When excellence comes knocking – a reminder of why we do, what we do

As a provider of Teacher Training we are of course starkly aware of our responsibility to recruit the next generation of quality teachers.  We see it as a privilege and a joy to work so closely with the people who are going to become our next cohort of experts in the classroom, our future leaders, the personalities who are going to inspire, encourage, reassure and guide a generation of children whose education may look very different to our own. 

 

It's always a pleasure to meet our applicants and they all bring something different to the table. We look forward to our interviews and there is always a sense of anticipation in the office on interview days.  We love seeing how enthusiastic the subject staff are who come to help out – they are often even more excited than we are, knowing that this person might become part of their team for the year (or sometimes even longer!). 

 

It is great to be back to face-to-face interviews for a while. Covid has restricted us to Zoom and Teams for way too long and it feels good to be getting back to shaking real hands in real classrooms and listen to our applicant’s story in person.  

 

Every now and then, excellence comes knocking at your door.  Across the interview panel there’s a shared acknowledgement that the person sitting opposite us is going to be exactly what our schools are looking for:  The warmth and compassion are plainly there. There is humour sitting neatly alongside an underlying comprehension of what this job entails.  The drive and determination are evident, as is the resilience and sense of commitment to what is, after all a role which is going to be way more than a 9 to 5 means of paying the grocery bills.  As we progress through the interview, we can see a keen eye for detail and organisation, and we know how useful both those are going to be.  The wealth of subject knowledge shines through and an impressive amount of passion for the subject and phase so when they teach their little lesson activity it blows us all away. You know you have a good candidate when the answers to the questions make you want to carry on the conversation and explore the response even more. 

 

We want to train people like this because it is so clear that they want to teach.  They have all the tools in the bag, and all we have to do is explain, model, demonstrate how to use them.  When we go home that evening we know we have a future leader sitting on our course and to top it all they have asked to train in a school which, like most schools, needs young teachers like them; teachers that care, that create, that cultivate a love of learning.  

 

Good interview days are good days – they remind us how important it is that our children have the very best teachers we can offer them so that they can learn how to navigate their world with hope and compassion and knowledge and belief.  It starts here.  Education has the power to change lives, to change the world.  What better way is there to spend your life than to be an educator.  When excellence, comes knocking at your door, as it does in all its rich diversity it is the greatest privilege on earth to be the one to open the door to cross the threshold… into TEACHING. 

 

Sally Barfoot, Teaching Hub Director