Claire

I AM A VERY OUTGOING AND PEOPLE-ORIENTED PROFESSIONAL WHO THRIVES IN COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENTS. I GENUINELY ENJOY WORKING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULTS, WHETHER IT'S IN A TEAM SETTING OR DIRECTLY WITH STUDENTS ONE TO ONE. BUILDING STRONG RELATIONSHIPS AND COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY COME NATURALLY TO ME, AND I BELIEVE THOSE STRENGTHS HAVE PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN MY SUCCESS. I AM ALSO HIGHLY ADAPTABLE AND ALWAY OPEN TO LEARNING NEW THINGS, WHICH HELPS ME STAY ENGAGED AND MOTIVATED IN FAST-PACED OR DYNAMIC ROLES.

WHEN I WAS AWAY FROM TEACHING I WANTED TO HELP THE COMMUNITY WHERE I LIVE. I SET UP A COMMUNITY CHARITY SHOP AND ALL OF THE FUNDS FROM THIS WENT BACK TO THE COMMUNITY. THIS WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL AND IS STILL RUN TODAY BY VOLUNTEERS. THIS WAS SOMETHING I AM VERY PROUD OF.

Tutoring Experience

I WAS 26 YEARS OLD WHEN I BECAME A FULLY QUALIFIED T4EACHER. AT THE AGE OF 21 JUST AFTER I RECEIVED MY DEGREE, I BECAME A MOTHER. I WAS A SINGLE PARET ON MY OWN. I WAS ACCEPTED AS A PGCE STUDENT IN PRIMARY AT FRIST HOWEVER AFTER 6 MONTHS IT BECAME TOO MUCH BEING SO YOUNG AND HAVING A BABY.
I STARTED A JOB AS A TEACHING ASSISTANT IN A LARGE SECONDARY SCHOOL IN DONCASTER. I ENJOYED THE ENVIRONMENT OF WORKING IN A SECONDARY SCHOOL AND I HAD GAINED A LOT OF EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH SO MANY DIFFERENT TEACHERS. I DID THIS JOB FOR 2 YEARS AND BY THIS TIME I WAS IN A MUCH BETTER POSITION TO LOOK AT DOING A PGCE AGAIN, THIS TIME IN SECONDARY. I COMPLETED MY PGCE AND STARTED WORKING AS A HUMANITIES TEACHER IN A SCHOOL CLOSE TO WHERE I LIVED.

I BECAME HEAD OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION AFTER A YEAR AND CONTINUED TO ENJOY THIS ROLE. HATFIELD VISUAL ARTS COLLEGE, WAS BASED IN AN AFFLUENT TOWN HOWEVER THE MAJORITY OF THE STUDENTS CAME FRO A MINING VILLAGE COMMUNITY CLOSE BY. A LARGE MAJORITY OF THESE STUDENTS CAME FROM VERY DIFFICULT BACKGROUNDS, AND OFTEN HAD CHALLENGING BEHAVIOUR AND EMOTIONAL ISSUES. HOWEVER, THIS NEVER WAS A PROBLEM FOR ME, IN FACT, I CAN SAFELY SAY THAT I NEVER HAD ANY DIFFICULTY WITH ANY OF THE STUDENTS. BEHIND THEIR ANGER AND EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS, THEY WERE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO NEED A SAFT ENVIRONMENT TO WORK IN. WHEN TAKING A GCSE CLASS OF 13 STUDENTS AND THE MAJORITY OF THEM CAME FROM BROKEN HOMES THEY ALL MANAGED TO PASS THEIR GCSE BETWEEN A-C GRADES.

I ONCE DECIDED THAT AS AN RE TEACHER I NEEDED TO TRY AND BE IN TOUCH WITH THE OLDER TEENAGERS SO I BECAME THE MANAGER OF THE YEAR 10 FOOTBALL TEAM. I WENT TO WATCH THEM PLAY AND SHOWED INTEREST IN WHAT THEY DID. BECAUSE OF THIS MY GCSE CLASS OF 21 BOYS AND 2 GIRLS ALL LISTENED TO WHAT I HAD TO SAY AND ACTUALLY PASSED THEIR GCSE'S.

AFTER 4 YEARS TEACHING. I BECAME HEAD OF HUMANITIES AT THIS SCHOOL. I LOVED IT BUT AS A YOUNG SINGLE PARENT I WANTED TO PROVE TO EVERYONE THAT I COULD ACHIEVE. I APPLIED TO QUEENSBURY SCHOOL IN BRADFORD FOR THE POSITION OF FACULTY DIRECTOR OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES AND WAS APPOINTED AS THIS IN JANUARY 2008.

THIS SCHOOL HAD RECENTLY BEEN PLACED INTO SPECIAL MEASURES AND I LED MY TEACH TROUGHT SEVERAL HMI INSPECTIONS. THIS WAS A TOUGH PROCESS BUT EVENTUALLY AFTER 3 YEARS THE SCHOOL WAS GIVEN A GOOD STATUS.

