Ever since I was a young child, I have always wanted to be a teacher. After studying Geography at the University of Derby, I gained my PGCE the following year from Trinity and All Saints University in Leeds and started my first job as a ‘proper’ teacher in 1995. I spent fourteen years working in a school which I loved, having been a pupil there myself and completing teaching experiences there, too. But, after so many years, I felt it was time to step out of my ‘familiar zone’ and so I made the move to another school. I have spent the last eight years at another Doncaster school, continuing to learn and develop my roles as class teacher, SENCo, Key Stage Leader and Assistant Head Teacher.
Three years ago, as a parent, I made the decision to apply for a place at XP for my daughter. I loved the model of expeditionary learning as I have always believed in and taught through cross-curricular topics. By seeing first hand the impact of such a way of learning, I knew it was the place I wanted to work, to have the opportunity to engage young people in their education and really make a difference to their futures.
So now, I feel extremely privileged and proud to be a part of the XP community and to have the opportunity to teach in a way I believe in, to support and challenge our young students to help them become kind people and produce beautiful work.
The culminating event to our staff induction is an Educator-Led Conference, where staff prepare speeches, critiqued by their peers, which answer the guiding questions:
“How have my ideas about teaching and learning changed during this induction process and have I changed as a person during this induction process?”
Below is Mrs Poncia’s speech: