Bringing exceptional teachers into the classroom

At Burnt Mill Academy in Harlow, Headteacher Laura shares how their partnership with Teach First is helping to attract and develop exceptional teachers, giving pupils the support, opportunities and education they need to fulfil their potential.

Our school is in Harlow, Essex. A third of our pupils are in receipt of the pupil premium, and we have a high percentage of children on free school meals. We are living in a community where there is deprivation and poverty, so our mission is to inspire and support the children to break out of this cycle through education and help them to achieve their different aspirations and dreams.

We have a very diverse community which is fantastic to serve but some of the challenge that comes with that is making sure that everybody is respectful of their community. It’s about making sure those children can see a brighter future for themselves through education, unlocking those doors and fulfilling their dreams.

A deep passion for Harlow

I’ve been the headteacher here for eight years, although I started at the school many years ago as a trainee myself. I progressed to head of English, went on to senior leadership and took over as the headteacher in 2017.

I'm deeply passionate about the Harlow community. I’m from Harlow myself, I was educated in Harlow, and I can model for the children what it is like to aspire and achieve and to
dream big.

The best opportunities

When I first started here as a trainee, the results and the children’s progress weren’t where we wanted them to be.

The school has progressed in many ways and it's been a journey. When our then headteacher, Helena Mills (now trust CEO), took over in 2010, she started to instil aspiration in the children. She ensured that the children had opportunities, whatever they wanted to pursue, and the best possible teaching.

I really align with those values and that moral purpose. Every decision we take is with the children's best interests at heart.

It's about making sure the children get the best opportunities and the best teaching in front of them.

A shared mission

As a trust, we've taken the decision to work with Teach First because their values align closely with our own, with a mission to break down the barriers for children that stop them from reaching their potential.

Teach First has been instrumental in the progression of the school, bringing in a new calibre of trainee, who are inspirational and dedicated.

Shaping children’s futures

We started with several Teach First trainees in the English department, and they are still with us now, in leadership roles and shaping the children’s futures.

We have eight trainees that are currently on the Teach First programme.

Our trainees are making strides in their classroom practice, but also through the wider opportunities that they offer for the children.

For example, we have a science trainee who supported the children to enter a competition at Anglia Ruskin University. They did incredibly well and received an award. That Teach First trainee brought that passion for STEM subjects to our children.

The Teach First difference

The advantages of the partnership with Teach First is that the training programme is very rigorous. It makes sure that the trainees have the best subject knowledge and pedagogy to teach the children. It develops trainees who are invested in their subject and invested in pedagogy for the long term.

It's fantastic for recruitment and retention, because we’re able to recruit a high calibre of teacher.

Teach First trainees have those foundational skills really embedded. Plus, they have the passion and the willingness to then want to support in a different way as an ambassador or a leader of a faculty, or even beyond into senior leadership, so they can shape the future for further children and teachers.

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