About Me
Laura D
Native Language: English, Second language: Spanish
Currently Learning: Italian
EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS:
The University of Manchester (2012-2013)
Primary PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education) with Modern Languages Specialism
·Development of profound subject and pedagogical knowledge across all areas of the primary curriculum from EYFS to KS2.
·Specialise in the technical aspects of languages and intercultural understanding.
The University of Manchester (2008-2012)
BA English Language and Spanish 2:1 with honours, with a distinction in spoken Spanish
·Developed skills across all four areas of reading, writing, speaking and listening in Spanish.
·Required key time and workload management skills.
Eccles College (2006-2008)
A level: English Literature A, English Language A, Spanish B.
AS level: Physical Education A, General Studies A, OCR Levels 2 and 3 - Key Skills in communication.
Moorside High School (2001-2006)
9 GCSEs obtained; 4 A*s, 2As, 2 Bs and 1 C:
A* - English Language, English Literature, History and Media Studies, A - Spanish and Maths, B – Biology and Physics, C – Chemistry.
English Literature grade – top 5 in the country
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY AND WORK EXPERIENCE:
(Arranged) 15/04/2013 – 21/06/2013 – Acre Hall Primary School - Year 5 – Final Professional Placement (FPP)
11/03/2013 – 15/03/2013 – St Hugh’s Catholic Primary School - Foundation Stage – Foundation Stage Placement
28/01/2013 – 08/02/2013 – Moss Park Junior School - Years 3-6 – Specialist Placement, Modern Languages (ML) Spanish
22/10/2012 – 21/12/2012 – Elmridge Primary School Year 2 – Guided Professional Placement (GPP)
19/09/2012 – 10/10/2012 – Elmridge Primary School Year 2 – Teaching Phonics and Reading Placement
16/10/2012 – Heybrook Primary School – Teaching a discrete maths lesson to a group of pupils
04/10/2012 - Claremont Primary School – Science observation, teaching and investigation activity
01/10/2012 – Plymouth Grove Primary School – Community Cohesion, elicitation and drama, teaching activity
20/09/2012 - Mauldeth Road Primary School – Science observation, teaching and investigation activity
13/09/2012 – Plymouth Grove Primary School – Science observation, teaching and investigation activity
18/01/2013 – The Manchester Grammar School – Year 7 observation day to observe transition features from KS2 to KS3
08/10/2012 – Marland Hill Primary School – Community Cohesion
07/2011 – 09/2012 – Hair Eden – Receptionist, purchasing
09/2010 – 06/2011 - CEIP Guadalquivir - Sanlúcar de Barrameda – Spain Auxiliar de Inglés - English conversation assistant
09/2010 – 06/2011 – Private English classes - Sanlúcar de Barrameda – Spain
06/2007 – 09/2010 - Wrightchoice Developments Limited – Admin and purchasing
07/2009-12/2009 - The University of Manchester - Academic Enrichment Programme – Student Ambassador
ADDITIONAL TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS
ACHIEVEMENTS: I was Head Girl during my final year at high school; this allowed me at a young age to develop my public speaking skills and involved working and communicating with people from all backgrounds and of all ages. I have also represented school, college and county in both athletics and volleyball. Furthermore, I have completed The Manchester Academic Enrichment Programme, which led onto the achievement of The Dunphy Access Scholarship for The University of Manchester. I later went on to work on the same programme as a student ambassador.
INTERESTS AND ACTIVITIES: I enjoy running and keeping fit as it strengthens personal motivation and goals; in October 2011 I ran the Liverpool Marathon for the British Heart Foundation, I will also run the Liverpool half-marathon in March 2013. I am interested in fashion and enjoy arts, crafts and jewellery making. Experiencing other cultures and traditions is also one of my main interests. This has become more accessible through both learning and speaking the Spanish language. I enjoy spending time and working with other people.
Native Language: English, Second language: Spanish
Currently Learning: Italian
EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS:
The University of Manchester (2012-2013)
Primary PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education) with Modern Languages Specialism
·Development of profound subject and pedagogical knowledge across all areas of the primary curriculum from EYFS to KS2.
·Specialise in the technical aspects of languages and intercultural understanding.
The University of Manchester (2008-2012)
BA English Language and Spanish 2:1 with honours, with a distinction in spoken Spanish
·Developed skills across all four areas of reading, writing, speaking and listening in Spanish.
·Required key time and workload management skills.
