Harry Williams

Harry Williams is part of our first student cohort on the BEd Primary Education with QTS degree, and hopes one day to become Head Teacher of a primary school.

Where and what did you study before coming to ARU?

I studied my A-levels at St. Thomas More High School in Westcliff – business studies, media studies, and sociology – and also an extended project qualification about male primary school teachers; why their numbers are decreasing, the different factors that contributed to this, and how we could perhaps entice more men into primary education in the future.

I was looking at different stereotypes around men in education, but also explored how having more male figures in the classroom can help students from different backgrounds. For example, students from matrifocal households – how they can benefit from having a positive male role model in their lives. But also just in general, increasing equality in the classroom, and changing the perception that teaching is a female job.

Did you always know that you would go to university and, if not, what changed your mind?

Yes, I always wanted to go on to to university, to study to become a primary school teacher. Ever since I was in school I knew I wanted to be a teacher.

After my GCSEs I started tuition – that was my job throughout sixth form and I'm still doing it at the moment. Tutoring all the way up from Year 1 to Year 11. I think that encouraged me even more that teaching was the career to explore.

Why did you choose to study at ARU?

ARU stood out because obviously this course is new, so I felt there was a real buzz around the university about it. When I did the induction days and interview stages, I just felt that the staff were so enthusiastic about the course.

I felt that energy they had for the course from day one. I think that's what made my mind up as soon as I walked in, saw them, saw how passionate they were about this new course which was starting. That instantly won out over all the other universities I’d looked at.

I really enjoyed looking into what the BEd has to offer, especially the simulation-based learning that we do, as well as the unique side of the course – the three placements we get to participate in. And the fact we qualify with QTS at the end of the three years, I think that's really what drew me to ARU.

The BEd has a unique application and interview process – how well supported did you feel during this?

The application was really easy. I applied for the course, got shortlisted for the interview stage, then went to Chelmsford to participate in the interview.

I was interviewed after doing some of the induction days as well, so I knew that I was ready. I had a good idea of what the course was going to be like through the taster lectures that we got to participate in. My interview was with Rachel Fossey (Course Director for the BEd in Chelmsford) who was really, really friendly

It was a really simple process and a few months later, here I am.

What do you hope to do when you graduate from ARU?

I’ve always aspired to become a Head Teacher. That's always been my dream. So that would be what I'd want to work my way up towards. In the meantime, just building my way up, building my reputation as a class teacher and hopefully working my way into senior leadership one day. But the overall dream is to become a Head Teacher at primary level, I think.

What inspired you to get involved with your field of study in the first place?

I was always inspired in primary school by my Head Teacher, who was male. He was the only male figure in the primary school for me, and I think he inspired me to go into teaching. I remember him saying to me that “we need more men in teaching and you'd be unique”. So that kind of stuck with me.

When I went into secondary school I had a couple of teachers who were male, and they really encouraged me to explore education further as well.

What's the most valuable thing you will take away from your course?

So far, the importance of being adaptable. I was perhaps a little bit naive when I started the course in terms of what the role of a teacher actually is. It's not just about what you do in the classroom, it's about what you do outside – all the preparation that goes into the lesson plans, all the after-school work, the marking, the assessments, making the decisions for your class.

We've participated in intensive training and practice, and that's allowed us to go into schools and see what it's like to be be a teacher on the job. Actually watching teachers in action has been really, really beneficial when looking at the idea of adaptability, watching how they adapt their lessons on the spot and being prepared for anything really that could crop up in a lesson.

Which aspects of your course have most helped your career development, and why?

So far the intensive training and practise again, but I think that might be beaten by the placement in a couple of weeks. The intensive training has allowed me to see the theory we've learned in action, to assess it, see what I would do differently, reflect upon what that particular teacher has done.

But when we do our placement we get a chance to apply that ourselves. It’s the first opportunity for me to teach a class of 30 students. In my tutoring, I think the most I’ve ever taught has been probably about 10 in a group. So to see thirty in a class is going to be quite, quite different. But I think it's going to be a really, really valuable experience for me.

How have you been supported by ARU to carry out your placement?

The placement process has been really easy, and really informative as well. I've been able to meet my lead mentor for the school I'm working at before the placement begins, and I'm going meet my class mentor in a couple of weeks’ time. It's not been stressful at all. We're regularly informed on what's happening and the placement team have been really, really beneficial to us students, and it's filled us with lots of confidence as well.

We’ll have ongoing meetings with our mentor, our university personal development tutor and our lead tutor or lead mentor, and we’ll also have a handbook to follow that illustrates everything we need for each week: the lessons we’ll be teaching, which small groups we might be assisting.

And what we’ll do is, over the weeks, gradually take on more responsibility. In terms of lesson planning, the university provides a pro forma, which allows us to implement our ideas in a way that is clear for us as teachers, and also clear for the students. So the university allows us to construct our lessons in a way that’s beneficial to both us and the students.

We also have reflective diaries that are checked each week by our Lead Tutor. It's something I think is really valuable for all trainee teachers, to see where we started and how we're getting on. I regularly look back at my reflections from the first week and I can see how my reflective writing is improving, but also how my practice is improving as well; to see how much more professional and knowledgeable about the job I've become, and how much more of a well-rounded training teacher I've become as well.

What piece of advice would you give to future students on the course?

My advice to someone starting the course would be to regularly read about what's happening in education, and participate in as much work experience as you can.

For me, once I finished my A-Levels, I went straight into helping at a local primary school, assisting the class teacher with events. I think that really gave me a sense of purpose over that period, but also a bit more insight into what schools can be like.

So that would be my biggest bit of advice: really immerse yourself in education as much as you can before you start and make sure you're prepared, because it's very busy, but it's really rewarding as well.

What’s your favourite thing about studying in Chelmsford?

I really like the campus. I think it's modern, vibrant and everyone seems really enthusiastic about the course they're doing. I know on our course everyone's always got a smile on their face and I think the atmosphere is so positive. That's what drew me in - everyone was really excited about studying at ARU.

No matter who you are, whether you're a member of staff, a student, whatever your role is, everyone's really passionate about making it the best experience possible. We're always receiving messages about events that are going on, whether at the Student Union or outside of university. There's elections taking place, and lots of different societies you can get involved in. I think that's what drew me to Chelmsford.

Because I live at home, it's easier for me to go home and work than it is to stay, so I probably engage more with the online library, and Canvas and Evision. I can very easily work from home on my days off without having to worry about going to get books out of the physical library. The online one has practically everything I need.

But the library is a nice place too if you want to go and study. It’s very modern, very big. And if you want to socialise, there's lots of outdoor and indoor areas where you can go and sit.

What projects are you currently working on?

We’ve currently got two assignments that we're working on. The first is the key professional skills assignment, which is a reflective diary. Mine is about the importance of adaptive teaching with regards to autistic students.

This has allowed me to practise my reflections, but also my critical analysis as well. I've been taking a strong focus on the role of teaching assistants and how they are deployed by teachers in the classroom, whether actually they're beneficial and how we can use them more effectively.

I've also been working on my second assignment, which is my wider curriculum assignment. This involves designing an artefact or resource for a wider curriculum subject. My one's geography, so I've been designing a map of the world showing lots of different food and where it originates from. That links to the Year 4 geography curriculum, where they learn about natural resources.

It's been a really beneficial assignment because it's allowed me to practise my creative skills – which is something I was really, really poor at before I started university! – and practise our lesson planning and designing skills.