STEM Insight Intern Review

We spent one week in Teach First's Corporate Office in East London and the second week at our placement school - various places around the country were chosen however, I was based in London. The first week was focused on learning about Teach First's mission - to end educational inequality in the UK through the provision of high quality teachers. The second week was based around applying the skills we had learnt in the first week in a classroom environment.

It helped me after my degree but not so much during it. The development week was great because we were able to network with partner employers, so we gained exposure to not just teaching but other professions in the corporate world. That said, I am still intent on a career in teaching only. There were skills in networking delivered through workshops with Teach First's partner employers. This helped me to converse with a range of stakeholders.

There was a comprehensive introduction to the Teach First programme and how the two year development programmes works. I felt as though the second week, which was significantly tougher in terms of the support we were given, was a closer reflection of how life as a Teach First participant works. This is unsurprising as ultimately the role of a teacher is difficult, but it did not match up with the relatively cordial atmosphere during the first week.

It was a good insight into what Teach First stand for - to reduce educational inequalities. However, I feel as though some of the more controversial aspects of Teach First - including their partnerships with the corporate sector - were glossed over a bit for obvious reasons. However, I suppose that they need support from the private sector. The general atmosphere was very good because we did not consider ourselves in competition with each other, unlike in other internships.

I enjoyed the insight very much - it gave me a good idea about teaching as a profession and the values of Teach First in particular. There was a lot of networking and socialising with partner employers as well. Moreover, most participants were like minded and this fostered a sense of common purpose. There were a lot of different backgrounds among the participants - which was good because it was reflective of Teach First's mission in the education sector.

Yes

Try to emphasize why you want to be on the Two Year Leadership Development Programme in terms of your passion for teaching and that you are not in it as a way to use it as a springboard for a different career outside of the education sector. It would help if you think of examples of how you have displayed a positive attitude to reducing educational inequality. Experiences such as tutoring disadvantaged students look really good.