Eccles College (2006-2008)
A level: English Literature A, English Language A, Spanish B.
AS level: Physical Education A, General Studies A, OCR Levels 2 and 3 - Key Skills in communication.
Moorside High School (2001-2006)
9 GCSEs obtained; 4 A*s, 2As, 2 Bs and 1 C:
A* - English Language, English Literature, History and Media Studies, A - Spanish and Maths, B – Biology and Physics, C – Chemistry.
English Literature grade – top 5 in the country
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY AND WORK EXPERIENCE:
(Arranged) 15/04/2013 – 21/06/2013 – Acre Hall Primary School - Year 5 – Final Professional Placement (FPP)
11/03/2013 – 15/03/2013 – St Hugh’s Catholic Primary School - Foundation Stage – Foundation Stage Placement
- One week based in EYFS – across both nursery and reception.
- I was expected to act as a TA and take small groups in order to teach literacy, maths and understanding the world.
- I was also set a number of university tasks, which included narrative, focused and anecdotal observations. These varied between child initiated and adult directed tasks.
- To become more aware of the early years reading process.
- To gain a deeper understanding of the assessment and pupil profiling system in EYFS.
- To gain a more profound understanding of the EYFS curriculum.
28/01/2013 – 08/02/2013 – Moss Park Junior School - Years 3-6 – Specialist Placement, Modern Languages (ML) Spanish
- I moved across the four year groups throughout KS2. I was based primarily in year 5 where I was expected to conduct a number of set tasks and discuss the importance of languages with the children and staff.
- University tasks were set in order to inform understanding of language teaching in the primary school.
- The main aim of the placement was to identify opportunities for the inclusion of modern languages (ML) across the curriculum and how this would ultimately impact on the children's learning experiences.
- I also taught two language-based theme afternoons to year 5 classes.
- Upon completion of this placement I then completed an assessed presentation on how achievable the inclusion of ML is across the primary curriculum.
- I also did playground duty each week with my AT and attended staff meetings and professional development sessions during my time here.
22/10/2012 – 21/12/2012 – Elmridge Primary School Year 2 – Guided Professional Placement (GPP)
- During this eight-week placement I taught a year 2 class and by the third week I was teaching 70% of the lessons across the curriculum.
- I was expected to plan and prepare differentiated materials and resources for this class.
- Daily assessment was also a key area in order to ensure that my planning was informed by the varied abilities of the pupils to plan for progression in their learning.
- I also worked closely with the TA in the class and my accredited tutor (AT) to ensure that I was aware of where all of the children were up to in order to prepare stimulating, motivating and challenging materials.
- Additionally, I completed playground duty with my AT and attended two parents’ evening sessions whereby permission was granted for me to sit in to understand more about how such progress meetings are organised.
- I attended staff meetings on a weekly basis and also professional development sessions in a number of areas.
19/09/2012 – 10/10/2012 – Elmridge Primary School Year 2 – Teaching Phonics and Reading Placement
- During this four-week placement, I taught phonics to a group of year 2 children for one morning per week.
- I used the Letters and Sounds scheme of work
- These children formed a group, which required extra support in phonics.
- I worked closely with staff members in order to ascertain where children were up to and what their individual targets were, allowing me to plan for progression in their phonics learning by supporting them in moving closer towards their goals.
16/10/2012 – Heybrook Primary School – Teaching a discrete maths lesson to a group of pupils
04/10/2012 - Claremont Primary School – Science observation, teaching and investigation activity
01/10/2012 – Plymouth Grove Primary School – Community Cohesion, elicitation and drama, teaching activity
20/09/2012 - Mauldeth Road Primary School – Science observation, teaching and investigation activity
13/09/2012 – Plymouth Grove Primary School – Science observation, teaching and investigation activity
- I gained experience of working and teaching in different areas and thus with different children of a variety of ages who were from diverse backgrounds and of different religions and faiths.
- These culturally and linguistically rich experiences have allowed me to improve my teaching strategies in order to accommodate for a wide range of learners with individual needs.
18/01/2013 – The Manchester Grammar School – Year 7 observation day to observe transition features from KS2 to KS3
08/10/2012 – Marland Hill Primary School – Community Cohesion
- This involved observation of a successful circle time session, which allowed children to explore emotional and moral issues.
- It also entailed observation of a ‘dream assembly’ where children from KS1 and KS2 did an organised performance of the Lion King, which incorporated a number of cross-curricular links.
