A former Stratford-upon-Avon College Early Years & Childhood Studies student is beginning her dream career as a primary teacher.
Neeve Cartwright, from Solihull, graduated from Birmingham City University with a degree in Primary Education this summer, and has just started work as a newly qualified reception teacher.
Neeve, who attended Stratford-upon-Avon College from 2015 to 2017, describes teaching as “such a fulfilling career: it’s never the same each day, and it keeps you on your toes!”
Reflecting on her time at the College, Neeve feels the training she received was crucial to her development as an educator. “My lecturers went above and beyond to make sure I got the best grades. Throughout the course, they helped me to create practical activities that I could deliver to children in early years classes, which allowed me to build up ideas for a range of subject areas to use in the classroom.”
The College’s commitment to its learners includes maximising their employability and developing work ready skills, and therefore requires students to complete work experience assignments as part of their courses. In Neeve’s case, this involved working in nurseries and schools two days a week, ultimately gaining 750 hours of teaching experience.
Able to immerse herself in the role of a nursery teacher, Neeve believes she learnt a huge amount about the job role during these experience days. “Because I spent so much time in the work environment, I was able to become part of a professional team. Since I knew I wanted to become a school teacher, I spent a lot of my placement time in primary schools, which allowed me to develop a lot of confidence before pursuing a teaching qualification at university.”
Early Years Assessor and Health and Social Care lecturer Penny Harris is thrilled that Neeve is finally ready to begin the profession she has worked towards for so many years. “I’m delighted that Neeve has secured a reception teacher position following on from her degree. She has worked diligently to obtain her teaching qualifications and I know she will be an outstanding teacher to all of the children in her care. The Early Years Education course at Stratford helped Neeve to decide which aspect of early years education she wanted to develop her skills in – it is ideal for students who wish to pursue a career in early years and primary teaching, as well as those who aim to work as an early years practitioner.”
