Jess Goodison

Primary Teacher, East Morton Church of England Primary School

It was really rewarding to actually get my first teaching job secured whilst I was still a student.

My student experience

My best memories from Leeds Trinity are definitely the people that you meet. The staff made my learning journey enriching and I have definitely made friends for life. During my time as a student, to gain some extra experience, I worked at a nursery. This enabled me to work with younger children as well as get to know and learn from other teachers. My whole experience at Leeds Trinity has been amazing, I will cherish the memories forever. It has developed me as a person and not just as a teacher.

How my time at Leeds Trinity equipped me to be a teacher

The school-based learning experience was the most valuable aspect of my teacher training. Being in a school is the best experience you can have when training to be a teacher. The more experience you can get in a school setting, the more adaptable you become as a teacher.

Leeds Trinity really equipped me with all the skills I needed, through both my placements and the training you get through the lectures. The whole experience set me up nicely to have my own class, from September 2019.

Ongoing support

It is great that Leeds Trinity offers a lot of support for its NQTs, it’s not just about your three years as a student, there is ongoing help. I got to know the lecturers very well, from day one, they told me that their door was always open, or that they were just an email away. It is great knowing that through the ongoing support available I will be able to network with not just my former lecturers but with my fellow NQT alumni, with whom I can share experiences and best practice.

My advice to other trainee teachers and prospective students

The advice I would give to other trainees is take everything as it comes and don’t panic. Go with the flow and if you work hard you will get rewarded. After three years of learning it is so rewarding to feel that you’ve come so far. Without Leeds Trinity I wouldn’t have been able to go on a journey like this.

I would definitely recommend teacher training at Leeds Trinity to anyone. It’s a small university where everybody knows everybody which can really help your development as a person, not just as a student. It was really rewarding to actually get my first teaching job secured whilst I was still a student.

 It meant that I didn’t have to do many assignments whilst still stressing about getting a job. I got a great deal of support from lecturers, helping me with my personal statement and how to best prepare for my interview.