Diary of a trainee Early Years Teacher

 It’s been a very up and down time since the last update of my monthly diary. At the beginning of January, I returned to university on a Wednesday and Thursday and it was good to have that weekly tutor contact again.  It was interesting to hear how everyone had found their placements and the process of gathering evidence.  I submitted my file of evidence for moderation shortly after returning to university and received it back within a couple of weeks.  It was a relief to find out that I was progressing well.

But aside from the positives of being back at uni, I've been really busy at work and studying sometimes takes a back seat.  Being a manager means that I have a huge workload as it is without factoring in Teacher Training on top of it!  On the upside, it is an advantage when it comes to putting together my portfolio of evidence. My role requires me to have responsibility for all paperwork and record keeping so there is a wealth of evidence for me to draw upon in order to meet the Early Years Teacher Standards, including examples of planning, fire alarm practise records, risk assessments, policies, Individual Education Plans, observations and next steps for the children as well as observations of my own practice. Each piece is graded from green - the best - down to red.  Even if I wasn’t completely sure on whether it was a ‘green’ piece, I included it anyway so I could get feedback and identify areas for improvement.  I now need to look at which of the Early Years Teacher Standards I still need evidence for and concentrate more on these areas.