My last day of placement today was once again a great experience. It started with the same morning routine of my train being delayed and having to walk to the school but I didn’t let that ruin my day as I was determined to make a difference again.

The day was similar to the days I have had previously as I have already created those relationships with the pupils. I was most looking forward to Hayleys double Sport and Rec class and working with the disengaged group of boys again, the scene was similar from the first time i had walked in the previous week, there were two boys banging there heads of tables, another throwing a rubber in the air continuously whilst about 5 others had earphones in, all ignored our arrival into the class. It is important to not take interactions like this personally, I have noticed especially within Armadale that there are deep rooted cultural issues within the community, that flow into the school and cause issues like this. I acted the same as I normally would in a class, I facilitated group discussions around there session plans and encouraged them to think of ideas. Getting information out of these boys is a massive task, one which can not be done by just one teacher in one class, you have to approach them on all individually and discuss with them for at least 10 minutes for them to write one thing down – which isnt practical in a class of 17.

At the end of the session one group of boys at the back flung a pencil which hit the head of a pupil in the class with ASN, Hayley and I did not see who exactly threw it but warned them not to and that it was unacceptable, as soon as our backs were turned it happened again and the pupil who was hit was very upset. The head of PE got called in and the whole class were spoken to about there behaviour, warned about the consequences etc. They continued the class without any further issues and delivered there coaching sessions during the second class. One boy stormed out the class as he was getting frustrated with his peers not taking the session seriously, i could feel his frustration and anger. Hayley put in a health and well-being concern into senior management after that class, hopefully the boys can get the support they need before they get themselves into serious trouble.

I enjoyed my placement so much and learned so much during my time there, i plan to keep going back for a few more weeks to keep building relationships and learning,

On Monday I made my way back to Armadale Academy, it wasn’t smooth sailing with my train being delayed and missing my connection. I had to walk to the school from the station which is around 30 minutes (in the pouring rain!!) but I made it there and was excited for the day ahead. Mondays are a full 7 period day and so it’s always great to be constantly busy and doing things. It was Monday that I felt like I made a real difference with some of the pupils.

The last two weeks Hayley had been telling me about her Sport and Rec class (Leadership Development), she had spoken of how difficult it was for her to engage the class as it was made up of senior boys who were nearing there end of school and wanted a subject to “skive” in. The class were extremely disruptive, didn’t listen to instructions and would rarely participate in the work. She had not wanted me to assist with this lesson as she was worried it would put me off teaching. However these are the exact young people that I love to work with and you can make a real difference to.

She asked if I would help her with the facilitation of the lesson, I jumped at the opportunity! I must admit, it was very intimidating when I walked in, the pupils were swinging on there chairs, earphones in staring at there phones, throwing rubbers around the room, they completely ignored Hayley and I’s presence in the room. I took the first impression in my stride and didn’t take it personally. Hayley began the lesson and without giving me instructions I knew exactly what she needed from me. I made my way around the class facilitating discussions with the boys around “what is leadership?” and “what is a good leader?” It was really difficult to get the information out of them and it took a lot of “I dunno miss” and eye rolls but we got answers out of them, and good ones! Their class is a double period so the second period we went to the hall for a practical session where the boys deliver activities to one another, this was great to see them put there ideas into practice and I had the opportunity to give them feedback.

Within the nurture lunch time club I had began, the two original girls came to the department to ask for me as they had seen me in the corridors. We spoke about the goals that they had set for themselves and came up with short term goals to get them there. I made a suggestion that I could sit in on there PE lesson to make them feel more comfortable, so that has become an option for them.

The day passed so quickly and I had such a sense of achievement after I left, there is no better feeling that making a difference in a young persons life. I’m excited for next week and working further with the Sport and Rec class.

I unfortunately was not able to make it to placement this week, the train tickets to get to Armadale and back are quite expensive and so nearing the end of last month I made the decision to not attend placement this week due to financial issues.

So on that note I have decided to blog about our seminar this morning on presentation skills. I thoroughly enjoyed this mornings seminar, I was slightly hesitant prior to attending as I have sat through seminars of a similar nature in the past and they have all included a lecturer standing and talking to us for an hour; this however was nothing like that. The guest speaker was so engaging from the get-go and made the session really fun and enjoyable.

