Insight Programme Participant Review

I found the entire experience thoroughly enjoyable. I really felt I got a better understanding of how TeachFirst is structured, and informative view of both the benefits and the challenges of participating in their graduate programme. Being placed in a school for the second week was very exciting and I wish I could have stayed for longer.

We all felt like we were already valued members of the TeachFirst team, and they definitely gave us the impression that they wanted us to enjoy ourselves and be invited to participate in the Leadership Development Programme. They were clearly investing a lot of their money and resources into giving us the best experience.

The TF team offered support throughout the process, and provided a week of training and guidance to allow us to succeed once we graduated. When placed at the school it was much more variable, but I received a huge amount of support from all members of staff. Everyone was happy to help and excited we were there.

Whilst I did learn a lot about how to deliver a lesson and manage behaviour, I also learnt a lot of skills that I have been able to carry forward with me into my studies and my professional life. I learnt a lot more about public speaking, and I became very confident as I put myself forward at every opportunity during the programme, and teaching a lesson to the most challenging class in the school makes giving presentations much less scary.

The two weeks were structured with the first being entirely training based, with 9-5 days learning about lesson delivery, speaking confidently, managing behaviour, safeguarding, self-analysis, and much more. The second week consisted of 4 days being placed in a school with a few other Insight participants and teaching a lesson at the school, and the final day was back in London for a wrap-up and an assessment to qualify for the LDP offer. Accommodation was sorted for us for the entire time.

The atmosphere was great, As there were so many participants and we were given a lot of opportunities to get to know eachother, everyone seemed to have a lot of fun. The first week was really engaging and there were loads of group activities, as opposed to just sitting down always listening to people talk. The second week (at the school) was exciting, and it was really nice to get to know a few of the participants placed at the same school a bit better.

An enormous amount was invested into my personal training and development, in fact that was really the intention of the programme. The first week was focused on personal development, and there were talks from both TF employees and plenty of external speakers. It was not only focused on improving our classroom skills, but also on developing our own professional skills in terms of self-evaluation, confidence and resilience.

The first week gave me a massive insight into what the Summer Institute would be like: meeting lots of new people; long hours; intense amounts of work. The second week was what was most new and exciting, as I'd never been in a school to observe or teach lessons, only to help with extra-curricular activities/ mentoring. It made me realise how much the challenging and incredibly rewarding environment of teaching would suit me.

Throughout the programme, the core values of TF were consistently at the forefront of our minds, and we were all working towards becoming as confident as possible in these areas. I learnt that I personally need to develop my self-evaluation, confidence and resilience, which I definitely did. It gave me a better understanding of the passion that drives TF's vision and why everyone is so excited to be a part of it.

Before I participated in the programme, I had already been considering the option of pursuing the Leadership Development Programme, but was slightly sceptical of the impact it would have on my job prospects within the engineering industry. It was very reassuring to hear from a lot of alumni on their experience after teaching, and has made me a lot more enthusiastic about the idea, although I'm not yet entirely sure.

There were opportunities to hear from people who had gone through the programme at Teach First and gone on to do other things, and they were always very interesting and engaging. Due to the limited amount of flexibility with the programme, there wasn't really a chance for networking events. However there were opportunities to ask questions to the TF team, and to the alumni.

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This question is not really applicable to TF, in terms of getting involved with them during the programme, but we found out a lot about the volunteering opportunities available to us before and after. Mostly these talks were delivered by TF alumni who had gone on to set up charities and organisations, and are always looking for more help. Everyone seemed to find something they would be interested in.

My experience was incredibly positive. I came back feeling motivated about the future and with a whole new set of skills under my belt. I met some really great people whist I was there, and it made me want to participate in the future. In short: not only would I recommend it to a friend, but I already have recommended it to several!