From law to the classroom: My teaching journey

Here, she shares her story of moving from a career in law to the classroom.

Why I left law to teach

Before teacher training I was working in a legal compliance role, and I’d also worked as a software trainer for several years.

I’ve always wanted to teach and when I came across an advert to train to be a teacher at a local school, I decided to pursue it, and submitted my application.

The SCITT route really appealed to me as it meant I would spend most of my time in the classroom gaining valuable hands-on experience right on from the start, with support from experienced host teachers and mentors.

It also meant I would be immersed straight into the school culture and become part of the community, learning about the values, routines and expectations first hand. For me, this is the best way to learn.

Support that made all the difference

When I had my interview with our course lead, I instantly knew this was where I wanted to train.

Our course lead was passionate about training new teachers and dedicated to their success.

It was certainly a nervous wait for that phone call, but it was such a relief when I heard I’d got a place!

During our first week, we took part in intensive, in-school training led by our course lead and other experienced specialists. The sessions were well-structured and provided plenty of opportunities for practice and discussion.

In the second week, we observed lessons and began to identify the structures and techniques we had explored the week before.

This was followed by another week of intensive training, after which we returned to the classroom to start teaching parts of lessons initially, building up to full lessons.

I feel very lucky to be at a school where we were instantly welcomed to the team. 

Every member of staff will happily answer questions we might have and are happy to give any advice.

Balancing training and family life

Before starting the course, I was concerned about juggling family life - as a mum with two young children - with a career change. It comes with a demanding workload, especially during this first year. I’m now confident that I will be encouraged and supported throughout by the course lead, as well as my mentor and host teachers.

Learning to manage a classroom

I was also concerned about behaviour management, but we trained on this from the start and looked at various techniques.

We’ve been able to observe experienced teachers and we’ve been encouraged to apply what we’ve learnt when teaching lessons.

Teaching with confidence

My degree is in Law; however, computing is my chosen subject as I have experience in this field. I completed a subject enhancement course before starting, and subject knowledge is delivered throughout the year to ensure I have the skills I need to teach the subject with confidence.

Ready to teach – and make a real difference in your community?

Applications are open for our School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) programme.

Apply now