Insight Participant Review

The insight programme was a really enjoyable experience and I thoroughly recommend it to those who are considering teaching as a future career option or who are exploring different pathways. What I enjoyed the most was meeting and interacting with a huge group of students all from different universities. Additionally learning more about educational inequality was an eye opening experience.

I felt really valued by the company. They took effort to organise socials at the end of each week which was a good chance to build new connections. They were also very helpful in answering any questions that we had especially during the workshop sessions, which made me feel valued.

There was a lot of guidance and support received throughout the insight programme. The guest speakers always took time to answer each person's question. Additionally, we received a booklet with information at the beginning of the insight programme, which has a lot of useful information to guide and support me throughout the experience.

The skills you gain from Teach First are second to none. It definitely helps you grow personally and professionally. I was able to improve my presentation, communication and time management skills. These skills will be useful at university when presenting for my dissertation as well as generally in future work.

The insight programme was structured really well. A thorough timetable was produced which was emailed out a week before the programme started. Any changes to the timetable or additional information was provided through a community login page, so was accessible. There was enough sessions throughout the day to keep busy as well as scheduled time for lunch. Normal hours were 9-5.30.

The general atmosphere during the insight programme was buzzing and positive energy. Everyone was really friendly which made it easier to make friends and meet new people, especially as Teach First also provided accommodation for us. However learning about educational inequality made the atmosphere serious at times but it was important to know this information.

The process is very rigorous for personal training and development. Based on the assessment centre we were given feedback on our strengths and weaknesses which we then had a chance to work on. The weakness was also further tested during the LDP assessment centre. Throughout both weeks a lot of self reflection was carried out in the booklets they gave us. They even taught us the skills of self reflection. This was a good chance to evaluate personal progress and improvements to make.

The first week was mainly theory based consisting of a lot of workshops. However, in the second week being placed in a school and shadowing lessons helped to put the theory into practice. I think this insight programme gave good exposure to what teaching as a career is like. Also speaking to current teachers and hearing their experiences also helped to make a decision.

Yes - this experience is definitely worth it! Teach First paid for accommodation for 2 weeks. The first week was in LSE halls and the second week was in a hotel but it depends on the location you are based in. They also gave a total of £500 for the 2 weeks. However, travel and food expenses were not covered.

The networking events were good. There were two on Friday at the end of each week where the venue was booked by Teach First and we had to pay for drinks. There was also opportunity to network throughout forexample there was a volunteering opportunity fair which was a chance to meet partners outside Teach First organisation.

I would highly recommend this experience to anyone who is even slightly interested in teaching. It is a great way to develop yourself both personally and professionally and you can gain so many skills that will help you for your future career and at university. It is also a great way to meet people from different universities as well as help raise awareness and understanding of educational inequality.