School structures and different environments

My name is Joanna Baynham, and I’m a Senior Lecturer here at Manchester Metropolitan University. I work with undergraduate and postgraduate trainee teachers in both primary and secondary sectors. I also lead our courses for those trainee teachers, following the school-centred initial teacher training route. As a result of this, I work with a huge number of schools, including primary schools, infant and junior schools, secondary schools, faith schools, single sex schools, and selective schools, including state grammars and independent schools. We also work with more specialist settings, including pupil referral units and schools for children with special educational needs.

Some secondary schools continue their provision to age 18, but we also work with sixth form providers and colleges, who specifically cater for the 16 to 18 age groups. The way schools are funded and governed can also vary widely. For example, some are under local authority control, whilst other academies are often part of a trust with other schools and a sponsor. There are also free schools, who receive funding directly to them and have much more freedom about what they do. There are so many different types of schools, and these are just examples from England. In Scotland and Wales, it’s different, and then when we start adding international comparisons, the differences are even more broad.

For example, in England, many children start formal education at the age of four. Whereas in Finland, pupil are seven. In some European countries, such as Germany, there are different secondary schools depending on whether pupils wish to follow a more academic or a more vocational curriculum. There’s also global variation in qualifications and assessments, especially with regard to when they’re taken and whether they’re standardised. You’ve already discussed some of these differences and the impact on your own education. But now it’s important to think about these differences from the perspective of a teacher. When we ask teacher training applicants why they’d like to teach, one of the most common answers is that they would like to make a difference.

But that’s a bit vague. Who do you want to make a difference to, and for, and how? Do you want to help those who may find learning difficult and progress at a slower rate to their peers? Do you want to support the most able pupils to ensure that they’re fully prepared and inspired to move into higher education? What about those very young children arriving at school for the first time, nervous and unsure? Exploring the huge array of different schools on offer and finding out which most sit with your values and beliefs can really help you decide on the type of teacher you’d like to be.

It can also really help you in deciding on the best training provider for you and help you to make a convincing argument as to why you’ll be the perfect candidate for them.