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Post-16 teacher: Josie

This Case Study belongs to Secondary school teacher.

Josie always wanted to be a teacher. Having completed a degree in English, psychology and drama at Worcester University College she tried to enter teaching but couldn't do so at the time because she did not have maths O-level. Josie therefore shelved the idea of going into teaching for a short period whilst raising her family. In her late 20s she decided to take maths GCSE at evening classes and became a teaching assistant at a local school for a year. After completing this she then took the modular Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at Nottingham University through distance learning and then looked for job vacancies in local newspapers and websites. Her first job was as a part-time teacher of English in a secondary school (2002-2008). She has now moved into a school that caters for pupils with special educational needs and is working as a full-time post-16 teacher.

Josie says, 'It’s good to be open to volunteer your time, for example as a teaching assistant, because it’s the sort of job where you don’t know if you'll be able to handle it.' For example, Josie worked in a primary school as a teaching assistant (TA) and then in a secondary school as an observer, when she observed a week's timetable alongside a particular pupil she was allocated to. All aspects of her degree have been beneficial to her current and previous teaching roles. For example, the English that she studied was essential in getting her first job. Drama was also very useful as A-level English involves studying plays, and the psychology was beneficial for understanding people.

Josie's current job could open doors in terms of acquiring new qualifications to teach special needs by (for example) providing training in autism awareness and dyslexia awareness. Josie teaches a programme of education called Skills for Life which covers mathematics and English. She takes group work, one-to-one work, and whole class sessions. She teaches ASDAN at silver level to Year 12 and gold level to Year 13 and the activities related to the programme. Through the programmes, she aims to create an environment for the young people to achieve. For example, singing at old people’s homes, going on residential courses, teaching ethics and religious education. She organises the scheme to hit as many points of ASDAN as possible. It provides the opportunity for the young people to learn broader skills.

There are 17 young people in Josie's class and to assist her there are two TAs, one of whom is a senior TA. The young people are mainly vulnerable, immature and needy. Three present challenging behaviour. Of these three, one pupil’s mother works very closely with Josie to reinforce positive behaviour at home. One of the most challenging pupils responds to praise and rewards for good behaviour. In general, Josie spends a lot of time at lunchtimes talking to pupils. She also gives them a lot of suggestions about how to behave as they are often locked into patterns of behaviour related to a disability.

Josie loves to see the young people learning, progressing and achieving. She also loves interacting with them and forming relationships. Josie has a great line manager and a lot of support is provided through weekly one and a half hour meetings. This makes a great deal of difference when performing the job as there is a wealth of experience to draw upon from long-term members of staff. In contrast, Josie finds that there is a lot of paperwork such as Individual Education Plans and Lesson Plans, and this feels onerous at times. There are also lengthy risk assessments that need to be undertaken for every offsite visit. In a couple of years time, once she has received adequate training and built up enough experience, she would like to return to the mainstream environment as a special educational needs coordinator (SENCO).

Case Study sourced by Rebecca Maxwell of AGCAS, 15 December 2008.