Voicing Education

Consciously Educating

What lessons has the pandemic taught you?

Women Leaders / by

In this special episode to mark the end of a challenging year – teaching through a pandemic – I am in conversation with a School Direct student and an NQT.

Maimun and Poppy speak about their experiences of teaching through the pandemic, their challenges, growth and the support received. They highlight the importance of empathetic leadership and the impact of working in a supportive environment.

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Maimun

School Direct Student

Having just completed her training year as a PGCE School Direct Student in primary education, Maimun will soon be an Early Career Teacher (ECT). She previously worked as a Year 1 Teaching Assistant, an experience which she says has fuelled her drive and passion to pursue teaching.

    Come into it with the mindset of: I’m going to be learning in ways, I don’t think I would ever be learning…There are lessons in everything you’re doing!

    Maimun

    Poppy

    Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT)

    Poppy has recently completed her NQT year. Prior to becoming a Teacher, Poppy worked as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. She then completed a School Direct teacher training course, all of this being in the school she teaches at now.

    At University, Poppy studied a BA Hons in Drama whilst having a part- time job teaching after school drama clubs in various schools in North London; this ignited her desire for working with young people. Poppy has an interest in promoting equality in schools and providing equal opportunities for all children to succeed no matter the circumstance.

      Crying is seen as a sign of weakness but I honestly think it’s the exact opposite. It’s such a strength to be able to acknowledge and deal with your emotions. I actually think it’s a real strength.

      Poppy

      Learning points:

      • 04:25 – On emotions
      • 11:40 – On adaptation and flexibility
      • 18:34 – On wellbeing
      • 37:05 – On Leadership

      Resources

      YouTube – Behaviour management videos

      Pinterest – Inspiration for school displays

      Twinkl

      Book: My Hair by Hannah Lee

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      NOTE: This podcast was transcribed by Otter. Apologies in advance for any typos or errors.

      Kathleen Cushnie 
      This is a special episode, which features two teachers who have just like many of you been teaching through a pandemic Maimun has just finished her PGCE training year as a School Direct student in primary education, and is due to start her ECT year in September.

      She previously worked as a teaching assistant an experience, which she says, has fuelled her drive and passion to pursue teaching.

      And then we have Poppy who has just completed her NQT year. Prior to becoming a teacher Poppy worked as a graduate teaching assistant and completed her School Direct teacher training course, all of this being in the same school that she teaches that at now.

      At university, Poppy studied a BA Honours in Drama whilst having a part time job teaching after school drama clubs in various schools in North London, which is what ignited her desire for working with young people.

      Poppy has an interest in promoting equality in schools, and providing equal opportunities for children to succeed no matter the circumstance.

      So it’s going to be a great conversation, and I do want you to stay tuned to hear the passion that comes through from these two wonderful members of staff.

      Before I start I just want to thank Financial Joy Academy, who is sponsoring this episode. Financial Joy Academy, also known as FJA to its family members, and I say family members, as FJA community really are just that. Financial Joy Academy is run by husband and wife team Ken and Mary Okoroafor. They offer a private space for action taking dream makers who want to achieve financial independence.

      Financial Joy Academy offers a range of courses, regardless of where you are on your journey to financial freedom. Together with fellow Dream Makers, Ken and Mary support and encourage you, on your own journey, which is what they’ve been doing for me for just over a year now through coaching calls, and their popular 5am Club.

      For more information, head over to their website, to take a look at the recommendations from other dream makers. If you’re convinced and want to join our family of Dream Makers, I have an exclusive link, which gives you 15% off your first month, check the link in the show notes.

      Financial Joy Academy provides an essential learning for all we know as educators that learning never stops.

      And now we’ll hear in this conversation from Maimun and Poppy, what they’ve been learning this year through the pandemic.

