Nasmin Begum

From the earliest days of my academic years, my life has been enriched by the influence of excellent teachers who have left a lasting mark on my life. Their passion for education and dedication to transform minds of children to grow as strong, independent adults, ignited a spark of interest in me. It is this passion that has grown within me to follow the steps of my teachers and aspire to empower the future generations.

There is more to teaching than it just being a profession; it has the power to grow young minds into grown individuals with potential to make positive and responsible contribution to life and society. My enthusiasm in teaching and learning in EYFS, KS1 and KS2 and my ability to set high expectations of children in all aspects of their learning as well as forming a positive relationship with children and other teachers makes me an ideal candidate for this role. I strongly believe that education is the foundation for personal and societal growth, and I am determined to encourage children to love education and have fun whilst also learning. Furthermore, I also believe that children should believe in themselves to achieve the best and succeed through their learning journey and being a part of that is what makes teaching very rewarding.

On my BA (hons) Primary Education course, I have taught in primary across KS2 (Year 5), KS1 (Year 2) and EYFS (Reception). As I have covered all key stages and EYFS, I am confident to teach any level. As of now, I have met all the teaching standards to an exceeding level. My understanding of the curriculum and having a strong relationship with the children as well as being confident in my teaching and willingness to learn are highlighted as my key strengths. Moving forward, I am looking to progress with these strengths and strive to do better wherever possible. I am receiving positive feedback from mentors and aspire to be outstanding throughout my teaching career.

As a result from my course and placement, I have excellent knowledge of the national curriculum and planning lessons according to the schemes. From my placements, I have gained a range of skills including monitoring and assessing progress, marking work, and providing feedback, differentiating activities, setting high expectations for all students through their achievements and other learning aspects of their school life, getting involved with the wider community and being punctual and organised. When planning for my lessons, I make sure to consider that the lesson adheres to the children’s learning needs. For instance, I use a range of assessments (such as the type of questions to ask) and making sure I set goals for the children that challenges pupils of all background.

One of my core belief in teaching is understanding that every child possesses their own individual strengths and abilities. On my first placement, I worked with groups of children in Year 5 who were lower ability. This was a good start to my training as it enabled me to get to know them and help support their learning and boosting their confidence of certain subjects. My mentor commented that my confidence in delivering the lessons is outstanding and I had built a very positive environment with the children, which allowed me to recognise the students’ abilities and differentiate my activities. Furthermore, I have been excellent in managing behaviour effectively and ensuring children know the expectations and aware of the rules and routines.

A lesson I have learned through my teaching career is that this career is challenging. I had moments in my journey where I felt like I should give up. However, this did not stop me and instead, motivated me to be resilient and I reminded myself that I am choosing this career to inspire young children and make a difference. My second placement was the most challenging year for me from all my placements, but I managed to accomplish many goals and was very successful. Behaviour management strategies I have employed have been very effective, and I am able to maintain a happy, safe, and secure classroom environment. My mentor noted that I make a calm approach towards children, which enabled me to deliver my lessons smoothly. During this placement, I was responsible for teaching a number of core subjects including English and Maths as well as foundation subjects including History, Religious Studies, Science, Art, PSHE and PE. I have also taught a number of phonics sessions which was very successful as I encouraged children to become independent in their writing as well as being positive and clear when delivering the lesson.

Moreover, to ensure I promoted a high-quality teaching and learning, I made sure to make my lesson inputs interactive for the children to participate and engage well with. My third placement involves working with children in Reception. This placement has been a strong year and I strongly believe that I have made significant improvements on my teaching strategies. I have become more resilient to my work and my confidence has noticeably improved. Following from my final assessment, I have exceeded well in many areas of the teaching standards, and I have progressed significantly. My key strength is behaviour management and pedagogy, which are both essential in teaching. I have excellent control of the classroom and children are clear on expectations. This is through the use of positive praise and using dojo points, reward charts and stickers, which were effective in maintaining a positive environment in the classroom. Moreover, I have planned, delivered, and assessed lessons independently and established high expectations for all children. I can confidently differentiate my lessons and adapt my lesson plans effectively to meet the needs of all my students and have an excellent understanding of how children learn, especially through the use of visual/concrete scaffolding and through the development of small steps within lessons.

I know that to ensure a lesson to be successful, there must be a very good relationship with other members of staff, which is a quality I have. My mentor has commented how I have a really good relationship with not only my class mentor, but other members of staff and senior leadership teams. I also have a positive relationship with the children’s parents by making sure to be at the door at the end of the day with the children. This is really important as parental involvement is essential in a child’s education and should be updated on their child’s progress. As part of my placement, I held an after-school arts and crafts club based on the children's interests. By bringing in different cultures and faiths, I have promoted diversity and understanding of different faiths and cultures.

Whilst on placement, I have enjoyed planning and delivering lessons on RE. The theme was on Christmas and although I had limited knowledge on Christmas, my willingness to learn and explore this area has allowed me to create an engaging lesson for the children. My love for reading provided me opportunities to make my lessons creative and imaginative as I know that children love stories and being imaginative. I used this lesson to plan for continuous provision and children had lots of opportunities role playing and acting out the nativity story as they remembered key events from the story through pictures and actions.

In addition to succeeding in my placements, I also emphasise the importance of fostering a positive classroom that promotes respect, kindness and inclusivity. This is so children can feel a sense of belonging that will allow them to learn and express their talents without the fear of being judged. Having discussed your core values, I am confident that the curriculum not only teaches children how to learn, but also promotes core values such as curiosity, democracy, diversity, empathy, equality, identity, respect, and sustainability, which I have incorporated into my lesson plans.

Over the course of my free time, I have taken some training on safeguarding, which is important when teaching. This training has enabled me to recognize signs of abuse in children and act effectively when a concern arises, as all teachers are required to follow the school's safeguarding policy. As a result, I am better prepared to meet the demands of teaching. Moreover, I have engaged with tutoring and teaching in small groups training, which has allowed me to reflect on what I have observed from working with small groups of children and how to develop my skills in providing feedback that is effective and allow children to improve their learning. I am currently looking for extra PDAs that will help me develop my skills to prepare me for my future class.

I also take time to spend time with my family and being around people I am close with. This has moulded me into someone who is ready to listen and help, which is a quality all teachers should have for their students. I also enjoy reading as it is an escape and I have been reading all types of books to destress from a very busy day of teaching.

In conclusion, I am deeply passionate about teaching and making a positive impact on the lives of young children. My ability to understand the student’s needs and work effectively alongside parents and other colleagues as well as creating an inclusive, engaging, and student-centred learning environment makes me an ideal candidate for this role. I am excited about this opportunity to inspire and empower the students to reach their full potential and being a part of their achievements.