ANISHA SMITH
16 Station Road, City AB1 2CC
Mobile: 07777 888 999
Email: jsmith1@email.co.uk Teacher Registration No:
KEY SKILLS
Teamwork and relationship building My ability to foster good relationships with other staff, pupils, parents and
carers has been noted by my placement mentors. I enjoy collaborating with colleagues to develop resources co-
operatively and to share ideas and specialist knowledge, taking the lead on projects such as the well-received
Environmental Week during my final placement.
Planning and organisation I have considerable experience of successfully organising activities and using
detailed planning in my teaching, in my voluntary committee work and as district organiser for Watch. Achieved
Excellent for this area within my final placement assessment.
Communication My time spent in schools and with Watch has shown that I can successfully communicate with,
and relate to, a wide age and ability range. Through my undergraduate degree and PGCE, I have developed high-
level written and presentational skills, achieving consistently high grades and great feedback. I enjoy using a wide
range of science communication tools including real world learning, video, lab work and visits to engage students
and increase their understanding of key concepts
Commitment to continuous improvement and innovation I am proactive in my professional development and
have undertaken a number of additional CPD opportunities, such as attending The Big Nature Study conference. I
used ideas gained to devise creative new resources and to reflect on practice. I have a passion and enthusiasm
for my subject area and am a member of the Royal Society of Biology.
Inclusive practice I set high standards for myself and all pupils and always aim to understand the needs of the
entire class – on placement I have worked with pupils with SEN, the highly able, and students with EAL and have
received good feedback on my abilities to differentiate my lessons and my use of assessment to check progress.
Information communications technology I have a good knowledge of a range of Microsoft applications,
including Word, Access, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher and Photoshop, which helps me to produce creative
teaching resources.
EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS
2018 - 2019 PGCE Secondary Biology (Distinction) City University
• Able to teach all three sciences to GCSE level and biology up to A level.
• Gained an understanding of the theory underpinning science education.
• Practised innovative teaching and assessment methods, including experiments - such as extracting DNA
from a kiwi fruit!
• Solid knowledge of health and safety requirements and strategies for maintaining a quality laboratory
work environment.
2015 - 2018 BSc (Hons) Biology 2.1 City University
• Taking an environmental approach to biology with the emphasis on laboratory, computational biology and
communications skills.
• Practical final year research project ‘An investigation into the morphological adaptations seen in social
insects’.
Your statement should be tailored
to the particular role and school
you are applying for. Mention any
specific reasons you are keen to
work there, any key points, e.g. their
ethos, and show how you also share
their vision. Using the introductory
paragraph to set a ‘tailored tone’ is
a great start. Show you’re not just
applying for any job – you are keen
on their vacancy in particular and
you are a good fit for them.
Mentioning specific strategies you
have used makes your points more
meaningful.
Mention any gradings received so
far.
Give a short overview of your
teaching experience to date, year
groups worked in, types of schools
if relevant. You could also talk
about how a particular placement
was especially relevant for this
application and why.
I am writing to apply for the Year 3 classroom teacher position at your school. On my visit
today I was made to feel very welcome within a warm, caring and inspiring environment.
It was lovely to have the opportunity to share the learning that was taking place, and
the creativity in the curriculum was really evident through the abundance of classroom
displays. Your school evidently promotes an environment where children and staff work
together to produce engaging learning and I would love to be a part of this team. It is
very important to me to enthuse children and celebrate their achievements. I noted your
emphasis on helping children to be ‘Happy - Respectful - Kind - Responsible - Proud –
Resilient’ and I am very excited about this opportunity to become part of such a positive,
fun, learning environment.
On my PGCE, I have taught primarily across KS2 (in a Year 3 class and a Year 5 class) but
I have also delivered a block of lessons in KS1 and phonics in FS & KS1. This has enabled
me to gain a good understanding of the whole school and progression through year
groups. At this stage I have met all of the teaching standards to a Good or Outstanding
level. My organised planning, patient behaviour management and flexibility have been
highlighted as my core strengths and I am eager to develop and improve my practice
at every opportunity. I am obtaining positive feedback from mentors and aspire to be
‘Outstanding’ throughout my teaching practice.
As a result of my PGCE, I now have an excellent working knowledge of the new National
Curriculum and planning new schemes of work. I have good skills in assessment and
monitoring, marking work and providing feedback to children, using summative and
formative assessment to inform my teaching, differentiating activities and personalising
learning, and liaising with parents on a daily basis. During lessons I ensure that my plans
contain activities which cater for all learning styles. This includes making learning very
visual for EAL children and allowing higher ability children to investigate topics in greater
depth and with greater autonomy. I believe in children taking the lead as much as
possible in their learning and I actively promote discovery learning and challenging
investigations. I often use strategies such as talk partners and group activities to promote
children’s confidence and to create a safe learning environment in which to experiment.
On my first placement I was responsible for taking children for intervention sessions
and giving extra support to children for literacy and maths in Year 3. I really enjoyed
offering the children learning opportunities to build their confidence and understanding
of these subjects and I used assessment as a vital tool to structure individual learning
and progression. My mentor commented that I had built up an excellent rapport with
these pupils. Before embarking on my PGCE I volunteered for a term as a temporary
teaching assistant in a primary school, working with a pupil with SEN. My role involved
working alongside the class teacher and adapting the work to a level of understanding
to which the child could access the curriculum. I was expected to keep detailed records
and assessments that monitored his progress and have strong links with his parents
and external agencies to support him. Through this work, I saw the impact that such
interventions can have on a child’s progress, and gained valuable SEN experience.
In my second placement I developed an empathetic relationship with my class,
highlighting the strengths in their work, to create a positive working environment in which
the children were regularly challenged and praised for their behaviour and
