Jo also mentors children after school each day, providing them a space to experience joy and to nurture a special bond with a key adult in school. In her own time, Jo studies to improve her own knowledge, particularly around SEND and has also created some amazing art work on items being used to enhance our playground provision." 
​
About Jo and her role as Teaching Assistant
Losing my job as a designer during the pandemic led me to discover a whole new passion in working with children. When I started at St. Martin's, I learned that working with children with complex needs can be incredibly rewarding and I have since focused on improving my knowledge and skills to support the children even more.

I am extremely proud of this award for my work with a child with complex needs and for using my skills as an artist to benefitthe school too.

When I first began working with a 5-year-old boy, I realised that I needed to find creative ways to engage him in learning. He would regularly refuse to complete tasks, so I knew I needed to think outside the box to foster a connection and encourage participation. I discovered his love for Rick Astley. Recognising this opportunity, I created "Maths by Rick Astley," combining his favourite music with the learning objectives. This approach was an instant success because it appealed to his interests and helped build rapport and make learning fun. It was a success for a while but those that work with children with Special Educational Needs know that you have to continuously be creative and come up with new ways to engage them.

Despite facing many ups and downs, including periods of challenging behaviour, I worked closely with both his parents and the school to maintain open communication and ensure consistency. Through this collaborative effort, we were able to keep him in a mainstream setting where he could thrive. 

Our partnership lasted three years and it’s especially heart-warming that, before moving to a specialised provision, he took part in the whole school’s Sports Day. Witnessing him overcoming his fear and taking part in an event that he had never participated in before was an incredibly emotional moment for him, me and his family. That milestone is something that will stay with me for a long time.

These moments are what make the job so rewarding. It’s not just about the lessons they learn academically, but the ones they learn about themselves. It’s important to approach every child with patience, creativity, and belief in their potential.

St Martin’s is an environment where every child feels safe and supported and it is evident that what we do has a meaningful impact on their ability to succeed.

​The ‘School Staff ‘Thank You’ scheme’ is open to all Exeter Consortium partner schools as listed on our website HERE and a school can nominate one member of staff per year. To nominate a member of staff from your school please use the Google form HERE. The deadline for nominations is the last Friday before each half term break.

For information about the Exeter Consortium ‘School Staff Thank You Scheme’ please contact [email protected]

Give a little background about your teaching career so far – how many years teaching, schools, age groups, subject specialisms, leadership roles…
My teaching career began as a teaching assistant in a village primary school and now I am a Year 3 teacher in a two-form entry all through school in Exeter! 

Why did you want to be a teacher?
I wanted to be a teacher when I met my favourite primary school teacher. I thought “I want to be just like you”. They didn’t just educate me or take me on an educational journey but they were so warm and inviting and motivated me to learn with them. I take this into my practice daily and enjoy seeing my children's faces smile when they enter my classroom or they’ve understood an objective or have independently completed a task.  

Why did you choose Exeter Consortium Schools’ Alliance as your training provider? 
I chose Exeter Consortium due to its holistic approach to teacher training. I wanted to train in the deep end! Getting into school was important to me, I am so pleased I took the SCITT route compared to University providers as I feel completely prepared as an ECT1.  

What were your favourite aspects of the course?
My favourite aspects were simply the real life application of what we are trained to do in GPS sessions and during placement. We could instantly start implementing behaviour management techniques. The GPS sessions have really stuck with me and shaped my practice as a teacher. I also work with other ExCo alumni and the practice I see with them is shaped from ExCo. 

Did you find Exeter Consortium to be supportive and welcoming?
100%. I personally had life events I was not expecting but the mentors were incredibly supportive in adapting to my needs.

Describe your time training to teach in three words...
Fun, exciting, interesting!

What advice would you give to prospective trainee teachers?
Nothing will compare to this year, it is so worth pushing through to the end and reap the rewards as it only gets better! You should be really proud of yourself for taking on this challenge, it isn’t easy, but it speaks volumes about the person you will be standing in front of your class of 30.

Please see below the presentations and resources from speakers who delivered at the Primary SEND Professional Community on Thursday 10th October 2024:

​Alison Betts, Whole School SEND National Coordinator
Update on Whole School SEND.

View Alison's presentation here.


Jill Lake, School Nursing Service, Devon County Council
An overview of their offer and how they are currently working.

View Jill's presentation here.

View DCC posters here.


Robyn Emmerson, Ellen Tinkham School
SEN 100 Project and outreach work.
​
View Robyn's presentation here.


Kellie Knott, SEND Improvement Director at Devon County Council
State of play and vision for SEND going forward with DCC.

View Kellie's presentation here.

About Josie and her role as After School Club Leader, Pupil Premium Advocate and Teaching Assistant.

"My name is Josie and I have been working at my school for nearly 8 years. When I first started working here, I was a 1:1 TA supporting a pupil with additional needs. Since the beginning of my journey at the school I have had fantastic support from SLT to develop my career and have managed to work my way up to be the leader of the After School Club provision. In this role I oversee and manage up to 140 children and 8 team members.

I have made loads of changes to the ASC provision as the children were not enjoying their time in the club previously and I made it my priority to make sure that the children enjoy their time here and feel relaxed and comfortable as they have such a long day in school.

One of my biggest achievements is revamping our old café area into a chill zone area, where I have made it similar to a home setting so the children can go there if they struggle with the busyness of the club and can go there to have that ‘feel at home feeling’ where they can relax. Our SEN children particularly enjoy this area and its close to my office so I can make regular check-ins to see how they are doing.

I have also had the privilege this year to take on a new role that has not been done before which is a Pupil Premium Advocate. This role is all about how I can help our wonderful PP children have better opportunities in school by making sure they have access to clubs, mentoring, emotional literacy and more!

Fortunately I still get to do 1:1 support in the middle which I really enjoy!

My 3 roles come with challenges as all jobs do but I absolutely love working with children and wouldn’t change my busy schedule in school for anything! My faith drives me to do better and do more where I can. 

A HUGE thank you to the Exeter Consortium and to my Assistant Head who nominated me for this reward. It was a lovely surprise and am blessed and fortunate to do the job I do."​

​The ‘School Staff ‘Thank You’ scheme’ is open to all Exeter Consortium partner schools as listed on our website HERE and a school can nominate one member of staff per year. To nominate a member of staff from your school please use the Google form HERE. The deadline for nominations is the last Friday before each half term break.

For information about the Exeter Consortium ‘School Staff Thank You Scheme’ please contact [email protected]

Please see below the presentations and resources from speakers who delivered at the Primary SEND Professional Community on Thursday 23rd May 2024:

​Alison Betts, Whole School SEND National Coordinator and Jeanette Savage, Regional Lead for the South West of England.
Update on Whole School SEND.

View Alison and Jeanette's presentation here.


Jo Siney, Head of Service and Jon Mitchell, Service Manager, Support & Advice/Designated Social care Officer – SEND, Disabled Children’s Services and Lise Bird, Head of Service for Early Help & Partnerships, Devon County Council.
Overview of the services on offer, how to access the services and who can benefit, criteria for referral and assessment.

View Jo, Jon and Lise's presentation here.


Laura Syree, Early Help Locality Officer, Devon County Council.
Early Help in Devon, the Level 2 and Level 3 offer.
​
View Laura's presentation here.

Useful links:
Early Help information - Devon Safeguarding Children Partnership (devonscp.org.uk)
Early Help Contacts, Training and Resources - Devon Safeguarding Children Partnership (devonscp.org.uk)
Children’s Centre Consultation - Have Your Say (devon.gov.uk)


Ben Jones, Operational & Clinical Service Manager, and Sarah Foxall, CAMHS Mental Health Support Team (MHST).
Overview of the Mental Health Support Teams in Schools, access, future plans and further help.

View Ben and Sarah's presentation here.


Laura O’Shea, Advisory Teacher for Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Devon County Council.
Laura oversees the work of the Specialist Support Assistant’s (SSA’s) within the SEND Support Team and provided an update on the service.

View Laura's presentation here.


Next Session
Thursday 10th October 2024, 8.45 - 12.00, Future Skills Centre
Booking link to follow. Please note the new venue.