Summer Institute Participant Review

It was really good, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I was able to develop so many skills in the first week e.g planning and organising, leadership and confidence. Also, the placement in the school was very insightful and such a fun experience and gave me the opportunity to put into practise what I had learnt in the first week. Would definitely recommend to others.

I felt very valued at TeachFirst, they were always willing to accept feedback about what they could do better to improve our experience in the programme. They also gave us plenty of opportunities to express what we were thinking and really to engage with us and get to know us individually.

We were given so much support during the programme. During the first week, they always had enough staff that could answer any queries and support us. Then during the second week in the schools, they provided us with a contact in the school that was very supportive of us and made sure that we always knew what we were doing and where we needed to be.

All of the skills that I gained from the programme and was able to develop are all very transferable skills that I will be able to use in other jobs and in my degree as well. For example, I was able to develop confidence and presenting skills that will greatly help me in university group work and any jobs in future.

There was a very clear structure to the insight programme, and I like that TeachFirst always gave us the activities for that day beforehand, so that we knew a rough idea about what we would be doing and could do any preparations if need be. There was a clear structure for both weeks and everything was very timely.

There was a great atmosphere during the insight programme. As the other participants were like-minded it made them very easy to talk to and generally meant that the atmosphere was very friendly. TeachFirst made the atmosphere very light and friendly by creating tasks and opportunities for everyone to talk to new people and network

They did try to train all of us as well as they could, however, because we were a group of more than 100 people it was probably hard to ensure that every single individual had personal training and development on the programme. However, they did provide us with a lot of resources that we could utilise to help our personal development.

Mainly from the second week placed in the school, I really got an insight into what teaching would be like. I was able to observe such a range of lessons which really provided a rounded view on what the difference in the experience of teaching could be. However, from talking to others about their experience of their placement school I think that my understanding of teaching is mainly focused on the school I was placed in which is probably not representative of all the schools I could possibly work at where my experience could be better or worse.

The insight programme really helped me understand the motivation and ethos of the company. I now understand why they strive to promote and encourage people into teaching and is all for the sake of students which is very inspiring and further sold me on their mission. They wish to give all students an equal opportunity in education.

Very valuable. After doing this insight programme I am now certain on the career path that I wish to take, which will be in teaching. Also, I think that teach first is one of the best ways into teaching because of the sheer support and training techniques that they have to produce great teachers.

I was already willing to do the programme even if I was not paid, so getting paid was a bonus to the programme. Furthermore, they do reimburse travel so it meant that I got all the money back that I spend on travel to and from the programme which was good.

From the very beginning, there were plenty of opportunities to network with a range of people. We had to do group tasks that meant that we built relationships with those on our tables, also going to our schools in groups allowed us to do this. Also had a range of socials in pubs after and spoons which was good.

I would most definitely recommend the Teach First insight programme to a friend. This is because it really gives you a raw experience of what teaching could possibly be like. I was given the opportunity to try so many new experiences like teaching a lesson. This pushed me out of my comfort zone and turned out to be such a fantastic experience.