      Hello and welcome Maimun and Poppy lovely to have you here with us we’re coming to the end of a really really difficult year. And everyone has been experiencing it, as teachers and leaders. And really, I just want to kind of give a voice to you both really because you’ve had two different experiences in school, one of you, obviously, completing your NQT and one of you learning with us for first time in our school doing the School Direct programme.

      So, I’m going to…when I address the questions…we can just answer freely so basically we are just having a conversation. So can you just tell us, what has this year been like for you because I think it’s really important that we hear how you’ve… and be honest how you’ve been feeling throughout this this year and for you Poppy particularly because luckily, you’ve been in our school, the previous year as well. How’s it been?

      Poppy 
      I think, massive cliche but it definitely has been a roller coaster. I actually think my toughest term was actually not the term that we were in lockdown but was actually the first term, because I think I was trying to be…I had the classic NQT thing I think of trying to be really organised. I was really striving for the teaching life to be consistent. And then it all kind of hit me that teaching is not consistent, because so many different things happen on a daily basis which completely can change your timetable. And then, along with the added the differences – the added differences – from my School Direct training, like, even something minor, like we, we didn’t have, we have I had carpet spaces during my School Direct year, but then the beginning of this year, I was panicking because I didn’t know how I was going to function without carpet spaces because that’s how I’d learn everything.

      I think that was definitely my most emotional term, in terms of like tears. I’m quite an emotional person anyway though so a lot of the time when I’d be crying I just say to my TA, like don’t worry about it I’ll be fine in two minutes I just need to get it out. And then actually I feel controversially, during the lockdown it actually really reinvigorated my passion for teaching. I think it actually calmed me down, which sounds really like it sounds like. It seems like it should be the other way around that lockdown should have been really stressful. I know it was for loads of people, and it’s really stressful, but I actually found that I really missed my children and it made me appreciate what I did have, when we were in class and I read up into the classroom and see my children in real life.

      Kathleen Cushnie 
      So it bought a new sense of appreciation for your role would you say?

      Poppy 
      Yeah, definitely.

      Kathleen Cushnie 
      Yeah and I just, you know when you mentioned, don’t worry to your TA, don’t worry I’ve got to…the emotions will come out. How important is it for you to, to go through those emotions because I think that’s really important because I know that some teachers feel sometimes that showing emotions is almost a weakness, per se, so why would you say that it’s important for you?

      Poppy 
      I think me personally, that’s what I mean everybody’s different, but I’m a very emotional person anyway as in, even when I’m happy…my happiness is so palpable any kind of emotion, I feel like it’s very obvious with me, so I don’t know. I suffer from anxiety anyway and so I’ve just learned it as a technique of, if I don’t just let it out and have that moment of like, okay, I’m just gonna give myself these like two minutes to cry about this thing that really in the long term doesn’t really matter. It will be better, than if I try and yeah try and damper my emotions and then that’s the thing, I’ll let it build up and build up and build up, and then it will get so much worse in my head.

      So it’s just yeah it’s just really a technique and I know that’s the thing that crying is kind of seen as a sign of weakness, but I can’t and can be seen as a sign of weakness but I just I honestly think it’s the exact opposite. I think it’s such a strength to be able to acknowledge and deal with your emotion, I actually think it’s a real strength.

      Kathleen Cushnie 
      I totally agree with you. I totally agree with you and that’s why I want to pick it up just to get that message out there that showing your emotions is not a weakness at all, you know, obviously there’s a time and a place to be appropriate. But like you said, building little emotions builds up sometimes can pop and pop in and be quiet, has quite an impact. So, Maimun so really, how have you found this year because you’re new to the school so how’s it been for you?

