Alex Wilson, Redhill

I’ve really enjoyed the Inspiring Leaders Redhill Secondary SCITT sessions at NTU. The opportunity to learn, listen and collaborate with fellow trainees was vital, creating a productive environment for all to grow into teaching. This was all done with the empathy and consideration from the lecturers and SCITT leadership team for the three-day session with provisions made for a safe opportunity to meet, learn and thrive.

The sessions at NTU varied greatly, which I gained from personally as it kept the content light and digestible alongside a pace that was just right. To begin, the first day focussed on referencing, before moving onto the purpose of education and for the majority of the day, easing a lot of student queries and enabling us all to have the clarity of expectation. Our peer group was really supportive too, instigated by the dynamic and interactions created by each seminar task. Day two helped us understand educational theorists with students able to bring reading and lesson observations along to compare and filter through how education is perceived and delivered. The benefit of having the group in NTU to share this in a socially distanced manner brought a diverse and positive reinforcement to our learning that I really enjoyed and benefitted from. This was epitomised by the vibrant personality that the group presentations contained.

Lastly, day three consisted of behaviourist theory, comparing them to cognitivist, constructionist and humanist thinkers and how they have all influenced our own start to teaching. I was really appreciative of the afternoon session on the final day, enabling us all to start writing our assignment with the support of the lecturers in the form of drop-in sessions to guide our thought and ideas into meaningful and high-quality written work. Going forwards, this was a perfect session to send us on our way, wanting to write, read and learn more as a result. I feel so much more confident and supported and would encourage anyone to consider the Redhill SCITT as a stimulating and truly enjoyable route into teaching.

Alex Wilson (Inspiring Leaders Redhill SCITT Secondary Trainee, 2020-21)