Ella Milner

Prior to beginning my PGCE, I completed an undergraduate degree in Psychology and Early Childhood Studies. This provided me with early opportunities to work within the education sector, as I gained experience working in a fairly large primary school, within an EYFS setting. I acquired valuable knowledge of working with children at this level of education, and thoroughly enjoyed doing so. I worked with a large group of children, with a diverse range of needs and abilities. This allowed me to expand my skills in a number of areas, such as working at developing pupils speaking and listening skills, and encouraging children to develop their own independence. I gained a sound understanding of Phonics and Early Reading, and how I could support children in securing these skills. My undergraduate degree also expanded my views and understandings around early childhood development and the psychology behind the different ways that children encode information in their learning, allowing me to appreciate the importance of varying teaching approaches. Through my degree, I was able to engage in conducting educational research, which extended my knowledge around children’s differing social and emotional experiences.

During the course of my ITT, I have had the opportunity to teach across the curriculum. As part of my Continuous Professional Development (CPD) I spent a short period of time in a school where I worked with classes from Reception to Year 6. From this, I was able to further my knowledge of the National Curriculum, and observe effective teaching and learning approaches, which I have incorporated into my own practice. I am committed to continually developing my own practice, through continuous reflection, as well as ensuring I remain up-to-date with the developing curriculum and other relevant academic research findings. Both of my placement schools as part of my PGCE were within small, village schools, with a strong community based feel. My placement schools have also encouraged a nurturing environment, which I understand to be an incredibly important aspect to classroom learning. I appreciate and understand the need for children to be nurtured in order for them to successfully engage with learning, and I aim to ensure that every individual child is supported with their social and emotional wellbeing as the foundation to improve learning. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenges and opportunities that came with working in a small school, as I was able to be involved in the wider life of the school, such as by assisting with events like Sports Day and Easter services, leading assemblies and running after-school clubs. Working in a village school also meant I built good relationships with all members of staff, from the caretaker and kitchen staff, to the other teachers and teaching assistants, as both schools worked as a close knit team. This allowed me to work cooperatively with my colleagues, and build relationships within the wider community, such as by engaging with parents and developing positive relations.

During my first year of teaching, I taught a Year 5 class. In doing this, I was able to develop my skills of adaptation, responding to children's individual needs. I supported children working much below expectations, as well as ensuring those children who had secure knowledge and understanding were provided with appropriate challenge. I withhold high standards for all students, regardless of ability, encouraging and supporting children so they know they have someone who believes in them to achieve. Further to this, I have developed excellent communication skills, that are beneficial when conversing with colleagues and parents. I consider myself to be a strong communicator, and remain professional and approachable when interacting with children, parents, and all members of staff within a school. Developing professional relationships with colleagues and other professionals within and beyond the school, is of the upmost importance to me as these relationships lay the foundation for strong and effective collaborative working. Additionally, developing strong relationships with parents is of equal importance as I strongly believe that education is a partnership between home and school.

Currently, I am working as a classroom teacher in Year 4. During the course of this position, I have established my abilities to ensure that all pupils achieve the highest standards. Teaching a class with a significant mix of abilities has strengthened my skills of planning, as I ensure that I have set clear, personalised targets that are reflective of each child’s abilities, whilst also providing them with extension tasks that are challenging and keep them engaged. I have worked with a range of children, with differing needs and abilities, and I have become confident and competent with strategies to raise pupil achievement, as well as ensuring that barriers to learning are identified and dealt with. I have worked closely with a number of children with different SEN needs, including ASD and PDA. I have experience of working with a child with severe SEN needs, whereby I have acquired specific behaviour management techniques, and adapted planning to suit the needs and interests of this child. This child accesses an alternative curriculum and I worked as part of a wider team to plan for and support this. I also have experience of working with EAL children, which has allowed me to consider different approaches to learning, and ensure that the fundamentals of learning for every topic have been thoroughly embedded before further learning takes place. I have established my classroom presence, building effective behaviour management skills and setting high expectations within my class. My classroom practice has been extended to motivate and engage children, I try and do this by planning creative, hands-on experiences as part of learning. Specific examples of this include trying to ‘hook’ children into learning by starting lessons with a fun activity, such as a game. As part of an EYFS phonics lesson on sight words, I asked the children to splat a chosen sight word using a water gun. Activities such as these engage the children and keep them motivated, as well as engaging learners of all abilities.

I believe that I am a team player and value the efforts of those working alongside me, and I am committed to ‘chipping in’ and stepping up to fulfil wider responsibilities of school life. I am dedicated to providing children with wide ranging opportunities and an engaging curriculum. I have demonstrated this previously by ensuring that all children have equal opportunities to succeed, I have done this by making sure that work is tailored to each individual child’s abilities and differentiated appropriately. I strongly believe that an engaging curriculum is one of the most important aspects to learning, as children are much more motivated and inspired to learn when they are engaged.

The specific traits that I believe I possess include taking on a ‘can do’ attitude, thinking and speaking positively, in order to foster a positive attitude to learning amongst the children. I am approachable, as I believe that it is very important for children to consider me as someone who is trustworthy, calm and supportive. This is important to help children achieve, as they need to feel supported and unafraid to ask for help and advice, but also vital in ensuring the safeguarding of children. I appreciate the need for children to feel supported and cared for, and am committed to safeguarding children. A further strength of mine is the ability to be flexible and adaptable. This is particularly evident with my experience in EYFS classrooms, as I adapted my teaching to suit the needs of the children, such as by taking learning outdoors when the children became too restless. I have the ability to change things during lessons that I can see are not working, or bring children back together to re-visit and consolidate learning before moving them on. I encourage perseverance by reassuring children that it is okay if they do not understand something, and it is okay to make mistakes, as long as they do not give up and they persevere with their learning. I believe that children learn best when they are unafraid to make mistakes and trust that they can ask for help and support. I set high expectations for children in their learning so they have high aspirations for themselves. I encourage children to take pride in their work and successes, such as by encouraging children to bring in ‘wow’ moments of achievements outside of school, and showcasing children’s work to other members of the class. This works to encourage and inspire other children, as well as giving children a sense of pride in their work. I plan lessons carefully to make sure that children will enjoy their work, as when children enjoy what they are doing they are committed and engaged. I believe that I am effective at encouraging confidence and creativity within my classroom, as I carefully consider the ideas and thoughts of children, and urge children to be original and imaginative where appropriate.