      Maimun 
      So, before everything happened just knowing about the school that is five form – it’s a big school, and I’ve never worked in such a big school like this because my previous experience I was a Year One TA at a school that only went up to Year Four. And it was such a small school, they only have had about 100 kids altogether. So come to this school I was nervous I was worried, just to be it just to know there’s so many people. I just thought I was going to be overwhelmed, but surprisingly because of COVID. I kind of felt comfortable like I felt like I was in like, like, in, because we had each class was a bubble, and I literally felt like I was in a bubble around the TA of our mentor in one classroom, the children have their lunch times in the classroom, they are only allowed to play with each other during busy times and lunchtime and assemblies were all remote. In a way, I know I couldn’t experience what Poppy experienced last year, as she was a School Direct training, you know before COVID happened in this school, she got experience how the school came together.

      For me, I felt like it was, I felt like I was eased into it, you know, slowly I got to meet everyone individually. Before I met everyone, all in one like staff training to be online or meet someone in the staff room or you know, the printing room, and I met each person individually, got to know them individually until I met up all together, that’s kind of nice, in that sense, that’s definitely a positive I’ve got from that but altogether it’s been a test on resilience and faith definitely.

      Just, every term is a different circumstance so one term, and social distancing with the teachers with children, of course, following the government guidance on that. And then I kind of felt a bit sad, knowing that we had to do all of this and I could experience what normal teaching is because eventually COVID will pass or the sanctions will pass. But it’s like what am I going to do next. I’ve never experienced carpet time, I’ve never experienced children going to mix tables because they can’t do that. So I felt like I was worrying. The first time I was like when am I going experience this, is it when I’m actually an NQT I’m going to be told. Okay. These children need to have individual groups need to be in like I know Year Two that thing where they thought on the same like kind of current ability they’re working with it as a way of kind of the SATs, you’d get them together, rather than in groups there’s like all these little things I’ve never experienced.

      So there’s a constant thing of just remembering that everything will come but at a slow pace and like thankfully now, we’ve been doing a few carpet times here and there, mixed ability seats we’ve been doing. So, but in autumn term, spring term, I was really thinking of how am I going to do, why don’t we continue like just stressing over it, by knowing that things will come at its time and just knowing that there have to have faith, you know, I will learn, whilst they’re going through it, I’m going to keep learning, even as an NQT. Just like Poppy said like, you have all these expectations but it’s really just be reflective over and just to know that things will come in it’s right time.

      Kathleen Cushnie 
      That’s such an important point… just knowing that things will come at a right time because have you found that, in terms of planning and being able to adapt that…in fact, what have you… What lessons have you learned about adaptation and flexibility?

      Maimun 
      So many, so many lessons have been like, I could go on for days. So, just for example spring term lockdown happens so we had to do everything remote learning, and I’ve never used the platform Seesaw and that’s what the school uses, and I definitely didn’t know how to know about that because I was, I was at home, and I wasn’t given training on it I know some teachers had training last summer before that lockdown, but I’ve never had training on it, and I didn’t want to be behind in the because my uni has certain observations that I need to keep on track, I need to show that I am still hitting those teaching standards for my training. And I was just thinking how am I going to do it.

      But then, knowing how adaptable the Year Two team in particular work in helping me do like they’ll do Zoom meetings with me, show me the ways I was still able to have separate Zoom meetings with like for example Poppy, you’re also a Year Two teacher, we were able to do some planning together remotely from home, and I was able to email her back and forth, and just all these things of being adaptable and flexible, it’s because the team I was working with were so kind enough to show me how they were flexible and adaptable when I was able to kind of like, see how they did it, and I was just able to model and just, you know, kind of just copy how they did it because I’m like I would never have been able to be that flexible or adaptable. If I didn’t see that in the people that I was working around. So I saw how they were just listening their team meeting, seeing how they spoke to one another. That definitely made me feel part of the team. And it just made me feel that, you know if they can do it. So, definitely be…. adaptable and flexible.

      Kathleen Cushnie 
      And what would you say Poppy, thinking about your journey throughout the pandemic in both years, what what has impacted your journey positively would you say?