THE STUDENTS IN THIS AREA WHERE I WAS TEACHING IN BRADFORD WERE FROM A PREDOMINANTLY MUSLIM COMMUNITY. THIS BROUGHT DIFFERENT CHALLENGES BUT CHALLENGES THAT I GAINED SO MUCH POSITIVE EXPERIENCE FROM. DURING AN HMI INSPECTION I CHOSE SOME STUDENTS TO TEACH THEIR CLASS ABOUT THE MUSLIM FESTIVAL OF EID. THIS PARTICULAR CLASS HAD SOME VERY CHALLENGING STUDENTS WHO WERE KNOWN THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL FOR BEING DIFFICULT TO TEACH. HOWEVER, BECAUSE THEY COULD TALK ABOUT SOMETHING THEY KNEW A LOT ABOUT AND HAD SO MUCH INTEREST IN THE DID AMAZING AND THE HEAD TEACHER AT THE TIME SAID IT WAS OUTSTANDING.

I TOOK A BREAK FROM MY CAREER 11 YEARS AGO AS MY FATHER BECAME VERY SICK WITH ALZHEIMER'S AND NEEDED A LOT OF CARE. IT WAS ALSO DURING THIS TIME, THAT I MET MY HUSBAND AND WE GOT MARRIED. WE HAD TWO DAUGHTERS AND I BECAME A FULL TIME MUM AND CARER. MY ELDEST DAUGHTER IS NOW 9 AND MY YOUNGEST IS NOW 4 AND IS STARTING IN RECEPTION AT SCHOOL.

WHILST MY CHILDREN WERE YOUNG, I STARTED TO TEACH ENGLISH TO SOME REFUGEES IN MY AREA AFTER MY CHILDREN HAD GONE TO BED ONLINE. I REALLY ENJOYED SEEING THEM GAINING BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF ENGLISH AND ENGLISH GRAMMAR. I HAVE ALSO TAUGHT FOREIGN STUDENTS AGED BETWEEN 11 AND 15 ENGLISH ONLINE. I REGULARLY TAUGHT A 6-YEAR-OLD CHINESE BOY WHO IS JUST LEARNING PHONICS AND BASIC READING. I ALSO HAVE SUCCESSFULLY TAUGHT FOUR 15 YEAR OLDS IN TÜRKIYE TAKING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE. ALTHOUGH I COULD SEE HOW MUCH THE STUDENTS BENEFITTED FROM ME TEACHING THEM UNFORTUNATELY THE PAY WAS VERY LITTLE AND SO I HAD TO LOOK FOR OTHER WORK.

IN JANUARY 2025 I SUCCESSFULLY JOINED A COMPANY CALLED FIRST CLASS TAILORED SOLUTIONS. I AM STILL CURRENTLY WORKING FOR THIS COMPANY. I HAVE BEEN TEACHING ONLINE, AND FACE TO FACE IN LIBRARIES. I HAVE REALLY ENJOYED THIS AND I TEACH ENGLISH AND MATHS GCSE AND FUNCTIONAL SKILLS. I HAVE ALSO TAUGHT HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY TO STUDENTS.

I WOULD NOW LIKE TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF HOURS I AM DOING BUT I WOULD LIKE TO CUT DOWN THE AMOUNT OF MILES I HAVE TO TRAVEL. THE COMPANY I WORK FOR NOW IS BASED IN MANSFIELD AND THE MAJORITY OF STUDENTS ARE NOTTINGHAMSHIRE BASED.

I WOULD LIKE TO TEACH CLOSER TO HOME AND ONLINE.

AS YOU CAN IMAGINE HAVING TWO YOUNG CHILDREN AND BEING A CARER FOR MY DAD MEANS I HAVE TO BE VERY PATIENT, CARING AND KIND. I ALWAYS HAVE A SMILE ON MY FACE AND I UNDERSTAND THE DIFFICULTIES AND FRUSTRATIONS STUDENTS FACE WHEN THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND SOMETHING. MY EXPERIENCE MEANS THAT I UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF WORKING AS PART OF A FORWARD-THINKING TEAM IN ENSURING THAT THE BEST STANDARDS ARE NOT ONLLY MAINTAINED BUT ENHANCED.

Tutoring Approach

MY APPROACH TO TEACHING AND TO CHILDREN COMING FROM CHALLENGING BACKGROUNDS STARTS WITH BUILDING TRUST AND CREATING A SAFE, RESPECTFUL ENVIRONMENT. THESE STUDENTS OFTEN FACE INSTABILITY OR TRAUMA, SO CONSISTENCY AND EMPATHY ARE KEY. I ELIEVE IN BEING PATIENT SETTING CLEAR BOUNDARIES AND SHOWING GENUINE INTEREST IN THEIR GROWTH – NOT JUST ACADEMICALLY, BUT PERSONALLY AS WELL.
I FOCUS ON BEING APPROACHABLE AND NON-JUDGMENTAL, WHILE ALSO HOLDING HIGH EXPECTATIONS. BECAUSE MANY YOUNG PEOPLE RISE WHEN THEY FEEL SOMEONE BELIEVES IN THEM. I ALSO ADAPT MY TEACHING METHODS TO SUIT DIFFERENT LEARNING STYLES AND EMOTIONAL NEEDS, USING CREATIVITY, STRUCTURE, AND ENCOURAGEMENT TO KEEP THEM ENGAGED. RELATIONSHIP-BUILDING IS THE FOUNDATION – ONCE THAT’S IN PLACE, REAL LEARNING AND GROWTH CAN BE ACHIEVED.