TeachFirst Insight Review

by Teach First

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

3.8/5
  • About You
    3.1
  • The Company
    3.7
  • Everything Else
    4.5

    About You

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy the insight?
  • I really enjoyed insight, it was great meeting all the other participants and I made some friends for life. It was exhausting but worth it. I felt like week one was dragged out a little bit, there were some work shops and lectures that I felt were unnecessary which caused the day to drag (other people felt this way as well). However, overall it was fun.

    4/5

  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued during your time at the company or firm?
  • At the start we were made very aware that we were a valuable part of their community and charity and they made me feel that what we were doing was important. This feeling was some what lost in week two as I felt I had little support in school, but this was a fault of the school, not TeachFirst.

    3/5

  • 3. How much guidance/support did you receive during the insight?
  • In week one there was always help available if you needed it. There were many opportunities to ask questions and gain a further understanding of TeachFirst as a whole and the material taught on week one. In week one we were told very clearly how things were to be done and how we should prepare for week 2, but during week 2 I felt like there was little to no support.

    3/5

  • 4. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and information you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
  • I feel that if you have your heart set on becoming a teacher in the future then this really prepares you well for what teaching will be like and what you should expect as a teacher. As a biology student I wouldn't say that the skills I learned at insight have helped me as of yet, but I'm sure they'll come in handy in the future.

    3/5

    The Company

  • 5. How well structured was the insight?
  • I think in week one the planned day went very smoothly and there didn't seem to be any problems. However, transport to new accommodation was poorly organised and some people were placed in accommodation very far away from their schools. I felt like we were (in my case) rushing round London, moving accommodations every 2 days. In between we had a lot of time on our hands.

    3/5

  • 6. How was the general atmosphere during your insight?
  • Generally, people were in good spirits. The TeachFirst ambassadors were very friendly and enthusiastic and at the start all the participants were too. By the end of week one everyone was pretty tired and ready for the weekend to begin. Everyone was nervous/excited about going into the schools, as was I. Mostly, everyone was happy and friendly.

    3/5

  • 7. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
  • I don't feel like there was a lot of personal assessment or investment. I was one of 150 people in the cohort. we were taught in two large groups of around 75 people so I felt like it wouldn't make a difference to them whether I was there or not.

    2/5

  • 8. To what extent did the insight help you to understand what it would be like to have a full time role with the company or firm?
  • I felt that insight was a really good look into what it would be like to work as a teacher or as part of their team. I was really shocked finding out what went into being a teacher, as I had to plan my own lesson, and I found out it's a lot harder than I thought! I also got to chat with current teachers to help me understand what the job entails.

    5/5

  • 9. How much did the insight help you in understanding the company culture?
  • I felt that on week one we learned a lot about what it would be like to go on to do the leadership development course after graduating university. A lot of emphasis was put on what opportunities are available if we did the leadership development course and joined teach first.

    5/5

  • 10. How valuable was the content in helping you to decide on your future career path?
  • I felt it was really valuable as I always thought of teaching as an 'easy option' or a 'back up plan' for after university. Insight showed me that this is not the case at all, it's very stressful and takes a lot of work and has made me reconsider my future career path.

    5/5

    Everything Else

  • 11. Were you paid or reimbursed adequately for this experience?
  • We were reimbursed up to £7.80 per day for travelling to and from the teach first office and we had all our trains to and from london paid for. All accommodation is paid for. They advertised it as being paid £500 for two weeks work but you end up spending so much money when you're there on food and stuff that you don't make that much.


  • 12. Were there opportunities for networking and meeting other employees of the company or firm?
  • There were so many opportunities to network and meet other employees, it really gave me a feel of what it would be like to be a teach first ambassador. The ambassadors were really friendly and open if you wanted to talk to them about other opportunities within teach first. I came away with lots of contacts.

    5/5

  • 13. How were the networking/ social event opportunities?
  • There were lots of events where you could network with professionals and meet other people within teachfirst. they were often at a bar or a social setting where you were free to just go up to someone and strike up a conversation. there were also lots of good opportunities to socialise with the other people on the programme.

    5/5

  • 14. Did you find out about activities that employees can get involved in outside of work?
  • They were really good in keeping us up to date with what other activities were happening at unviersity through out the year. there are lots of opportunities to meet up with frineds from the programme and to meet more ambassadors. They made us feel very welcome to social activities and they are encouraging us a lot to attend other activities this year.

    5/5

  • 15. Would you recommend this insight to a friend?
  • It was a hard two weeks and my experience in the school wasn't great but that was the fault of the school, not teachfirst. lots of people really enjoyed their time in school and it made them even more keen to become a teacher. I would recommend it to a friend as there are many other opportunities that you can take away from the progamme beyond teaching.

    4/5

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Details

Insight / Vacation Scheme (< 4 Weeks)

Education/Teaching

London

July 2019


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