Being a GTP trainee at Aylsham High School

This is a really good route into teaching if you have some school experience behind you. I chose it because I had worked in a High School for seven years and knew that teaching was what I wanted to do. It was an arduous process from the initial application in October 2008 through till finally discovering that I had been awarded a place in May this year, but I am thrilled that I was successful and would go through it all again.

I feel really lucky to have been placed at Aylsham High. I have a subject mentor who has been invaluable in terms of advice and feedback as I have started along my training path. She is always ready to give me help if I ask for it, but equally happy to let me ,take the reins, if I feel ready to do so. She observes me teaching at least once a week, and the feedback from these observations is used to tell me when I am doing things right, and when they need ,tweaking, or changing. My mentor is always constructive in her feedback, setting me manageable targets which mean that I have been able to adapt my practice by reflecting on what she has said to me.

I also have a professional tutor who meets with me once a week. Again, she acts as a ,critical friend, who encourages me to explore my practice and think hard about the teacher that I want to be, and the steps that I need to take to get there. She coaches me on a wide variety of topics from Assessment for Learning to what evidence I need to use to meet the QTS Standards. She is approachable and friendly, and always happy to tailor the sessions to my needs as a beginning teacher.

Having two mentors has made me feel a real part of the school community, and given me a great deal of confidence in my ability to both stand in front of a class, and to adjust things when they go wrong without feeling that it has been a total disaster. They are both very experienced teachers, and are happy to share ideas when I get a mental block.

On GTP you also have an external mentor who visits every half term to check that everything is running smoothly, to deal with any issues that arise and to solve any problems. They also have responsibility for assessing you at the end of the year and deciding whether you meet all the QTS standards.

This tri-partite support has meant that my training has run really smoothly, and that any worries I have had have been quickly and smoothly dealt with.

When you are a GTP trainee, you have to attend a second school placement of between 4 and 12 weeks. I am scheduled to do this at Sprowston High School in the first half of next term. I was invited to spend a day there to work out what I wanted to experience in my placement there, and to work out the fine details of the timetable that I will be following while there. This is a great opportunity to experience things that are not present at your main school - I have asked to work with Sixth Form students since this is an area that I have not experience. It,s great to be given the opportunity to shape your own training in this way because it really addresses your personal needs.

Apart from mentoring and second placement, there are myriad other great things about being on the GT Programme. I have been given a tutor group to trail which means that I learn the pastoral side of teaching by observing an experienced tutor dealing with the everyday problems of his group. This is really valuable given that it is likely that I will have a tutor group of my own to deal with in the not too distant future.

I have been warmly welcomed by the whole of my department (English) and treated as one of them from the very start. This is another crucial piece of support that I value highly. Everyone is willing to share good practice, and equally, to ask to use my ideas if they like what I have done.

GTP students attend Core Training once a week (usually on a Thursday) when we get together as a group and learn about key issues for teachers. Some of these days are dedicated to Subject Knowledge for Teaching, and these are particularly useful since they give practical ideas to use in the classroom. This is a good opportunity to mix with others on the course and to share the highs and lows as we move through the year. It always feels better to know that someone else is feeling the same way about something as you are!

There is a huge amount of paperwork to get through on the Programme, but again, with the support of everybody in school and on the GTP side, it is manageable. I have had a brilliant first term, and look forward to the challenge of the next two secure in the knowledge that I have a very efficient safety net beneath me if I should need it.