      Poppy 
      I actually agree with Maimun talking about…I was nodding my head profusely because the planning from home, was a real challenge but a challenge that I think was really good for me because I think everyone does, like I definitely had a sense of imposter syndrome coming into this, especially since when I started at the school, I was a graduate teaching assistant, I had no experience whatsoever working in a school I’d come straight from uni and then I missed out on half of my School Direct year. So when I started in this role, I had the biggest sense of imposter syndrome.

      And then with my, I think, with my planning, every little thing I could do it, I knew I could do it but I do it and I just go over, I just go over and take my laptop to Nuray and say is this right? Is this okay? Every little thing…went to Emily and be like, is this okay? Is this okay? I was still doing that from home, I was still sending Emily constant emails, but I think, I think it needed to be done because I think I would have become too reliant on. I need it. All it would take for with someone that I consider to be an ex…more of an expert than me to just be like, yes, that’s all. That’s all I wanted was for someone to be like yes it’s okay and I think it I think in terms of professional development, I think, in planning. I think that was what was really important for me because I just have to sit at home and do it on my own and obviously you’ve always got the support, but I wasn’t gonna constantly, you know be emailing doing this, is this okay? Is this okay? Is this okay? Because no one has, you know, the energy for that.

      Like I don’t and it was nice as well to have, I think, yeah, that Maimun said to speak to Maimun because it was nice to kind of have when Nuray said right let me explain for anyone who is listening who doesn’t know who Nuray is. She said, Oh you’re maths planning was really good last week Poppy so we want Maimun to do the maths planning this week so why don’t you have a meeting and you can explain how you did it, and that was really a boost that I needed because that was the first time I’d ever planned maths because somehow I just always planned English I think it was because I just it was what I felt most comfortable with it was what I preferred. Yeah Nuray said you’ve got to do it, just do maths just do it, and I was like I’ll do it. And then it was really nice to have that and be like okay so if you were to trust me enough to not only do it but also, you know, teach, and offer advice on how to do it so that was really great and I feel like my planning now is a lot more.

      I feel a lot more self assured in what I’m doing, which if yeah if the pandemic hadn’t have happened and if the school closure hadn’t happened, I probably would still be going. If we’d all sat around which is which is really nice having everyone there and PPA but I think if we’d all sat around, I’d still be going. Is this okay? Is this okay? for every little thing.

      Kathleen Cushnie 
      So you’d say then having been in that situation it has forced you to kind of grow and rely on your own personal belief, really.

      Poppy 
      Yeah, because I think I did take it I think…that’s I mean, I think it is really important and it’s really nice to have those discussions about planning because people may have better ideas, you know better ideas and you offer, you know, constructive criticism what you’re doing, but also at the same time I think looking back I was taking it to the nth degree of being the most minor things, like, you know that I should have just been kind of like, someone may do this differently, but you can always do something differently. Always do any kind of planning. I think I’ve become more settled in. Sometimes you’ve just got to upload it for the sense of work life balance as well. Sometimes you’ve just got to upload the planning because hours tweaking, hours and hours and hours, they can always be better, but sometimes I’d say for the sake of your own mental well being, work life balance just got to get rid sometimes.

      Kathleen Cushnie 
      Yeah, on that, for you both. Just to clarify, just to clarify who Nuray is, so who is Nuray to you both?

      Maimun 
      So, for me Nuray is another one of our mentors, many of them, I feel like everyone in Year Two, all the teachers, and they’re just mentors to me and she’s also the one.

      Kathleen Cushnie 
      Yeah, just so our listeners know who Nuray is that you’re referring to the Leader of Year Two, your support network there. So just for both of you then… thinking about the year that you’ve had. What do you think is the one conversation that you’ve instigated that has had a huge impact on your growth this year? What is that one conversation?

      Maimun 
      I’d say just one because it’s. I’d say just asking everyone how their well being. I think that’s definitely been a highlight of just knowing that of course it’s this thing that’s been happening so unprecedented. No one ever thought this would ever happen, and knowing that everyone’s keep trying their best to keep going and to keep, you know, teaching, because of course at the end they were teachers and we want to make sure we keep the kids don’t miss out on their learning, but making sure that we have that, you know goal and we’re working towards it, but to also check on each other.

