ITTE Hub Blog

12th July 2024

Final Hub Session

8th July 2024

24th May 2024

Poster Presentations

26th March 2024

Science Day with Jane Banham

The BTs had a great time at the Science Day with Jane Banham (Science Teaching and Learning Consultant & STEM Learning Senior Professional Development Lead), learning all about ‘Science in the Primary School’.

25th March 2024

PSHE

Today the BTs had an input from Helen Salih about PSHE.

They spoke about the importance of PSHE and how it is the foundation for all learning in all situations. There was discussion around the impact that lockdown has had on our children and the needs of post covid children across primary schools.

The BTs identified the following needs: listening skills, resilience, social skills, collaboration, turn taking, developing imagination language and thinking skills.

22nd March 2024

Well-Being Day

The BTs enjoyed a well deserved Well-Being Day at Elvaston Castle, where they took part in a number of different team building exercises and they also created a DTSA Poster (see image).

One BT said “It was a really good day, it was great to reset and get to know a
bit more about each other, would definitely recommend”.

15th March 2024

ITTE & Makaton

The Beginner Teachers had an excellent day with Helen Adams learning about Makaton. They looked at the basic communication to help their understanding and developed their language skills. Makaton is a great way for the BTs to help facilitate social interaction with children as well as building relationships and increasing equal opportunities.

16th February 2024

We had an excellent input from Julie McLean from Brookfield Primary School, looking at The Role of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Co-ordinator (SENDCO).

Julie spoke about the 4 areas of need including:

• Cognition and Learning;
• Social, Emotional and Mental Health;
• Communication and Interaction;
• Physical and Sensory.

There was lots of information about The National Award for SEN Co-ordination, details included on the SEND Register as well as the reasonable adjustments and support plans that need to be put in place, provision mapping, funding and also parent expectations from a SENDCO. We certainly covered a lot of information which was all so helpful for the Beginners Teachers.

It was really interesting to hear Julie talk about her own role at Brookfield Primary and what it involves to be a SENDCO on a day to day basis, as well as the wider responsibilities and which external professionals she has to work with as part of her role.

Our next hub is on 15/03/24 and we are looking forward to meeting Helen Adams, who will be speaking to the Beginner Teachers about Makaton.

8th February 2024

Meet the Team

Helen Salih and Julie King run our hub, and what an amazing job they do! Both Helen and Julie are former Primary Head Teachers with over 40 years each in Education. They are both Fellows of the Chartered College of Teaching; Helen has done much work on well-being and LA home education, and Julie is a trained consultant in leadership, providing Link Tutor training and support.

We have already covered so much in this year’s programme it’s hard to know where to begin. We’ve had ITaP intensive training on Classroom Management and Behaviour Routines as well as How Pupils Learn and Cognitive Architecture. There’s been Safeguarding, Maths, Reading, RE, Phonics, SEND training, subject knowledge audits, and not forgetting, probably one of the most important sessions on well-being and self care, as we know what an intensive year this is for our Beginner Teachers (BTs).

We have recently started looking at Interview skills for when the BTs start applying for their first job as a teacher. There’s plenty to consider, such as: where to look for vacancies, the job description, the person spec, what to write on an application form, references, preparing for interview questions and even what is and isn’t appropriate to wear to an interview. It may seem very early to be preparing BTs for interviews, but some BTs are already applying for their first job so it’s important we focus on this session relatively early in the year.

Our next blog / hub session will look at The Role of the SENDCo as well as Adapting Teaching for Children with Attachment Disorders and Autism. Further details to follow….

26th January 2024

Interviews

How to succeed at interviews – a fun session with mock interviews to really get your blood pumping!

8th December 2023

Poetry

Today is all about Poetry.

20th October 2023

Behaviour Management Techniques

Today was eye opening to see all the behaviour management techniques that each teacher can use. Phonics was fun and engaging!

4th October 2023

Mathematics

Today was all about Mathematics with Dave Benson, and also how children learn.

8th September 2023

Safeguarding

Thank you Claire Christy for a wonderful session on Safeguarding, Level 1.

