Alyssia Jacobs: Education, Milton Keynes

Hi, I’m Alyssia,

My passion for learning came from my Year 4 teacher, Mrs Davenport – I knew I wanted to be a teacher just like her. As soon as I could, I started to volunteer in primary schools and then studied at the University of Bedfordshire. Following graduation, I had to complete skills tests to prove my competency in English and Mathematics so that I could go into teaching. The English element was fine for me, however, I always found Maths challenging, so I hired a tutor, but she let me go a month before my test as she was adamant that I wouldn’t pass. As this was my only chance to go into teaching the year I graduated, I retaught myself – and I passed! I did a SCITT for a year, and have since taught foundation, Year 5 and I currently teach Year 2 at Christ the Sower school. My role is to teach the next generation by providing quality-first teaching, a positive learning environment and sharing a desire for learning.

Our school is a special measures school where we follow the vision that our school is ‘a loving place where we all learn, care and grow together.’ It is such a positive place to be, and all the staff put the children at the centre of everything that we do. I take the time to let the children get to know me as a person, not just as a teacher as I believe this helps to build a better rapport.

The pandemic hit us as hard as it did to everyone in the country, yet we all pulled together as a family and made it work for the children. The gift that came from it was that our community recognised the significance of teamwork and how important it is to have a routine. Children certainly now appreciate coming to school, learning in a classroom, and communicating face-to-face, as well as being thankful for being able to spend time with family and loved ones.

My family is full of strong, powerful women with their own stories to tell, which comforts me in hard times and motivates me to keep doing what I love. The pandemic reminds me that this journey called life isn’t easy, but if you want it and work hard for it, you can accomplish anything you want.

The Queen is such an inspiration to me. My parents and grandparents have so many stories that they share about how much she has done for our country from such a young age. This links back to how strong women are, and yet through everything over the past 2-years, she has continued to lead by example, despite losing her husband; she is such a strong monarch.