      And I feel like just having those little talks just to know how you know if you just ask someone like if I’d see Poppy, the first thing I’ll ask her is how are you? And before I’d asked anything about workload or finding help finding or just ask her how she’s doing. And then sometimes you just hear. We’ll people just open up.

      I feel like for me this year in particular, along with all this academic pressure and then just keeping up with all the School Direct training, things, I, I lost my grandma. And that was last December. And I remember just feeling really low, and I’m just speaking to another teacher in the staff room, and she just asked me how I was. And then I just remember just telling her and then she said to me the same thing happened to her. And then, and the both of us were able to support each other, and then we’re able to then help each other in terms of just delivering you know the best and can for the children.

      So it was just, I kind of just checking on each other, to make sure everyone is good, everyone is going through things, I won’t go through personal things, you know, life in general and now there’s been this you know big unprecedented COVID that’s added to the universe but what do they call that, what do you call it. Yeah, that’s it. Like just, I feel like it just made me remember, we all here for a job but they’re we’re all here to support each other as well, and it took for the pandemic for me personally to realise that you know have to check on each other.

      Poppy 
      I agree, I agree with that because obviously that’s I mean we were in the same team so we can both concur that during the lockdown especially the year two team, I cannot fault! 10 out of 10 because we would just have, like, meetings just to check in on each other.

      And I think really what made me again realise how great our working environment is because those are people that I know that I’ve been working from home, it actually really made them realise how much they dislike their job because they were like, I feel no support from my from the leadership team but my manager. I feel this is like not these are friends that work in offices that have been working from home for a while but I feel like a lot, loads of people that I’ve spoken to actually really made them question their careers, and the job that they were in. It was interesting that often say this to them was about I didn’t say much about like really, once I was just like I really don’t feel the same. I think if anything it’s done. I think it’s done the opposite. Definitely I think that was what, yeah, I totally agree. I think a lot of time the exact opposite of I was like wow, what a great team! Because no one as well there’s just, it was just very, it was just very, very supportive and it was very much like I know it should. I know that’s what it should be.

      But, even things like, If anyone was struggling, it would be like, Oh, can you just can you just do this planning for me, I know and we’ll definitely be and everyone just be say yes to everything. Like there was never any…. Even that’s for the entire year, that’s not even during the lockdown, that’s the entire and throughout the entire last year as well.

      Kathleen Cushnie 
      And so, in terms of that thing you find that you feel supported by your team and particularly that comes from the leader or leaders. So, what, what attributes, would you say makes a great leader, from your perspective what, what makes a great leader?

      Maimun
      I’d say a great leader is someone, definitely, communication, someone who is always communicating very well with everyone, very clear organised, definitely, again, in one of the things I really appreciated in Year Two, was that we were planning, each term before that we weren’t even in the term and it was like everyone knew what they were doing before, like, a month before we even needed to teach that lesson on that week. And then if anything went wrong in the team everyone’s able to communicate back to the leader, and then the leader was able to you know, then allocate different tasks to everyone. And then everyone knew every single detail, even if you didn’t need to know it is just made everything work smoothly, that needs someone who’s organised someone that’s a good communicator is one or two things I think makes, makes or breaks a leader really.

      Poppy
      Yeah, yeah, I was going to say clear expectations definitely. Clear expectations of you know, the standard that they want for anything but then also kind of the empathy, the empathy. to understand that sometimes difficulties in the outer world mean that on occasion, support might be needed from the team. This is what I want from the planning, this is you know just anything like that but then also the empathy to understand that if someone’s doing it consistently and then, you know, someone might have an off day, you know, might be spelling mistake in the planning, something like that.

