Intern Review

The Insight Programme was well-organised with plenty of activities packed in from start to finish. The first week covered a range of different workshops (led by both TF and other organisations), and there was a varying focus on different areas of teaching as well as leadership skills. This diversity kept my interest and piqued my interest for areas like differentiation (for learners) in particular, a concept which I had not considered before. The second week was focussed on our experience teaching in schools and observing professional practice. It was a very rewarding experience to plan and teach a lesson because of the novelty, the courage required to speak to and lead a group of hitherto unknown students, and my enthusiasm for the subject.

There was plenty of support from Teach First employees about any aspect of our work including many opportunities for Q&A. We received detailed individual feedback at the school placement and were made aware of points-of-contact in case we had issues at the school, particularly over any confidential information divulged by students. The other participants were very friendly and welcoming - and as Insight is residential there are opportunities to catch up work-wise and socially with the other students.

There was a great deal of guidance and support, in terms of specific answers to questions, ideas about dates & timetabling, and there was also a great deal of support in week 2 from the lead teacher on the school placement, as well as other staff, who took time to provide feedback on our teaching, ask questions about our desired career path. We also received individual calls over the phone prior to the Programme to answer queries that we might have had.

The teaching skills were most valuable for my degree studies, such as covering differentiation and planning. Although they are not linked to my degree specifically - being at a 'lower' level in the technical sense - they are certainly critical for life and for planning/leading events in societies, which I am involved with at uni. I also received a significant confidence boost from the opportunity to teach a group of Year 8 students, and found I was able to use my personality and enthusiasm to steer the lesson and gain the appreciation of the students.

The Insight was very well-structured - we were provided with timetables at the start of the programme giving us a detailed idea of how it would progress. This involved personal development sessions which were interspersed in week 1 with talks/workshops on STEM, leadership and teaching skills like differentiation in classes and planning.

Very positive - there were many people who clearly cared a lot and felt passionate about STEM, improving the attainment of students across the country and projected this into the group-led sessions. It was a short 2-week internship, so fairly intense, but I felt all of the people I spoke to were positive. A number of independent speakers came into promote workshops, on Leadership from the Navy and on presenting, for example, and these speakers were very passionate and engaged directly with the audience interactively.

Yes, there was significant investment in training our skills - external speakers led workshops and a variety of talks were available. There was detailed, constructive feedback from a teacher who observed the lesson we taught during the school placement. We also received further assessment throughout hte programme and a focus on personal development sessions, which although fairly constrained for time, did genuinely show me which of the "competencies" I would need to focus on in order to improve my ability to perform effectively on the LDP.

In this respect, it was harder to know exactly what the connections would be between Teach First and partner schools whilst directly employed - inevitable given the programme splitting into two weeks, the first TF-led and the second by partner schools. Teaching can of course vary hugely depending on the school, students and culture! Yet any experience is valuable, particularly if it is different from your own - you might not have had the experience of working with those from very different backgrounds.

Values and an understanding of the STEM challenge and socioeconomic inequality are huge at Teach First. It was clear to see that this is something cared about right from the top (from a talk with Sam Freedman, the original founder of TF) to the current operating staff, many of whom had been former Ambassadors. There is clearly a culture of high achievement and personal ability to overcome challenge - as there is lot of talk of the future leadership potential of Ambassadors - whether at Teach First, indirectly in education or in alternative careers.

It has given me an excellent idea that Teach First is the best means for me to go into education and teaching, because it is so comprehensive in covering many areas. There was also detailed talks and info of the alternative opportunities for TF ambassadors - such as routes with its partners like PwC and Deloitte. Teach First also make no pretences about the challenge of the LDP - talks from past ambassadors openly indicated how it was their most challenging experience yet. This is also evident from visiting a Teach First school and realising the extent of underachievement linked to socioeonomic inequality.

Yes - £500 for 2 weeks is certainly a reasonable wage. Teach First also pays for residential accommodation. Although they do not pay for food or travel between the venues, the hotels chosen in the second week for the school placement were of a very good quality

Yes - see below

Very good - a number of trips to pubs and eateries in the local area around More London - a great chance to catch up with likeminded people. It was also possible to meet up with fellow students at the partner schools on the school placement in areas with which we were not familiar. Perhaps it would have been good to chat informally with more of the TF staff / speakers at these venues.

Of course, teaching is hugely varied school by school, and employment practices and work-life balances vary. We didn't discuss this in huge detail with members of staff, but did engage with the other students on the programme, and it was possible to see staff's involvement in after school clubs for instance.

Definitely - for STEM students thinking of going into teaching, the Insight programme gives a really holistic overview of how this process could work. Being in the summer before one graduates, it is a good opportunity to gain an understanding of Teach First (a popular graduate route into teaching) and potentially gain a graduate offer. Because the programme is holistic, it gives an idea of the latest debates in teaching STEM, actually teaching in practice and in theory, and national level issues surrounding the underachievement of socioeconomically disadvantaged children.