Ryan Laughton

How has your training prepared you for your teaching role?

It’s been rigorous, thorough, and rewarding in so many ways to experience what we’ve been through over the last year. Balancing everything as an older student, a dad and a husband has been a challenge. But all the intense training, including the online modules and observing expert practitioners every day in school, has set me up properly to get started.

What aspects of teaching do you feel most confident about?

My ability to network well and build relationships is something I’m extremely confident in, and I think it’ll aid me going into any new environment. It certainly helped me through my training and the different schools I’ve been at this last year. 

Getting to know people and networking well, understanding my pupils and the team around the school is probably my biggest strength, and it’s something I can build around my background of working in industry.

What aspects of teaching do you think will be most challenging?

It’s really difficult to say one thing that’s going to be the challenge in a new job. The biggest challenge will be getting used to a new school. But the challenge is quite good fun as well. Having gone through this year, I don’t think there’s one particular thing that’s going to worry me too much at the moment.

How are you feeling looking ahead to the new school year?

Extremely excited. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t anxious too. There are lots of unknowns going in: people I haven’t worked with before, pupils I don’t yet know, procedures and policies to learn. But thanks to the training, I feel in a good place and well ready to go and take on the challenge. 

What are you most looking forward to as an ECT?

Getting my own classroom, my own feel for the place. Not invading somebody else’s classroom or always trying to fit into somebody else’s routines. 

The biggest excitement for an ECT is having a space I own, a space I can build, and a space pupils can come into and enjoy their learning.
 

Watch Ryan's learner story