Rhiannon Lucas-Thompson

I have had a varied student teacher placement so far this year. I started my placement in Lower KS2 (Year 4), then moved to Upper KS2 (Year 5) when my mentor left the school. In January, I began my alternate placement in KS1 (Year 1) and have remained in this class after February half term due to the staff numbers in school.

My experiences working with children prior to my teacher training included: weekly volunteering for KEEN London, which held sports sessions for children with SEND; volunteering for CHICKS, caring for underprivileged children on respite breaks; and working at College Settlement Camp. Beginning as a Camp Counselor, I cared for ‘bunks’ of 5-8 children aged 8-12 years and led a variety of activities for groups of up to 144 children at a time. After promotion to CIT (Counselor-in-Training) Coordinator, I was responsible for leading and mentoring a team of 28 junior staff, all ex-campers. I held Parent/Carer Information Meetings at the start of the season then maintained contact with then throughout the summer. I motivated my staff and supported them by completing weekly evaluations, recognising achievements and identifying areas to improve. This informed future training and mentoring sessions. It was important for me to liaise with the sponsors of my role, the Board of Directors and other stakeholders, to ensure that the programme met their vision.

Certain areas of the camp were often understaffed. It wouldn’t be a normal day unless I helped in different areas. Teamwork was vital; I found it rewarding to assist my co-workers and also found their opinions helpful. I see the same personal satisfaction in being part of a close-knit team within a school and I have enjoyed becoming a part of the staff team at my home school during my teacher training. Working at the summer camp, staff and campers alike praised my ability to always remain positive, calm and patient. This has been further evidenced in comments from my ITT mentor on my phase review forms and many of my lesson observations. I am highly self-motivated and have strong time management skills – which are very useful when raising two young boys under 3 years old during my teacher training year!

Communication has been at the core of my working life. As a Team Leader at The Challenge, I led ‘huddles’ to present team performance and relay key information from senior management. At KPMG, my communication skills proved essential when building a rapport with clients, ranging from small family-run businesses to public limited companies. I consistently received feedback from my managers that my client communication was impressive. I interacted with people at all levels from the most junior staff to senior management. Furthermore, I am highly empathetic with enhanced emotional intelligence. I believe this allows me to gain a deeper understanding of situations where pupils need assistance, of either an academic nature or related to general wellbeing. Safeguarding is a crucial element of working with children; I constantly consider their welfare and wellbeing.