Learning About Teaching in School

This is the first of a series of updates to support class teachers and beginning teachers during the LATiS placement.

Every Wednesday, we will post information and reminders for the following week along with some suggestions and advice so that beginning teachers and class mentors can further engage with the experience and the beginning teachers benefit from it as much as they can.

All the emails we have been entered into the system and everyone should have received an email notification that this post has been made. Please could beginning teachers check with their class teachers that they have received this notification. If not, if may because the email has landed in their trash folder or we don’t have the email address. I which case, the class teacher should submit their email address by following the link to the submission form which can be found on the LATiS page .

This Week

Please can schools ensure that the trainee teachers receive health and safety information, and a safeguarding and e-safety briefing at the beginning of this placement. They should also be introduced to the placement school’s designated safeguarding lead. Further information can be found in section 1.1c of the Entitlement Document.

The theme of the first week is professional behaviours, designed to support beginning teachers in appreciating the professional role of the teacher and to start to link teaching and learning theory with practice.

The activities have been designed to allow beginning teachers an opportunity to develop professional relationships with the children and adults in school. They may therefore work with groups of children during the lessons when they are not completing any of the PDAs.

It may not be possible to complete ‘PDA 1d – Attending meetings’ because there may not be any meetings scheduled when the beginning teachers are in school this week. If this is the case, the activity can be completed later in the placement should an opportunity arise to attend a meeting.

Beginning teachers need to ensure they have read the core reading for this week and considered its relationship to their experiences in school. This will be explored in the group tutorial on Thursday morning.

Next Week (Week 2)

The theme of Week 2 is managing and promoting positive behaviours, and forms part of our ITaP theme on Promoting Positive Learning Behaviours. It is suggested that Beginning teachers know where to access the school’s behaviour policy before they leave school at the end of Week 1.

Day 2 of Week 2 involves the beginning teachers working with groups of children. By the end of Week 1, class teachers and beginning teachers might like to discuss what this could involve for the trainee and what they will be doing.

Safeguarding Reminder

The ‘Unexplained Absence’ procedure, ensures all our beginning teachers are safe. Please could class teachers review this so that they are aware of what to do if needed. It can be found at the top of the Entitlement Document and is reproduced below for convenience.

Similarly, beginning teachers should ensure they are familiar with, and adopt if necessary, the programmes absence procedures which are available on Blackboard.

UNEXPLAINED ABSENCE
If a trainee is unexpectedly absent from their LATiS or placement school (i.e., they have not informed the school of their absence either in advance or by 9am on the day of the absence through the usual procedures), or goes absent without explanation during the school day, we ask that the school or the class teacher immediately notify the University. To do so, the school or the class teacher should call:

023  8212  6534

and leave a voice message providing any details that may be important leading up to the unexpected absence. An email may also be sent to ITE-StudentOffice@southampton.ac.uk with the same details. The details of the procedure that will be followed are set out in Annex 1 of the Entitlement Document.