      Kathleen Cushnie 
      Yeah, and empathetic leadership is crucial – absolutely crucial. You’re right there it’s about the understanding, because we all make mistakes but you know like you alluded to before, both of you, but the things are going on. So, you know, in leadership, we need to be aware of that and adapt accordingly as leaders. So, but you’ve had a tough year, both of you. So, how have you maintained you throughout this time? How have you looked after yourselves? What have you done? Like if we were to kind of speak back to yourself, at the beginning of this year, what would you say to yourself, in order to maintain your well being?

      Poppy 
      Um, exercise! I rely heavily on exercise, especially the classes that I do in the gym that they charge you if you can’t if you don’t, which is actually really good. If you don’t cancel within 12 hours. Then they charge you, So I feel like that’s a real motivator because if I suddenly I’m like, Oh, I’ve got this report to write I’m not going to do my class tonight. I can’t, because it’s going to charge me and that’s a real motivator because then when I go, I obviously, I just yeah I love exercises. (Yeah, I know not everyone feels the same) but I really love, I love lifting weights and running and all of that. So yeah I feel like that was what especially during lockdown as well like keeping fit from home and…

      And I think as well just…This sounds, this actually sounds really bizarre, but there was some, some aspects of we like weekends, during lockdown I actually wanted to take into my everyday because I find that the weekends now and I haven’t continued with it which is as I expected, because I find it the weekends now I like I’m constantly busy, you know like seeing friends I’m out, but in the lockdown, I would just spend all of Saturday morning, you know, reading, and drinking coffee. And then just like I would actually just spend time looking out the window, and it was so really bizarre to see like staring at and looking at people, but it was actually like so enjoyable because I just had these moments of like what am I actually ever going to have the time to do this again. Because I don’t I don’t do it I don’t do it now like I’m constantly doing stuff and I said I was gonna you know, I, you know swore to myself that when things reopened I was gonna make sure you know to take the time at the weekends to do these things that I don’t because I’m just constantly…at the weekends now you’ve got, you know, put your washing on you know just like do all these things you can’t be bothered to do in the week, I mean I don’t have children so I realise everyone listening to this might realise she’s moaning at children.

      Maimun 
      And I’d say for me, it. I second what Poppy said just the meantime aspects I felt like remote learning in particular, I was, I was the only one in my household to actually stay home during that time, because both, both young people I worked with, they were working so we have to be out to just being at home by myself doing the work. I felt like I realised I work well with structure, and as it is school day, because it of course the structure of the children I feel like I do that structure and I feel like you get more done in a school day versus at home, from nine o’clock to three o’clock. It’s just, I just think oh that’s such a short tight space of time to get things done. But when you come to school, it’s like everything can be done through that time. So it’s definitely that shift in mindset, like just remembering, just because I’m in a different setting, doesn’t mean I don’t need structure I need to make sure I have the same structure waking up the same time every day, like you said the morning coffee or looking out the window, you know, things like that I realised I need those things to keep me motivated and I realised I am a procrastinator and just keeping organised is definitely one thing that I’m, you know…What’s the question Kathleen? I think…

      Kathleen Cushnie 
      No you’re answering the question is that how do you maintain yourself? So clearly the structure, is how you maintain yourself.

      So what advice would you give to you know you’re coming to the end now you’ve got just a few, a couple of weeks left now so what advice would you give to a new teacher Poppy, who’s starting their ECT training year. It’s actually two years now that they have so getting an additional year. So, so what advice would you give?

      Poppy
      I think it’s okay for everything, not to be perfect. I think is the main thing. And I think, don’t get disheartened if you don’t see progress in the children, immediately. As in give them time, is what is what I’d say. And just, what’s that, what’s that thing trust, trust the process, is that hold the vision – trust the process. So I said, that’s what I’ve learned, definitely with the children, trust the process because it’s like, on the day to day. I feel like you don’t notice the little bits of the little increments of progress that they’re making. But then when you look back at their writing at the beginning when they started at Year Two, it’s like a different child and it’s those moments when you know when that’s something when six months have passed and you’re like, oh, that’s you’re like, oh, okay, this is this is what we were, this is what we’re doing this for because I think on the daily you can miss the little, you know, the little successes that they’re making. Because you’re so, you know, just preoccupied by getting the job done.