27th August 2023

It is important that our teachers understand knowledge rich curriculum before they start in the classroom. This summary explains what a ‘knowledge rich curriculum’ is and its implications for trainees and teachers.

27th August 2023

Behaviour

It is also really important for trainee teachers to understand and observe behaviours in school and in relationship to Reflection on Classroom management and behaviour routines

We used these resources to help with this:

• The National Education Union’s webpage provides useful guidance on managing behaviour including a detailed publication on positive behaviour.
• Tom Bennet’s Independent Review of Behaviour in Schools.

27th August 2023

It is really important for teachers to complete self care. We watched this 9-minute TED talk which explains the importance of self-care for teachers and ow they need to prioritise their own well-being in the same way they do for the pupils they teach.

Learn to shine bright- the importance of self care for teachers, Kelly Hopkinson, TEDxNorwichED.

27th August 2023

This short article by Mark Enser, in the Chartered College of Teaching’s Impact Journal explains why it is important for trainees and teachers to maintain and improve their subject knowledge.

22nd July 2023

Reflective practice is very important. 

Simple introduction to the concept of Teacher Reflective Practice – setting the context for teaching learning by Dylan Wiliam, Formative Assessment expert.

12th July 2023

Start of the journey

We were so excited for our trainees and mentors to meet each other today and for them to see which schools they would be working with.

9th February 2023

Training high quality new beginner teachers in conjunction with the University of Derby is our passion, and we are hoping that you might be able to help us find the best people to work with our local children.

Developing Teachers Schools Academies (DTSA) have been delivering Early Years, Primary and Secondary School Direct training for the last 9 years. We are passionate about providing high quality Initial Teacher Training and Education (ITTE) in a full time school-based setting, and work with over 60 schools and a range of school trusts. We believe that this route offers the best possible opportunities to train successfully and to become an outstanding teacher.

For Primary and Secondary specialists, DTSA has strong links with the Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) and is uniquely placed to offer a wide range of science training to help with the course content and practical ideas for teaching. At secondary, we offer most subject specialist routes.

If you know anyone interested, or would recommend anyone to become a teacher (Early Years, Primary or Secondary), please let us know by emailing lauren.derbyshire@dtsa.org.uk or visit our website for further information: School Direct & ITTE – Developing Teachers Schools Academies (dtsa.org.uk)

Teachers are amazing. By entering the teaching profession, you’ve committed to making a real difference to each and every child in your classroom. We share a phenomenal opportunity to make a real positive difference. Every single day, we’re able to inspire, guide and enable the young people we teach to achieve great things. We may be new teachers, but I truly believe in the positive impact we can have for our pupils. Making a real difference to the lives of young people, inspiring and equipping them to do their very best, is the real reason why I, like most new trainees (Marsh, 2015), chose to become a teacher.

McCahill, P. (2021) ‘A strong start in teaching’, Chartered College of Teaching’s Early Career Hub, https://my.chartered.college/early-career-hub/a-strong-start-in-teaching/ [accessed February 8th, 2022].

25th January 2023

“Teacher training programmes are incredibly valuable, yet there is a limit to what can be taught in a short amount of time. Teachers are always learning and always growing as professionals. What They Didn’t Teach Me on My PGCE captures the voices of over 200 educators who share their heartfelt advice, top tips, honest reflections, disastrous experiences and laugh-out-loud anecdotes about early career teaching. This is not an instruction manual, as all teaching is complex and situational; rather we invite you to ‘dip in and out’ of each chapter as you navigate the recurring themes, patterns and paradoxes. We hope you will be inspired, uplifted, amused and engaged as you reflect on these experiences, comparing them with your own, and celebrate being a member of the teaching profession.”

Narratives from Dr Muna Abdi, Neil Gilbride, Kat Howard, Dr Emma Kell, Alison Kriel, Nimish Lad, Dr Jess Mahdavi-Gladwell, Philip McCahill, Dr Deborah Outhwaite, Penny Rabiger, Emma Stanley, Emma Turner and writer of the Foreword of the book, Hannah Wilson and many more!