Teach First Insight Programme Review

I really enjoyed the insight programme and would gladly do it again. I met a lot of people and made a lot of friends, and the experience I gained was invaluable. Some of the activities in the first week could've been more interesting, but overall I had a very enjoyable experience

They emphasised how important we were as STEM graduates and how valued we would be as STEM teachers. That being said, although they talked a lot about the positive effect we would have as teachers, I was also aware that they were a business and we were a resource to be gained.

People were always on hand when we needed them, in person or through a phone call / text. I was never left with any questions, it was always very easy to find help when I needed it. There were several different people we could go to, both in school and during the first teaching week

It made me genuinely consider a career in teaching which I hadn't previously. The practical experience of teaching in the second week was very useful, introducing me to skills I will use in my future. Even if I don't choose to teach, the social skills I learnt from spending two weeks interacting with so many people will come in useful in whatever I do

Very well structured. We were sent a timetable of events for the first week well before the beginning of the programme so everyone knew exactly what was going to happen. The second week was also well planned on behalf of Teach First, however there were changes to the given timetable from the school. This was unavoidable though, because of subject specific exams.

Largely positive. There were times of lower positivity in the first week as the days were long and some of the tasks didn't seem that useful. In general though, the atmosphere was positive. As most of the people were staying in one of two locations, we were able to socialise in the evenings, which aided a good atmosphere

It was difficult for them to make it a personal experience for everyone since there were nearly 150 people on the programme, but everyone received good training and adequate chances for personal development. There were many different sessions each day focusing on personal and professional development, the more you put into it, the more you got out of it

We were told about the Leadership Development Programme a fair bit, which is the training scheme for a full time position, but weren't told that much about what it is like to have a full time position. I leaned about it more from people I met in schools in the second week, so I did have the opportunity to learn about it, but it would've been nice if one of the sessions in week one focused on this

They talked a lot about the company values, what they call their competencies, so we knew what they wanted to see in the people they recruited. It helped me understand to a certain extent about the company culture, but from talking to people currently on the programme, that depends a lot on the school you're placed in, so was hard to gauge from the Insight

Very useful. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go into teaching before I attended the programme but now I am quite sure that I do want to. The second week was particularly useful in this, the experience of being in school and teaching my own lesson really helped me make by decision

We were paid £250 per week (for the two weeks) and reimbursed travel and wifi expenses at the hotel. We weren't reimbursed for food expenses or given food by the company, but otherwise costs were taken care of.

Yes, most of the people presenting worked for the company in the offices and many of them had also worked as teachers. It was mildly concerning that most of them only taught for the required 2 years then left to join the office. We also got to meet people currently on the teaching programme while in shcool

There were a couple of occasions where we were invited to a bar with some of the staff, but not many. There were social events we organised ourselves in the hostels, but not many organised by the company. Although we were always able to go up and talk to the people giving the talk, so this was a chance to network

Not really. We heard about summer internships employees can get involved in during the summer holidays, and were told about a few social events organised between employees, but not many. Again, it seemed to depend heavily on your school placement, as events were often organised by region rather than nationally.

Absolutely. I felt like I gained a lot from the experience and would recommend it to anyone even vaguely considering teaching, even if you're not considering it with Teach First. I found experience, especially the time in school to be very insightful and am very glad I was able to participate