What type of school do you work in?
Primary
What’s your favourite part of teaching so far?
Having talk times with the children where they get to tell me anything. I can visibly see them becoming excited, their faces relaxing and a mental wellbeing box being ticked somewhere. 😊
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
MrTsNQTs ‘talk, talk and talk’. I’d add to that ‘ask’. You won’t know until you ask and you won’t get until you ask for it.
Can you recommend a good teaching book?
‘How to be an outstanding primary school teacher’ by David Dunn is a good one to start with.
Favourite tools, software, or equipment?
Set 3 sounds on YouTube gives you all the sounds in one video, all phonics videos for reading and writing including phonics are helpful, as they show you exactly how they should be taught if you haven’t done it in a while. ‘Buried treasure’ game. Whiterose maths… Love. A pointer for the smart board and a stick with alternating colours to count in 2s, 5s and 10s.
Who inspires you and why?
Every teacher I’ve ever met or befriended has inspired me in some way.
When did you know you wanted to be a teacher?
When I was about 6. However I changed my direction after graduating in Psychology and went into SEN behaviour therapy then mental health before getting back into teaching.
How do you unwind outside of work hours? What helps you to switch off?
I try and get into bed after work for a bit to stretch out my legs and appreciate the silence. Then I go down and sit with my children and we talk about our day or play a Ps game with my 6 year old as he waits for me to come home so we can play together. When I’m alone I watch an episode of whatever current drama series I’m into to switch off (if that’s ever possible for teachers), or something with my older children. We restarted ‘LOST’ the other day. 😊
Miss Savvy is a returning NQT based in London, England. Follow her NQT journey on twitter at @AmissSavvy
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