Scholars meet at the end of their first term working full-time in schools to share experiences and learn from each other.

In December 2019 the very first Future Teaching Scholars ITT year National Conference was held in Manchester. Scholars that started ITT and working full-time in schools in September 2019 came along to share their experiences, attend a series of sessions led by our Outstanding Regional Training Centre schools, and to have a good old fashioned catch up!

The first part of the day had Scholars working in small groups to capture the challenges they had faced in their first term in teaching, the strategies they had used to overcome these, and top tips to share with Scholars yet to start their ITT year. These top tips range from how to handle behavioural issues and whole-class disruption to ensuring a good work-life balance.

Scholars also had the opportunity to attend sessions delivered by staff from our Regional Training Centre network that focussed on a whole range of disciplines, including “managing workload and building resilience” and “the care and training of your voice”.

We have stayed in regular contact with our Scholars that started working in schools in September 2019, and have had such great feedback of their experiences so far. Our scholar Jesse, working at Marlborough Church of England School, told us:

“I probably taught my best lesson today. Students were stuck on the starter so I had to think on my feet and adapt my lesson to suit. It ended in a practical that everybody enjoyed and were talking brilliantly about the science. I’ve just read some of their books and what they’ve written is brilliant so I’m chuffed we managed to meet the learning intentions even with a difficult start.”