07/2011 – 09/2012 – Hair Eden – Receptionist, purchasing
- Management of all retail, purchasing and payment of all invoices, client management and customer satisfaction.
- Communication was vital for regular meetings with retail representatives ensuring good relations for future business.
- Management of a team of girls in order to ensure that that all daily tasks were completed to a high standard.
- Daily marketing tasks, which included use of internet sites and also general IT programs such as Microsoft Word and Publisher in order to create pieces for the shop and the community to promote the salon.
09/2010 – 06/2011 - CEIP Guadalquivir - Sanlúcar de Barrameda – Spain Auxiliar de Inglés - English conversation assistant
- Responsible for the integration of English language into everyday classes at the bilingual primary school.
- Supported Spanish staff members on a daily basis both in classes and out of class hours in order to prepare exciting and engaging class materials.
- Differentiated learning materials in order to make lessons accessible to every individual.
- Lead the teaching in subjects including pure English, English through science, art and knowledge of the environment. This teaching was done through the method of CLIL (Contact language integrated learning). This accelerated the children’s progress in English language as they were exposed to the language constantly throughout the school day, which gave purpose to their language learning.
- Improved my teaching skills and my ability to speak and utilise Spanish in many environments.
- Worked with children from age 3 up to 11, this required me to adapt my lessons plans according to age group and ability.
- Also worked with adults on a daily basis, not only teaching staff but also other assistants and members of the school-working environment.
09/2010 – 06/2011 – Private English classes - Sanlúcar de Barrameda – Spain
- Prepare, plan and deliver classes to six children.
- Monitor and assess their progress in the areas of speaking, listening, reading and writing.
- Tutoring sessions with two university students. This required a different approach and focus on university level, encouraging flexibility.
- Utilise my Spanish in order to explain any misunderstandings in English.
06/2007 – 09/2010 - Wrightchoice Developments Limited – Admin and purchasing
- Ensured that all filing systems were up to date; should a member of staff need to use information then it was readily available
- Dealt with payments and client satisfaction, over the phone and also via email.
- Organisation and shared management of the purchase ordering system was vital in ensuring that materials were delivered and collected on time to site.
- Built upon my I.T skills with programmes such as Microsoft EXCEL and the accountancy programme SAGE
- Managed the rentals, ensuring that agents had everything required in order to complete.
07/2009-12/2009 - The University of Manchester - Academic Enrichment Programme – Student Ambassador
- Responsible in ensuring the safety of all students not only throughout daytime activities but also during night activities, which were based off campus.
- Teamwork was key and staff de-briefs were given every day. Working as a team with both younger and older people.
- All allergies and other medical and personal requirements had to be acknowledged within each designated group.
ADDITIONAL TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS
- Fully competent in Word, Excel and PowerPoint and competent user of both PC and MAC applications and software.
- Additional ICT competency includes: Sage Accountancy and Shortcuts Organiser.
- 28/01/2013 - Using ICT as a tool to support and accelerate learning across the curriculum – Park Road Primary School.
- 06/02/2013 - Read Write Inc. training session – Heyes Lane Primary School.
- 19/01/2013 - Literacy and numeracy professional skills tests (QTS).
- 21/09/2012 - Emergency first aid at work certificate.
- Instituto Cervantes – Completion of three higher-level grammar and conversation 10-week courses.
- Completed a one-day TEFL training course at The University of Sheffield – 30/03/2010.
- Completion of 10 Electronic Keyboard Examinations with The Victoria College of Music: 8 distinctions, 1 Merit and The Junior Bronze Medal Award.
ACHIEVEMENTS: I was Head Girl during my final year at high school; this allowed me at a young age to develop my public speaking skills and involved working and communicating with people from all backgrounds and of all ages. I have also represented school, college and county in both athletics and volleyball. Furthermore, I have completed The Manchester Academic Enrichment Programme, which led onto the achievement of The Dunphy Access Scholarship for The University of Manchester. I later went on to work on the same programme as a student ambassador.
INTERESTS AND ACTIVITIES: I enjoy running and keeping fit as it strengthens personal motivation and goals; in October 2011 I ran the Liverpool Marathon for the British Heart Foundation, I will also run the Liverpool half-marathon in March 2013. I am interested in fashion and enjoy arts, crafts and jewellery making. Experiencing other cultures and traditions is also one of my main interests. This has become more accessible through both learning and speaking the Spanish language. I enjoy spending time and working with other people.