Focus Areas

• Seeks advice from Mentor on the relevant legislative, administrative and organisational policies and processes required for teachers
• With the support of the Mentor, applies strategies to communicate and establish professional relationships with families

Description

To meet Standard 7.2, I sought the advice of my Mentor to identify opportunities for familiarising myself, participating, and applying the school’s administrative and organisational policies. One of these involved yard duty, which I conducted, together with other teachers. To adhere to the expected responsibilities, I consulted the relevant induction handbook that the school provided for documenting its policies, including yard duty (Slider 7.1). Moreover, I asked that my Mentor inform me about the location where first aid kits and Epipen injections were stored (Picture 7.1). Through my involvement with this activity I realised how crucial it is for a teacher to be familiar with school’s policies and to try and apply them thoroughly in order to ensure students’ wellbeing and safety. This is in line with the view from Churchill et al. (2005) that teachers are responsible for students’ welfare and it is expected from them to predict, recognise and manage all forms of risk that students may be exposed to.

During my placement, I also actively tried to be kept informed on school events and upcoming staff meetings that I could attend, in order to create positive relationships with colleagues, parents and the wider school community. Through my participation in these events, I aimed to become familiar with social tasks and obligations that may extend beyond classroom teaching, yet form an integral part of my duties as a graduate teacher. In this context, I also interacted with the parents via the Compass system, where, according to school policy, I was required to notify them when their child had failed to hand in a formal assignment and log this event in the system. In this way, I contributed to building a relationship of trust with the parents, where they could closely monitor their child’s progress and intervene when needed (Picture 7.2). As Edwards (2016) suggests, developing and maintaining positive relationships with parents is critical to providing the best education to the children.

References

Churchill, R., Godinho, S., Johnson, N. F., Keddie, A., Letts, W., Lowe, K., Mackay, J., McGill, M., Moss, J., Nagel, M. C., Shaw, K., Ferguson, P., Nicholson, P., & Vick, M. (2016). Teaching : making a difference. Milton, QLD: Wiley

Edwards, P. (2016). New Ways to Engage Parents: Strategies and Tools for Teachers and Leaders, K–12, New York, NY: Teachers College Press

Evidence Artefacts

Slider 7.1: Key information on school policies, retrieved from the induction booklet I received at the beginning of my placement.

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Picture 7.1: Email exchange with my Mentor, regarding yard duty.

Slider 7.2: Email to parents, informing them about the poster assignment and its due date and their reply.