Victoria Thomas

Central to my teaching philosophy are the notions of purposeful teaching and high expectations in developing confident and independent learners. My classroom practice is based upon well planned lessons with clearly defined, focused learning objectives and assessment opportunities. I continuously assess children’s understanding and progress through a range of assessments for learning strategies, and use this information to inform my planning and to target individuals and groups of children in order to develop their future learning.

All children learn effectively through a range of practical and first hand experiences, enthusiastic teaching, and in an environment in which they feel happy, secure and confident. I believe in valuing children as individuals and use a variety of teaching strategies that seek to maximise the learning taking place for each child. I set high expectations for pupils’ behaviour by maintaining a firm but fair approach to discipline, and through encouraging children’s positive and productive relationships with both their peers and adults.

It is my belief that an effective school should follow a broad and rich curriculum in order to develop each aspect of children’s learning. In my experience, this is effectively achieved by planning close links between each area of the curriculum, and through teaching with flexibility and imagination. I strongly believe that the outdoor environment should play an essential role in developing a curriculum that is both stimulating and productive, and I therefore plan opportunities in my teaching to use the outdoor environment to enhance learning.

I have learned that effective schools are those in which members of staff are valued, work co-operatively and closely as a team and follow a clear rationale/purpose for learning that is shared by all stakeholders. I believe that good teamwork is based upon open and honest relationships, support and communication with both parents and colleagues.

I have worked with a variety of children who have Special Educational Needs. I currently teach a mainstream class that has 3 pupils with a statement. This includes 2 ASD/ADHD pupil and a Down Syndrome pupil. 2 of these pupils have full time TA support and 1 with part time TA support. I am currently working closely with the ALN leader for my current school whilst developing the use of IDP’s for these pupils.

Clear communication and consistent routines between all members of the school community who are involved with the education and care of pupils with ALN is essential to my current role and I ensure that parents/ carers are always well informed and supported appropriately. This includes liasing with ABA tutors and welcoming them into my classroom.

I currently plan an inclusive timetable for each of the pupils with statements and ensure each pupil is included and well respected by their peers.

I have experience of planning for and delivering the ‘See and Learn’ scheme for Downs Syndrome pupils and I have a good understanding of systematic, synthetic phonics. I plan for whole class ‘Singing Hands’ Makaton sessions on a daily basis to ensure that all pupils within my care are capable of using some basic Makaton actions to ensure inclusion for this pupil. Topic relation actions are planned for and shared with all staff and pupils are the start of each topic and I ensure that whole school celebrations and activities have some elements of Makaton.

I have some experience of using the SCERTS model for pupils with ASD and I ensure this is linked to the pupils IDP.

I have been involved in setting up a sensory room for pupils with ASD and ordered equipment and resources to support pupils developments, interests and educational and social needs. This area has been a huge success and provides a calming space where pupils are able to relax and alleviate any pent up pressures and frustrations.

I am experienced at assessing, planning and delivering DCD sessions and I understand that early and regular intervention is essential to prevent developmental difficulties later in life. I have worked closely with the Occupational therapy team to best support pupils within my care.

I plan for daily ‘check-in’ sessions with my vulnerable pupils to ensure each day is started successfully and I ensure that opportunities to develop social skills are provided throughout the school day. This ensures that ALN pupils are able to acquire new behaviours, communication skills and social interactions within a natural environment and alongside their peers.

I am currently working closely with the Behaviour Support team to support a pupil within my class. Using strategies such as an ABC chart, home/school reward systems, positive praise and the ‘Give me 5 technique’ are all proving to be beneficial when trying to reduce challenging behaviour.

I work closely with outside agencies such as Educational Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists, Behaviour Support Teams and Occupational Therapists to ensure each individual need is met in a supportive and sensitive manner. I am experienced at writing and implementing IEP’s and I recognise the importance of small, manageable and achievable targets. I believe it is vitally important for the child and their parents/ carer to be included in the process of writing targets and supported to best support their child at home. I therefore ensure meetings are carried out with parents to plan and review their children’s targets on a regular basis. As part of my classroom teaching I take into account each child’s individual needs to ensure they can access a broad, well balanced and relevant education.

I am developing my knowledge of the new ALN Bill and recognise the importance of identifying needs and deploying strategies to help learners overcome their barriers to learning whilst helping each child to reach their full potential.

