BA Education Studies Work-Based Placement

Where did you go on your placement?

For my placement, I went to a small Church of England Primary School in rural

Warwickshire. The school had near to 100 pupils with 5 mixed year age group classes.

Why did you want to do a placement in this type of setting?

In my first year, I became particularly interested in the concept of Faith Schools and enjoyed exploring their role and position within society today. When choosing where I wanted to do my placement, I wanted to explore Faith Schools in practice and decided that a Church of England Primary School would be a good place to do this due to their prominence within England’s Education system.

Once I graduate, I am hoping to pursue a career in teaching within the Primary sector so I also believed that this placement would allow me to gain experience and insight into how a Primary School functions in day to day life.

What were you hoping to get out of it?

I was hoping to explore the concept of faith while also gaining experience within an educational setting. But overall, I was hoping that I would enjoy it and that it would be a worthwhile experience!

How do you foresee your placement contributing to your future career aspirations?

The placement reassured me that teaching was something that I wanted to pursue!

Due to the small size of the school, I was able to gain insight into the years I would be interested to teach once I graduate. In particular, I found that I really enjoyed working with the children in Key Stage 2.

Overall, the placement was really worthwhile as I was able to gain experience in teaching and working with children. It was also worthwhile exploring the challenges that schools and teachers face day to day. At this stage, I am able to reflect on these experiences and consider how I can progress and develop on a personal level so that hopefully in the future I will be able to become a great teacher!

What has been your favourite part of your placement?

It was interesting to look into how the school practiced Christianity, however, what I enjoyed most from my placement was being immersed into the school environment. I enjoyed observing the teachers in their teaching techniques and particularly enjoyed interacting with the children and helping them with their work on a one-to-one level to help reach a higher level of understanding.