my 2nd placement which I have just finished.
I have been teaching in a lovely Year 1 class. I was a little apprehensive about teaching in KS1 as I have never worked within the National Curriculum before but I've had a great time.. so a note to EYP's/EYT's debating the PGCE it's not so scary after all! Although I must confess my heart still lies in Early Years :) It's been a while since I posted on here, but for a good reason as I've been busy on my first placement. The placement lasted for four weeks which flew by! I have had a great time. The school exceeded my expectations by far and everyone was lovely to get along with. I was placed in a reception unit which had 2 classes in one large room and most pupils spoke English as an additional language.
So how did it go..! I was lucky in that the school supported whatever I wanted to teach to aid my progression as a teacher. I really enjoyed having such a big input in my first placement as I am confident with EYFS so I wanted to do as much as I possibly could. I also had the opportunity to implement a group based around PSED to support some children within the classroom. I loved every minute of it and didn't want to leave! On each placement you receive an end report and grades on each teaching standard. I was extremely pleased that I was graded four grade 1's (outstanding) and four grade 2's (good)! Yes they are based on Ofsted grades for those seeing the familiarity! So there is no pressure on my next placement as the average is to move to a grade 3 on the beginning placement and work your way up! Obviously my prior background was the backbone to my grades as I've worked with the EYFS for years so I just needed to transfer my skills to work within a school setting. My next placement will be in a different school in Year 1 class. As I have never worked beyond the EYFS this will be more of a challenge than my first placement but I am thoroughly looking forward to getting stuck in from the start learning lots about working in KS1! Over Christmas I will be busy with 2 essays but will definitely be finding time to spend with my family and friends, especially my little boys :) Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a lovely Christmas with your families and friends too! Pam :) Hi,
I was asked by Heather from Twinkl (thanks Heather!) to review one of their subscriptions so here goes... There is so much to review that it would not be possible to discuss all of the areas, however this is a positive of having everything you need when you look for it and if not you can either create your own unique resources or ask them to make it for you! I have decided to focus on some key areas that I will find particularly useful during my teacher training. Week two of school embedded learning was focused around exploring planning and I also lead the story and nursery rhyme sessions in the class.
I found that the planning was heavily focused around settling in and getting to know each child. The last few children started this week so every child is still very new to the setting. My plan was to observe one morning and focus on how the teacher organised it, and although I did do this to some extent it was difficult to stand back an observe as many children needed support from the teacher, teaching assistants and myself to settle them in as several children took a while to settle in. Here is a den I made with my fellow students. We worked together to build the den using different materials. Den building is an important part of young children's learning in order for them to use their imagination and develop holistically. Below shows a snapshot of how it can be linked to the 7 areas of learning and development and the characteristics of effective learning.
I started school embedded learning this week (explanation of this in last blog). I am placed within a nursery school directly linked to a school. The majority of the children are of ethnic minority backgrounds and many speak English as an additional language. The bilingual teaching assistants are an essential part of the nursery as the teachers came to them for support with talking to children whom had none or little English language. On reflection this highlights the importance of bilingual support within a multicultural setting, as well as children in other settings that may be in the minority. Support must be sought to ensure that each child reaches their full potential.
Hi, As it is the second week I thought I'd write a post about the start of my course. The first week has gone very well. Overall it has been a revision of what I already know from my experiences but it has been a good refresher and nice to have opportunities to discuss views with others. There is a lot of reading between sessions which will support me throughout the course to build a wide range of further knowledge. A lot of emphasis is built on the Reflective Practice module which I will be doing throughout the course and is linked to everything I do as a student teacher and beyond. This week I start school-embedded learning which is a pre-placement school to introduce students into the world of teaching. It will provide opportunities to gain first-hand experiences before the beginning of my first assessed placement which will start before Christmas. I can't wait to get stuck in :) Will let you know how the first week at school goes! Pam :) |
AuthorPamela Clough. Archives
August 2016
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