      Yeah, that’s, that’s, I definitely say that those are the main things like don’t get disheartened if everything’s not perfect. And don’t expect…that’s what I said, the first time what I was getting emotional about: don’t expect consistency. It’s not going to be. Life isn’t so..

      Kathleen Cushnie
      Thanks and Maimun?

      Maimun 
      I’d say, don’t come into as a School Direct year. I’d say, don’t come into it with set expectations just be ready for change. Because you’re just, you’ve come into it thinking okay I’m going to learn this through this experience, I’m going to learn this, this experience, but it’s just coming into the mindset of I’m going to be learning in ways I don’t think I would ever be learning. You know, because there’s lessons every in everything you’re doing, as a teacher. There’s lessons just talking to a child having a random conversation with a child. We just learned that you’ve learned something about yourself through that, and I feel like the best lessons I’ve learned are through moments that I never thought I would get those lessons from.

      So I’d say just get ready for anything don’t come into this expectation, and know that you have to always be reflective of your learning. You know, you might not hear the best feedback from you know people, just in the sense that everyone wants you to improve everyone wants you to be better, but not taking it personally just seeing that as another thing to reflect on and then coming back stronger and always wanting to be better, you know in your teaching.

      Kathleen Cushnie 
      Great advice!

      Poppy 
      Actually, yeah. All right, it’s coming up. I mean, I don’t know, I think maybe you said something which inspired me also. I think not, like, I don’t know this sounds really basic, but also enjoying it!

      Because it’s so…you get so bogged down with like data and progress is important, definitely. But then I think, some days you forget that you’re actually working with 30, really interesting, really amazing children that all have their own individual personalities and really amazing imaginations, and it’s when you do, I think trying like on a daily basis, which is something I, that’s the thing it’s something I’m starting to do a lot more now, which is something I learned is trying to include something…not that maths and English aren’t fun, but you know I was just so focused on maths, English, maths, you know, kind of getting the curriculum done, that those little… those little, you know those are things you would do at school that was what would make the school magical.

      Those are things that you can remember, the…I kind of forgot about that and then it’s really that that’s what really brings out their personalities, especially I’m just thinking specifically about elf on the shelf at Christmas, we have an hour from the shelf, and then every day, when we came in, I said to them. Okay, so what do you think happened overnight? Because the elf would be in a different position and they come out with the most amazing things. And it was like and it would kind of remind you of…did you really all have these own like these amazing personalities? I like my class aswell. But yeah I really like my class so you know it helps.

      Kathleen Cushnie
      Oh that’s so nice! It’s such a nice thing to share, share actually…that’s lovely! Thank you. So what has helped you, that just very quickly just one was one resource I know there’s going to be many. But what’s the one thing that you’ve kind of gone back to, looked at re-read or listen to, like a podcast, website, teaching APP, what was the one thing that you’ve really relied on that’s that’s been your go to? As a teacher, what’s helped you?

      Maimun
      I’d say YouTube videos on that. For me, it’d be behaviour management, so just, you know, there’s so many videos online of different strategies that you can use, because I’ve always thought that, you know when you use one way that it works the first time works the second time, third time children, it doesn’t work as well. And I realised you always have to have somebody else up your sleeve to make sure you know you have the children engaged, and I felt like, okay I need to watch a lot of videos and just keep just modelling different types of behaviour strategies. And then anytime I’d have somebody else up pop up, I will just go on YouTube and say YouTube teach us this. And it’s just constantly watching it, making notes that would always be like my go to. So, if I didn’t know phonics, the best way to teach phonics, new to phonics teaching like definitely a platform definitely helps watching videos.

      Poppy 
      I never ever thought to do that.

