Katie Moon - Design Technology trainee

Year of study

2023/24

What were you doing before SCITT?

Agency Teaching Assistant

What inspired you to become a teacher?

I love teaching and when working as a teaching assistant I kept being put into situation where I was basically the teacher in the room. I had a degree and learned about the bursary payments for design and technology so thought - oh, I can actually do this now!

Why did you choose North East SCITT?

I applied to three different SCITTs and was accepted into all of them, I chose North East SCITT because I knew two other teachers who had qualified through them and enjoyed it. It's host school [The Academy at Shotton Hall] is outstanding and I hoped I'd get experience at Shotton Hall and geographically it was convenient.

What would you say to someone considering teaching?

You have to love your subject, love the students you are teaching and love the role. If you thrive on it then you will but if you're going into it for other reasons it will be very challenging as the work load is large.

What has been your favourite part of training?

Having a mentor that is so invested in my progress and astute in her feedback. She is so switched onto teaching nuances that I wouldn't have noticed or considered so I feel I will progress with her mentoring quite a bit by the end of the course.

How does teaching differ from your previous career?

Teaching compared to a teaching assistant - more responsibility and I am now more aware of general school protocol from the course. It's busy but I enjoy it.

Do you have any tips or advice for potential trainees?

Don't procrastinate with your work. Go into the course with the attitude 'I'm going to do this for me and get the best out of this course', and try to remain positive when you are met with negativity.