What Our Trainees Say About Us

The main reason I elected to make a late-career change to become a science teacher was driven by my desire to make a positive difference to the lives of young adults after a long and varied corporate career. My decision to choose the sciences was driven by my lifelong passion for these subjects and my dream to encourage young people in the same way that my own teachers inspired me to follow a scientific career.

I researched the various routes I could take to become a teacher and decided that the SCITT route was the one that suited me the best mainly because of its combination of pedagogical training and live teaching practice. When I researched local SCITT providers it was clear that i2i were delivering the highest standard of teacher training locally, so it was an easy decision to make.

My route to applying was firstly attending an introductory i2i ‘Get into Teaching’ information seminar, followed by several School Experience days to see actual teaching being performed. My application was supported by a nominated DfE representative which led to an interview and mini-teaching session. The organisation and support from the i2i team, and my DfE representative, during this initial period was second to none.

My experience of the i2i programme to date has been very positive (I am in the 2^nd half of the Autumn Term). The programme has been carefully organised to introduce new training in a phased way – both in terms of teaching theory and practice – so that what you are being taught in terms of theory can soon be used in a classroom situation which helps to embed learning.

As a late career-changer the main challenges for me personally have been reacquainting myself with the subject matter and getting to grips with how best to get this subject matter across to young adults. I am pleased to report that I have mostly met these challenges to date, but it should be recognised that you are a ‘learner’ at this stage and mistakes will inevitably be made. In the final analysis as a reflective teaching practitioner, you will be a better teacher for making and learning from any errors. The support I have received to date from both the core i2i team and my mentor at my current placement school (Farnham Heath End) has been exemplary.

If you are seriously considering a career in teaching, I would like to give you a few tips. These are as follows:

• Firstly, attend one of i2i’s ‘Get into Teaching’ seminars and if, like me, this whets your appetite to learn more attend the School Experience Days on offer to see teachers in action in your chosen subject.
• Listen to the i2i team about how to progress an application and register with the DfE. The DfE will provide you with a nominated person to help you with your application – e.g., personal statement, interview practice, and teaching episode. Pay close attention to the advice offered by both the i2i team and DfE as it is invaluable.
• Once enrolled on the i2i programme my advice is to fully embrace the programme – put any preconceptions you may have had to one side and approach with an open mind. Teaching practice has evolved considerably since I was at school, and it is much improved as a result.
• Final tip – get organised and this will help you keep on top of things. The programme has been carefully designed to minimise overworking, but you do need to do your bit to make this work.

I sincerely hope that these comments have been useful to you. The i2i training team are excellent at what they do in terms of training and administration but particularly in terms of fostering a genuine sense of teamwork amongst their trainees – suffice to say the support you will get from i2i, your nominated schools, and your fellow trainees is excellent.