      Maimun
      It’s amazing! They’re amazing!

      Poppy 
      What a good idea! I was just gonna say Twinkl. Like for a starter activity, like for morning activity if you know you’re doing time that week to give them, you know, in the morning as they’re coming in to get their brains thinking about time. Just something like that I think has been. Yeah, really, really useful. And also Pinterest. I know that’s really random but for displays, and like little creative ideas Pinterest has actually been really useful.

      Maimun 
      But I just also like Twinkl in general, they’ve been really good to promote learning. Lots of things been exactly what we needed in class like one of the things is like, you know the time for your visual timetable for the kids when they came back they updated for remote, So for COVID. So then the visual time thing would say, time to wash your hands, time to sanitise the room, you know, lunchtime in the classroom that’s the pictures and I’m like, they have adapted to you know this time.

      Kathleen Cushnie 
      And that’s our current situation. Yeah, so like ladies going forward, that you’re coming to the end of your NQT Poppy, and you’re about to enter your ECT, two years now. So, if we had to kind of, you think, going forward, right, so you’ve gone through the journey you’ve both been TAs in schools, you’ve obviously then decided, right this is fantastic! I want to take this forward and train to be a teacher.

      What now? So how would you like to lead in the future…in education?

      Poppy 
      I would say, definitely I think promoting equality is so important. It is, it is what I’m really, really passionate about – definitely! And, yeah, as you both know, I was so inspired by the assembly, (not assembly training) that yeah I wanted to be an Equality Champion, but I think yeah that was definitely equality across every across all areas of the curriculum, and how we can intertwine it into the curriculum is something that I’m definitely really passionate about. In terms of I feel like I don’t know I already a little bit kind of a little bit so far kind of critique kind of the Year Two, curriculum and thinking you know just constantly thinking okay with this. Are we are we actually breaking down stereotypes? Like are we, challenging stereotypes, or are we just acknowledging that women exist? Like that was that I couldn’t think of a different way to put that, as I said with some of the books, but yes, it is a female character, but is actually…is this female character actually challenging any stereotype? So is it just being might see a woman exist, which I think is a different, I think, which is a different ball game.

      So I’d say, yeah, one that’s very passionate about equality and then just going back to what I said earlier why I think a good leader is I’d like to think if I ever was a leader, (I mean, I suppose I lead my children) but yeah, one that models, empathetic behaviour but also as I said sets clear expectations so you know. Yeah, you know what’s expected of you if you’re under their leadership.

      Kathleen Cushnie 
      Great and Maimun?

      Maimun 
      I’d say for me again I just want to second what Poppy said, just clear expectations. Someone who is empathetic, that’s what I want to be. Just to remember, don’t let the job get to me, you know, make sure that I’m empathetic, How would I like to lead…

      Kathleen Cushnie
      ….others and yourself?

      Maimun 
      I’d say, making sure that I listened to everyone because everyone has a different outlook a different perspective. So like for example I have my lens and I see the world and, you know, through my lens, but someone else has different lenses; they see it differently. The only way that I can understand their point of view, is through discussions, through asking questions, because always through discussions you really understand someone else’s perspective.

      I like for example myself and Poppy, we had a conversation yesterday when we were just kind of like, talking about how we felt the Equality champion training went. And he was saying how she felt. What she took from that because, of course I was part of it and I was kind of like leading the discussion, she saw it as like an opportunity for her to you know, want to say that she wants to be part of the Equality Champions team, which is amazing! And like, now she was saying how it was, it kind of allowed her to feel comfortable enough to tell her…you know her views, and it’s just that, empowering others through asking questions, discussion. It just makes someone feel heard and your voice. You know, they feel they feel valued, you know, so I feel I definitely, I’d say. One thing I want to make sure I always do is just make sure that everyone has a platform to speak. And just to make sure I’m always open to thinking how they think, because sometimes it’s boring just to think the way you do.

      Transcribed by https://otter.ai