Taster Programme Review

The Taster Programme taught me so much on what it is like to be a teacher, the current education system and its issues (with Teach First's mission to make it more equal), and my own ability on being a teacher. The opportunity to actually think of, plan and teach a lesson was beyond valuable.

The staff here wanted the best for all of us, including answering questions, providing us with the best facilities and food, and showing the true spirit of Teach First's community. Since we were not properly working there, we were not valued as team players, but valued instead as mature adults, who could potentially teach future generations.

The whole experience was very well structured and we were supported throughout. I did not feel silly if I had any questions and the staff were willing to answer anything, whether it was on the task at hand or on the trials of being a teacher in Teach First schools.

It has helped me in my degree for my confidence in public speaking and planning. I was very nervous about teaching a lesson in front of the children and my peers. However, my group's lesson was voted the best by the children, and our feedback was very positive. This I will carry forward to my degree, for presentations, and beyond, whether I become a teacher or not.

The whole event was very well structured. We had a time sheet will plans of what will happen each hour, and the schedule was kept to efficiently. The accommodation was also well planned, bar some issues with the company's cleaning. The plan included breaks and chances for us to ask questions too.

People were supportive and interested during the event. However, I did feel there was a slight divide between those who went to private and state schools, since those who went to private were looked down on, making it at times slightly awkward. However, this did not last long, and it was a really fun and interesting experience.

The invested their time and resources in us for learning about teaching with them. However, since we were not signed up to definitely work here in the future, they did not do as much as the other programmes, but this is understandable.

The taught us about being a teacher with Teach First, and we had talks on what it is like and saw some videos. However, we did not experience it firsthand, but this is possible on other programmes with the company. We did not see other roles in the company, but the aim of the programme was for teaching.

They taught us about the Teach First values, through a talk and activities.

It was extremely helpful for a beginning insight to the job. I would recommend shadowing in a school to experience teaching firsthand, but this was invaluable. Especially learning about the education system and being able to teach a lesson I had planned and 'perform' it to the students, with feedback, was incredible.

Travel was reimbursed if you were travelling a long distance.

We could chat with the staff hosting and helping with the event, who were willing to answer questions. However, it was not a networking event as such, and the only chance for that was the event (talked about below) but for some teachers we ran out of time to chat with them.

It was limited, with about five stalls in total. However, this was not the aim of the programme, so it was not important, and more of a bonus that they had an event like this at all.

No, the aim of the programme was to teach us about teaching at Teach First and the education system, whilst giving us the opportunity for us to teach. So this is not relevant to the event, but if you wanted to know, the staff with us would happily chat with you and answer questions.

Yes very much so, especially since it was a short programme, so if you were not sure you wanted to be a teacher, it could give you an insight without much commitment. Very interesting and a great start to learning about the education institution in the UK. I loved the experience!