Relocating to teach: Rachel’s journey of purpose and impact

From relocating, overcoming challenges with pupil behaviour, and building meaningful relationships in a new community - Rachel shares her experience of her first year on the Teach First Training Programme.

Why I chose to teach

I chose Teach First because I really agree with the values; they know that everybody has the right to a good education, no matter their background.

Also, I couldn’t pay for training myself so, because they fund our training, that was a real driving factor for me.

I got into teaching because my mum is a teacher. She specialises in special educational needs teaching. She's been teaching for years. I got into teaching because I wanted something that would have an impact and help the next generation.

I didn’t move away from home at first

When I was growing up, where I came from was a disadvantaged area in Kent. I sympathise with those pupils who have come from a disadvantaged area, like the area I'm teaching in now. I really connect with that personally.

I remember Teach First called and offered me Hastings. I took it because I really wanted to be on the programme. I wanted to help people.

Relocating connected me to people.

I think relocating made me feel more connected to not just the teachers, but also the kids at the school. Seeing this is where they've grown up. And there's a really lovely trainee community in Hastings. It was nice to move here and just engage with them; go out after school or during the holidays.

Entering a new community

There were three of us trainees from Teach First and a few from other programmes. It was really good having that trainee community because we are all in the same boat so we can turn to each other, even for the simple things.

I think I would have been a lot more scared coming into teaching, relocating, coming into a whole new world if there hadn't been that trainee community.

Teach First supported me from the start

Teach First has been really supportive. Especially around my development needs.

If I have any questions, I email my Development Lead (DL). When I relocated, she was always asking me how I was settling in.

When I had problems with my obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) my DL and my mentor at school were really supportive.

Having the support of my mentor every single day has been amazing. My DL, my Subject Development Lead (SDL) – always having their support has helped me with my behaviour management, how I've chunked tasks and how I’ve adapted work for different ability pupils.

At the start I would just give the same work to all the pupils. I wouldn't make any adaptations so a lot of pupils couldn’t complete the work. I worked on and improved that.

First year challenges

This first year has gone really quickly, and I have learnt so much. Obviously, there is still loads more to learn but you can never stop improving.

When I started Summer Institute, it all felt very abstract.

Then coming to school in September, I felt a bit overwhelmed because we'd learnt all this stuff to do, like the behaviour management, how to chunk your tasks to avoid cognitive overload, and I felt there was so much to do that I couldn't keep on top of it.

Looking back, I've progressed. I'm a lot more confident with behaviour management as I've got to know the kids better. I've understood their needs; if they have special educational needs, what sort of person they are, who to sit next to them, who not to sit next to them.

I’ve learnt to be honest
with the pupils.

I have brushed up on topics that I'm teaching the kids and haven't studied before which can feel daunting, especially if the pupils ask a question and you don't know the answer.

It's just about being honest with them, saying, “I don't know the answer but that's a really good question. Why don't you find out?” 

I learnt that that's not a bad thing – it makes you seem more human, and it shows that they're really interested.

Building relationships with pupils

Once you build relationships with the kids that you didn’t have at the start, I think things become a lot easier.

You gain that trust, so then the behaviour management becomes a lot easier.

I think I've become more approachable because they're more comfortable talking to me.

And I think I've changed; I've learnt so much being in the classroom – I think it's made me a better teacher, because rather than just studying, you know this is what I have to do in the classroom – it's really helped me progress.

Day-to-day, you encounter pupils with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or mental health issues.

When I was growing up, there was a real stigma around those conditions – there still is.

I personally identify with that because I have OCD, and it just made me really want to help the pupils because I know how challenging it can be if you're someone different in a school.

Helping a pupil realise that while they might have that label of ADHD or something, it's not a barrier to their education – they can still achieve so much – seeing me teaching them, we can make them realise that “Ok, look, she's done it. She has OCD.”

I'm always really open with the kids. I don't mind telling them I have OCD, so they can succeed.

The programme has opened my eyes. It’s challenged some of my preconceptions.

I used to think that the kids were misbehaving on purpose, that they were just naughty; they were doing it for a laugh.

Through the Training Programme, I've learnt that they are just children; they have lots going on and there are things that affect their lives inside and outside of school.

Perhaps they’re misbehaving because the work is too challenging. Nine times out of ten, they're not misbehaving on purpose; they're misbehaving for a personal reason, or because the work is too hard.

We rebooted our relationship

I've seen massive changes in some pupils, particularly some of my Year 8s. I teach half of the Year 8s in the school.

There was one boy who wouldn't really do much work. He'd always be talking, making silly noises and mucking about.

Over the course of the year, his behaviour just completely changed as I adapted the text to suit his ability.

He was on fire, he's always putting his hand up, he's always doing some really good written work. His behaviour changed loads because he could access the work.

I've also had kids come to me with safeguarding concerns, which I hadn't expected.

One child took my IRIS microphone which was a whole challenge to get back.

I wasn't very happy about it and told him that if it happened again, I’d speak to his parents.

We didn't really get on, but we rebooted our relationship, mostly with praise in the classroom and me just getting to know him, to the point where he felt comfortable talking to me about some really challenging stuff that he was going through.

I thought that was such a major win that, even though we had that bad relationship at the start, we’d repaired it.

Many of these kids come from such a poor background. Hastings is quite a disadvantaged area. Just seeing their performance in class has shown what they are capable of, and I think a lot of them are more confident now.

Seeing their results – they have done really well – has shown them that they can do it and it’s given them a massive boost in confidence.

Reflecting on the first year

When I started Summer Institute, teaching felt very abstract. Then coming to school in September, I felt a bit overwhelmed, and I felt there was so much to do that I couldn't keep on top of it.

Looking back now, I see I’ve progressed. I'm a lot more confident now as I've got to know the kids better.

This first year has gone really quickly, and I have learnt so much. Obviously, there is still loads more to learn but you can never stop improving. 

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