Miss Heraty- Class Teacher (NQT)

What attracted you to a career in teaching?

Strong memories of everybody’s childhood are linked to their school lives, whether this be to the fun they had or the teacher(s) who influenced their life in some way. From a young age, I knew, I too, wanted to have the same positive influence. With this, I based all of my career choices around childcare, beginning with work experience in the primary school I attended when I was a child, where I held so many fond memories.

Why did you want to teach at St. Raphael’s Catholic Primary School?

When I began my search for my first teaching post, I was eager for it to be in a school that I felt ‘comfortable’ in. St Raphael’s was the earliest school I visited and ‘comfortable’ is the best way to describe how I felt from the moment I walked in. My initial greeting from the office staff was genuine and friendly, and this seemed to be the continuous feeling I received from both pupils and other staff members as I was accompanied around the school grounds. It was evident that St Raphael’s is a strong community. With this, I didn’t feel the need to visit other schools and my gut feeling was that nothing else would compare, my short search was complete. Throughout this year, my feeling has not changed. Every day I arrive in a school that I feel comfortable in and now, part of that strong community.

What is it like working there?

I believe that everybody in this profession would agree that no two days are the same in school. Everybody here works hard and I am yet to meet somebody that isn’t willing to take time from their own workload to support and help a colleague. Although hard to pin point, my favourite thing about working at St Raphael’s is the high expectations of both pupils and staff. This results in a mutual level of respect, which, in my opinion, is a huge portion of the community feel.

What do you enjoy most about teaching at the school?

I have learnt so much in such a short space of time from the amazing team of staff here and the children! Working alongside such supportive colleagues has given me insight to improving my practice so that I can be the best possible teacher I can be. I enjoy ensuring that all children have the opportunity to thrive to their full potential. This year, my most memorable moments have been seeing the progress in the children’s learning, both short term and long term. Personally, the best feeling as a teacher is witnessing a children understand something, not matter how long this takes them to achieve!