Taster Programme Review

I thoroughly enjoyed the Taster Programme run by Teach First. It allowed me to get out of my comfort zone and engage with a variety of different people. I also got the chance to teach a geography lesson (I focused on climate change) to year 8 students which was amazing. It really gave me an insight about what teaching is like. The programme also opened my eyes to the fact that not many people from disadvantaged backgrounds make it into university. So in the future, I really would love to work with Teach First next other organisation a ton eradicate this issue.

The team of staff at Teach First really did make all us undergraduates feel valued! They were very respectful and went above and beyond for all of us. They even went through the effort of hosting a little jobs fair at the end of the second day in attempt to help us find more opportunities.

Huge amounts of support was shown on the actual programme, all the staff were helpful and would go out of there way to do things for the undergraduates. However, there was much much more support than the actual days themselves. Prior to even completing my application, I was given a phone call by the staff at Teach First to guide me with my application which was extremely helpful! Also following the programme, Teach First also contacted me just to see how things are going and if I was interested in any other opprtunties that they have to offer. All this extra support on this programme has been amazing and I’ve never got this kind of support else where.

The programme lasted 2 days, within these two days went focused on the competencies of Teach First. For example, we focused on leadership skills, resilience, planning and organisation and more. During this programme we laid down the foundations of these skills and through my time at university and other Teach First opportunities I plan to build on each of these.

The programme was extremely structured, on the first day we started off by learning about the values of Teach First as well as educational poverty. We then carried out ice breaker tasks just to get to know each other (at the end of the two days I got to know everyone there). Then at the end of the first day we focused on planning our lesson using loads of exciting and engaging supplies like masks and bouncy balls and what not. The second day focused on the next steps after the Teach First taster programme and we finally carried out our lesson in the afternoon. The two days had lots of refreshment breaks where you could chat with all the other people present.

The atmosphere was lively and positive. Partly due to the staff and partly due to the other undergraduates present. The room was full of people that all had the same aim, to teach. The tasks were very interactive so the programme never got dull. All the staff took on a proactive role and really went above and beyond which created a lovely welcoming atmosphere.

They carried a huge amount of tasks throughout the two day days to get us familiar with their compentencies. They put so much effort into the programme, they got children from local schools to come in for us to teach. They called back people who have taken part in Teach First programmes to come in and share their experiences. A lot of thought and effort was put into the two days.

The programme really allowed me to see what Teach First stands for. This motivated me to want to work with them in the future. The programme also discussed all the other opprtunities that Teach First have to offer and the approaches of each of them. After graduating I’m interested in taking part in their leadership development programme - this role was heavily discussed over the two days and it really caught my attention

Definitely, I have always been on the fence about teaching but this programme definitely reinforced the benefits of teaching and now I’m 100% sure that I want to teach the next generations. The content on the days showed me that I don’t have to go down the stereotypical roots of being a teacher, I can take part in Teach First’s insight programme which is incredible.

The programme was over two days, so Teach First payed for me to stay in a hotel for one night. They also reimbursed my train costs from Birmingham to London. The process of reimbursement was very easy you just filled in a sheet and showed the proof of purchase. It’s important to remember that Teach First is a charity so for them to offer to reimburse is lovely.

I would reccomend this to everyone who doesn’t have an exact career path in mind. This programme really opens your eyes on issues you didn’t even know even existed. It’s a great opportunity as you actually learn about job roles that may exist in your university that you were never familiar with. For example, the Brand Ambassador role!