With the new term starting soon, we asked Katie Ashford to give us her top 10 tips for new teachers. These are her individual views. The frivolity of summer already seems like a distant memory as teachers and pupils across the land begin packing their bags and readying their nerves for another year in the…
Katie Ashford is an English teacher in a secondary school in the Midlands. These are her individual views. I remember the first few times I was observed as a trainee. Most things in my training year were utterly horrendous, and observations were no exception. But what I remember perhaps even more than the lessons themselves…
Katie Ashford is an English teacher in a secondary school in the Midlands. These are her individual views. Lessons begin at ten past the hour. Or that’s when the bell goes, at least. By the time the kids have arrived from their last lesson, have caught up with their friends and faffed about with their…
Katie Ashford is an English teacher in a secondary school in the Midlands. These are her individual views. Hello everyone. My name is Katie Ashford and I am a workaholic. Giving up working insanely hard was more of a challenge than giving up smoking. The threat of yellow teeth, empty pockets, lung cancer and premature…
Katie Ashford is an English teacher in a secondary school in the Midlands, these are her individual views. Put your hand up if you have ever moaned about a school leader… Thought so. Standing at the bottom of the hierarchy looking upwards, it’s very easy to point fingers and blame leaders for doing a…
Katie Ashford is an English teacher in a secondary school in the Midlands, these are her individual views. The school had been languishing in stage 7 of the Ofsted preparation cycle for a while. SLT were trying to keep everyone on their toes and we were doing our best to maintain standards and to retain…
Katie Ashford is an English teacher in a secondary school in the Midlands, these are her individual views. Schools and teachers have a habit of getting rather panicky when an OFSTED inspection is on the horizon. Staffrooms are abuzz with speculation about when they will come next, the bosses start getting even more obsessed…
As the new school year approaches and over 30,000 new teachers begin their career in the classroom, Katie Ashford gives us the final part in her three part series. Katie is an English teacher in a secondary school in London. These are her individual views. The last two posts in this series have talked about…
As the new school year approaches and over 30,000 new teachers begin their career in the classroom, Katie Ashford gives us the second part in her three part series. Katie is an English teacher in a secondary school in London. These are her individual views. At the end of summer institute, the prospect of entering…
As the new school year approaches and over 30,000 new teachers begin their career in the classroom, Katie Ashford gives us the first part in her three part series. Katie is an English teacher in a secondary school in London. These are her individual views. Every teacher knows that things will never be as…
