Teach First 2018

Hi, I was just wondering how long the assessment centre tends to take, as I want to book train Y. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

Has anyone got a 21/11/2017 AC date? Also, any tips on how to prepare for the day? Was it harder/easier than you expected?

I do, at 9.45

This is my first AC so I don't know what to expect beyond the information I've been looking up online.

Good luck!

Do Teach First teachers benefit in regards to scope. Are they more likely to be sought out for promotion? If I was to do Teach First in Primary, as that is what was offered, when I try to apply for secondary school at the end of the two years, will I receive the benefits of this scope?

Hi, so did Teach First give you a conditional offer? What happens once you've addressed your action plan? How long did it take from for your assessment centre to find out?Sorry question overload, I'm waiting for my result! 😶

I got rejected by Teach First. According to the feedback I got, I'd make a crap teacher.

Hi guys, I had the assessment centre in August and thought I would give my feedback for anyone applying just now!

So I applied for primary teaching and was offered a place for 2018 but I decided to decline the offer in the end.

I found the process to be pretty difficult - the one on one interview was pretty intense but, as others have said, if you have plenty of examples of different competencies, you should be alright. One of the things that I noticed other people doing at my centre was using the same example for multiple questions, which I don't think the assessors are too keen on. Even if you feel like you're scraping the barrel in trying to tweak an example so that it answers their question, it's better than repeating yourself and it gives them the idea that you've done lots of different things demonstrating the competencies.

The group challenge was the task that I struggled with the most. Tips I would give to applicants are to read all the instructions carefully and try not to panic. I definitely panicked and didn't do a particularly good job at this task. However, the oral assessment that you do afterwards can be a saving grace. If you are able to pinpoint where you went wrong and explain the different strengths and weaknesses of your team as a whole, you can come across as really strong in the self-assessment competency, which I think is why they passed me on this one. It's also really good if you remember your teammates names, as it looks a lot better when you're discussing the group if you're not having to describe each person. Everyone had a name tag so take a moment to focus on those as well.

The teaching challenge was my absolute favourite. I was teaching KS1 so was able to be quite silly with it, and I chose to do a song about my chosen topic. The assessors will challenge you and even at KS1, they are still disruptive and will act like they are working at very different stages. One of the things to look out for is praising the student that is behaving, rather than focussing on the negative behaviours of the other. Again, the self-assessment is really useful with this as you can think about different teaching strategies beforehand and explain which you would have used if you'd had more time/pupils/could do the lesson again.

Hope that helps and good luck everyone!

Hi everyone, I sent off my application yesterday. How long does it normally take to hear if you are through to the assessment centre stage? Thanks

It depends what time your lesson plan is at. I finished around 3pm but other people were only starting their lesson at that time. I would say the latest you could finish would be around 4/5.

Hi,It is early October and I was told for 2018 London secondary school English and History are no longer available. Thoughts?