As an experienced teacher, I have developed and gained a wide range of skills and knowledge through both my vast work experience and continuous professional development training. These are skills which are both transferable and relevant to working within a culturally diverse community.

Over the years, I have taught extensively across key stages, starting my teaching career in EYFS, moving onto KS1 and KS2. Thus, I have shown much flexibility and adaptability in my career, developing some excellent, effective communication skills as well as management skills. Hence, as an accomplished teacher, I have demonstrated not only my ability to successfully nurture and develop childrens’ knowledge and learning, I have also been able to lead from the front as a middle manager, which has involved me managing a range of subjects across a number of education establishments, including: Science, D.T. R.E., Assessment as well as managing KS2 as a Phase Leader.

Over the years, my extensive work experience in teaching has enabled me to realise the importance of providing opportunities for all young people to achieve their full potential. And, as such, I strongly believes that all children should be encouraged to participate and engage in all relevant, interesting learning activities.

In addition to this, my extensive experience in teaching has enabled me to use and adapt a range of teaching, learning and behaviour management strategies that provide opportunities for all learners to achieve their full potential. I always ensure that lessons are planned well and are based on clear learning objectives, which are shared with the class. My plenary helps to reinforce and further develop the children’s understanding of the topic. During and throughout my lessons, I am able to retain the children’s attention by ensuring that my lessons are interesting and stimulating, by incorporating a range of teaching strategies and styles that will accommodate all of the varied learning styles, backgrounds, abilities and dispositions of the pupils in the learning environment. In addition, I use key questions during the lesson in order to identify pupils’ understanding, often targeting pupils for formative assessment. In all of my lessons, children are encouraged to participate in discussions with their peers, working in pairs, groups or as a whole class, which enables them to share their ideas and develop their confidence and understanding of and ability to use key vocabulary. Other strategies I use are interactive and practical teaching, drama and the use of ICT to enhance the teaching and learning of the children.

As an experienced teacher, I understand the importance and value of assessment in relation to understanding pupils’ progress as well as evaluating my own teaching. Thus, through the evaluation of children’s work using the success criteria, observations of the children, questioning, tests and sampling, I am able to obtain valuable information that I can use to inform my future planning and teaching. Hence, this enables me to identify the next steps of development for all of the children. Over recent years, I have implemented ‘Assessment For Learning’ strategies, where I encourage the children within the learning environment to participate more in their own assessment via proof reading of their own work, peered assessment and whole class assessment. These strategies help to provide the children with the opportunities to take more responsibility and control of their learning and development as well as providing me with further insight into each child’s stage of learning, progress and needs for future development. I also carry out long term assessment, which includes end of term tests: the results of which are used to plan and target the pupils.

In my present job, I am responsible for liaising with the parents of the pupils on a regular basis, when appropriate, and on parents’ evenings, which takes place each term. This has enabled me to develop an excellent relationship with my parents and, as such, I have been able to encourage them to take an active part in their children’s education. Furthermore, previous roles have enabled me to develop the skills required to present parents’ curriculum meetings which have focused on the curriculum requirements and have informed the parents of the topics that will be covered during the year. Also, in previous roles, as in my present teaching role, I have been responsible for taking whole school assemblies, as well as class assemblies, which give the parents an insight into what the children in the class are learning.

Thus, over the years, I feel that I have gained much teaching knowledge and developed many skills that I feel are relevant to this teaching post, including a perpetual amount of patience and energy, excellent communication skills and the ability to work independently and as a member of a team. In addition, I have acquired a professional work manner, realising the importance of prioritising work tasks; and I have developed the ability to work effectively under pressure.