Our schools need history teachers who will inspire in their pupils a curiosity and joy of learning about the past and show them how learning about our history can help make sense of the present. As Amanda Spielman, Chief Inspector at Ofsted, said: “A good history education is so important to children’s education. Studying history helps children to understand their place in the world and in the long story of human development. And it challenges them to make sense of the similarities and differences in human experiences across time and place.”
Our History trainees have a genuine delight in their subject. That enthusiasm is a tremendous first step in their journey to become exceptional teachers.
Our trainees have a Subject Pathway session with their Subject Lead once a week throughout their training year. These sessions are a great chance to catch up with fellow trainees for their subject and share ideas, experiences and resources. These sessions include the history curriculum.
The curriculum of each school enables it to set out its vision for the knowledge, skills and values pupils will learn, encompassing the national curriculum within a coherent broader vision for successful learning. Our History trainees are encouraged to discuss the rationale for curriculum choices, the process for arriving at current curriculum choices and how the curriculum materials of their placement school inform lesson preparation. Then we set them the task of devising the perfect history curriculum!
At GITEP, we know how important it is for our trainees to feel supported. We want our trainees to enjoy teaching, celebrate their successes and those of their peers and feel valued. We encourage them to learn from challenging experiences and draw on school and course leaders, mentors, teaching colleagues and peers as sources of security and support throughout their training. This support network is invaluable in developing sustainable strategies for maintaining an effective work/life balance.
