James

Educated and raised in the UK, I have always believed that education is the key to the door of life and a possession that can never be taken from you once you have gained it.

I studied Archaeology at the University of Nottingham and found that the ‘hands on’ nature of the degree brought the ancient civilisations to life. This was the teaching and learning style I wanted to emulate as an educator. When I undertook my PGCE, I knew I was following in the footsteps of those who had inspired me, ready to inspire the next generation of learners. I began working at Brunswick Primary School, a diverse state school, which required a highly adaptive and proactive approach to teaching and learning, before honing these skills at St Louis International School in Milan and The English International School of Padova. I currently work as a Year 2 class teacher at Hassocks Infant School.

I believe that the role of a primary school teacher is to be a facilitator of learning, creating opportunities for children to learn through exploration, experience, and the guidance of a knowledgeable and inspiring practitioner. This pedagogical approach to children’s learning has brought me tremendous success to date, extending higher attaining pupils to achieve above the Age-Related Expectations of the English National Curriculum, whilst also supporting EAL and SEN learners (as I have had to do at St Louis International) through targeted intervention and specialist resources (such as word banks, sentence stems and using clickr software).