As the ALN Designated Co-ordinator, I have a passion for supporting and nurturing pupils with additional learning needs to enable them to become happy and resilient learners. It is important that we raise the aspirations of all children and young people and that our expectations are what they can achieve irrespective of their background, need or disability. My role encompasses a wide range of responsibilities however a key part of my job involves supporting staff and parents in providing children with a person-centered approach. This ensures we identify what is important to each child and provides equality of opportunity that strengthens success and improves life chances. I am confident to prepare Person Centered Reviews and IDP’s and I have delivered training and supported staff within my current school. Clear communication and consistent routines between all members of the school community who are involved with the education and care of pupils with ALN is essential to my current role and I ensure that parents/ carers are always well informed and supported appropriately. This includes liasing with ABA tutors and welcoming them into my classroom. I plan an inclusive timetable for each of the pupils with statements and ensure each pupil is included and well respected by their peers. As part of my role as Designated Co-ordinator for ALN, I have also taken on the responsibility for assessing and identifying pupils who are in need of Intervention Support. This has included closing the deprivation gap between FSM and non-FSM pupils and those affected by the impact of Covid -19. I am confident when setting SMART targets for individuals and groups of learners and I have established a robust assessment and tracking system on Excel to monitor the progress of these pupils.

Throughout my teaching career I have proven to be a confident and committed teacher. I have extended my professional responsibility by having a temporary TLR in which I have successfully been a member of the Senior Management team and the Foundation Phase leader. I have attended the New and aspiring middle leaders training and this has given me an excellent insight into school improvement, improving standards of teaching and learning and playing a strategic role in the development and training of staff. I have led the school in promoting ‘attitudes to learning’, in particular through promoting pupil voice in the Foundation Phase. I believe that embedding pupil voice into the curriculum, with pupils being engaged partners of the school community, will make a positive contribution to the school environment, ethos and, most importantly, pupil wellbeing and attitudes to learning. It is my belief that children, even from a young age, have a right to be involved in decision making about their own learning and aspects of school life. I have introduced the use of pupil voice into my long and short term planning with pupils being actively involved in planning the activities in the Continuous and Enhanced provision areas. At the end of the week pupils are encouraged to reflect and evaluate the success of each activity.

I am an experienced classroom practitioner who has taught across the primary age phase and in schools in different socio-economic areas. As well as leading the Foundation Phase as part of my temporary TLR position, I have led and managed a variety of curriculum subjects including Mathematics, Expressive arts, PE and Humanities. Within my roles, and as part of the strategic direction of the school, I have been afforded many opportunities to work in partnership with the leadership team to improve the quality of the teaching and learning across the school. I have successfully implemented areas of the school improvement plan such as raising standards across the school in Numeracy and recently to develop termly numeracy baseline assessments that are in line with CfW 2022 and to identify gaps inpupils learning across all classes. I have also been involved with changing the current structure of our Foundation Phase department so that classes are organised into ‘Progression Steps’ in preparation for the New Curriculum for Wales 2022. As part of this role, I have supported the KS2 department to successfully take the Foundation Phase ethos through to the Year 3 classroom.

My role as Healthy Schools Coordinator is one that I am extremely passionate and proud of. I have led my current school in this scheme for the past 13 years and I feel that this has given me an excellent knowledge and understanding of the PSD curriculum throughout the primary age phase. My involvement in the scheme has allowed me to develop the pupils’, staff and the wider communities’ awareness of the 7 areas of health; Personal Development and Relationships, Hygiene, Safety, Environment, Substance Use and Misuse, Mental and Emotional Well Being and Food and Fitness. I have successfully led Pennard Primary School to achieve NQA status. Whilst working towards this, it has been vital to work closely with all members of our pupil voice Senedd groups that compromise of the School Council, Eco Committee, Healthy Schools Team, Rights Respecting team and Safety Squad. I know that Personal and Social Development, Well being and Cultural diversity is at the heart of the curriculum and I endeavour to develop pupils’ PSD skills throughout all areas of learning. I encourage children to become confident, competent and independent learners and to reach their own potential and capabilities.

My personal strengths lie in my ability to develop excellent relationships with the pupils within my care. I am an intuitive teacher and I am committed to inspiring children to enjoy every learning opportunity. I have confidence in my own abilities which has gained me the trust and respect of the pupils, staff, parents and governors with whom I work. This has been recognised by the school in which I currently teach during performance management and during our Estyn Inspections.