Teach First Insight Participant Review

I had an absolutely fantastic time on the Teach First Insight Programme! The quality of the workshops was very high, and I particularly enjoyed the strong focus on leadership and personal development. I feel really inspired to pursue my future career and to be part of the movement that is changing education in the UK.

Teach First invested a lot in us in terms of both time and money during the programme, making me feel very valued. Being given accommodation for the two weeks provided a great atmosphere to make friends, and the organised timetable and updates we received showed that a lot of effort had gone into designing and delivering this fantastic programme.

I received a lot of guidance both before and during the programme from my university recruiter Charlotte. I really appreciated having a point of contact at the organisation who encouraged me through the application process, and someone who I knew I could contact during my work experience at the school.

The programme had a strong emphasis on personal development. I got a huge amount out of this, and the opportunity to reflect on my strengths and weaknesses has hugely improved my confidence and has allowed me to improve. I also got detailed feedback from my interview, which was invaluable for the final assessment for the Leadership Development Programme.

The programme was very well structured, with a busy timetable of workshops and sessions during the first week before four days of experience in a school and then a final day assessment to bring the programme to a close. The first week was incredibly useful in preparing us for the school visit.

The atmosphere was great. The other candidates and the staff were all interesting and friendly, and some of the people that I met have motivated me to want to improve and be the best person I can be. Lots of good conversations and laughter during the day and in the evenings too!

Teach First invested a lot - both financially and in terms of time - in our personal development. The programme had a strong emphasis on this, with dedicated personal development sessions timetabled into the two weeks. We also received individual feedback on our interviews, allowing us to reflect on our performance and identify what we could do to improve.

There were lots of opportunities to speak to graduates of the programme. We had a number of talks from senior members of Teach First, as well as a panel of ambassadors who discussed their experiences of the programme. All in all, the programme gave us a very good overview of what the Leadership Development Programme would be like.

I have a very good understanding now of the Teach First vision, which is that very child deserves an outstanding education - and a life which is not predetermined by their parents income. The Insight Programme gave us lots of opportunity to discuss key issues and debates in education, and increased our appreciation for the Teach First vision.

The two weeks were incredibly valuable to me in terms of helping me to narrow my career goals. The preparation for and experience in the school allowed me to make an education decision about going into education, and the strong focus on personal development helped me to identify what values are most important to me, and where my biggest strengths and weaknesses are.

I felt that Teach First were very generous. They provided us with accommodation for the two weeks as well as additional money which more than covered my costs. Given how much I learnt from the programme, I would have happily done it for free, but having the financial incentive was definitely one of the things that encouraged me to apply at the start.

There was a panel of programme ambassadors which was very useful, as they discussed their experiences - both good and bad - of the Teach First Leadership Development Programme. There was opportunity for us to speak to the ambassadors after this, and the staff were available after every session for us to talk to.

There were lots of good opportunities to network, with two informal gatherings at a local pub arranged to give us an opportunity to discuss and reflect on the day in a more relaxed setting. The fact that accommodation was provided helped me to make friends, and gave me people to chat to, eat with, and even revise for my exams with!

There was a volunteering opportunities fair at the end of the programme, which was incredibly useful in terms of making contacts for future work in line with the Teach First vision. I am really keen to follow up on tutoring with one of the charities - something that the programme showed me I would really love.

I would 100% recommend the Teach First Insight Programme to all of my friends. I gained a whole new perspective from my two weeks there, and feel really inspired to work in education and to try to encourage more young people to study STEM subjects. Fantastic for personal development and so would be a good experience for anyone who wants to improve their employability.