I was also hesitant as I have had many different experiences delivering presentations and speeches, one even being at the House of Lords in front of members of parliament and honestly at the beginning of the session I didn’t believe I would learn anything new! I was completely wrong and actually came away with so many different tools and resources that I can’t wait to use. I was also told that I have a ‘Glottal stop’ which means I don’t pronounce my T’s clearly, this was something that I wasn’t fully aware of previously and is something that I will be more aware of when delivering presentations in the future as well as in interviews.

I believe seminars like these are so important to us as students, they provide us with a skill set that future employers will be seeking and give us resources to be better candidates. I’m looking forward to next week and returning back  to placement, it will be great to get back within a school setting.

The first thing I have started to realise about placement is how tiring the days can be, to make it to Armadale for 9am I have to leave my house at 6:30am!! It is around1.5 hours on the train and 1.5 back. Although the days are long it’s a great visual as to what full-time work as a teacher can be like. Hayley picked me up at the station as usual, we discussed if I would be comfortable including two more young girls within my lunch time group, I was so excited that more girls wanted to be part of the lunch time club and voluntarily approached Hayley with their interest.

My day was to be very similar to my previous Monday, the same classes as I had already created good relationships with some of the pupils within those classes. I really enjoyed assisting with the swimming lesson 2nd period, swimming is something I am confident in so assisting with the lesson and leading games came naturally to me, I taught swimming lessons during my time working in America, so it was great to be able to use my skill set again.

During my lunch time group the active school co-ordinator was interested in sitting in and seeing how the group worked and what she could do to help. The two new girls arrived, unfortunately the two girls from last week didn’t show up but we proceeded with the group anyway, we played table tennis and football with the girls and spoke about P.E and there experiences within the subject, it’s a surreal feeling being on the other side now as I remember so distinctively being that young person. It is something which I will always utilise, so I can relate to young people and share my experiences of how sport and P.E can be used to change lives.

The last period of the day was a really interesting one, Hayley had mentioned that only one teacher in the school got an “excellent” rating on their OFSTED report, I was really keen on seeing this teacher teach, even though it wasn’t going to be within P.E. Olivea is a modern languages teacher who teaches French and Spanish, he agreed to allow me to sit in on his lesson with his higher French group. Seeing him teach was an amazing learning experience for me, he utilised technology as well as creating a humorous and safe environment for the pupils, from observing the lesson every single pupil was working and engaging within the class, even when technology was involved nobody was distracted and it was obvious the pupils had a massive amount of respect from him. Speaking with him afterwards was really interesting, it’s really important to be able to see different teaching techniques especially within different subjects.

Next week is half term so I will not be able to attend placement. however I am excited to get back to Armadale on the 28th of October.

P.E has always been a subject that i’ve been passionate about, particularly as P.E had a huge impact on my life whilst I was still in school. I was very disengaged and had little ambition for my future, that was however, until a new P.E teacher arrived at the school who believed in me and allowed me access to many opportunities. This was the catalyst in my journey to becoming a P.E teacher myself, so I could have the same impact my P.E teacher had on me. That is why this placement means a lot to me, not only because I now have the opportunity to be in a position to influence and impact young people within Armadale Academy, but also because my mentor is the exact same P.E teacher who helped change my life. My first day of placement was a whirlwind of emotions, I was nervous but also really excited to get started and meet everybody.  Hayley (my mentor) picked me up from the station around 8am, it was going to be a full on day but I was ready for the challenge.  During my placement I observed teachers delivering classes as well as assisting with the lesson. I also observed the pupils, as part of my placement project is to identify pupils who may need extra support within P.E, so I can help develop their confidence. The first 4 periods flew by, from observing a P.E student on placement, assisting with a swimming class, watching a dance class for the first time and sitting in on a PSE session, I was already so excited for the rest of the day. Lunch time came and Hayley spoke with me about two pupils who do not take part in P.E anymore, their confidence is low and suffer from bad anxiety, they had approached Hayley about my arrival at the school and asked if it was possible to meet me at lunch time to talk about P.E, I jumped at the opportunity to help these girls. I met them both a short while after, we sat down in the games hall and had a conversation around their barriers to participation in P.E and discussed what they wanted from me during my time with them, we played table-tennis for a little while before discussing their goals, we sat down and wrote up a goal time-line with the end goal being integrating themselves back within P.E, I challenged them to set small short-term goals this week and next Monday we could look at them and set a plan on achieving them, I agreed to keep meeting them every lunch time to play different sports to help get their confidence up. The next 3 periods were a great learning opportunity for me, seeing other people teach is a great insight into what it means to be a teacher, it is a lot more than just turning up and teaching a lesson.