Kate Bertram - St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
Teaching is one of the most challenging career paths to take, but one of the most rewarding.
As Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust (BCCET) launches its first SCITT programme with Teach First, one of the Trust’s deputy headteachers shares a ‘typical’ day in the life of a teacher.
Deputy headteacher and reception teacher Kate Bertram, from St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Jarrow, is also a mum of two boys aged nine and four. She explains why being super organised is, for her, the key to teaching.
6am: Alarm. My mornings run with military precision. I do food prep at weekends for teas for Monday and Tuesday and I iron our week’s outfits on Sunday. In my deputy headteacher role, I have responsibility for arranging cover for absent teachers, so I like to check my emails before school.
I get my children up, get ready, feed our rabbits and hang a load of washing out. I listen to my boys read and we do spellings practice and homework. My mother-in-law takes them to school, so I drop them off on the way to work.
I arrive in school by 8am and meet the headteacher and business manager, call into breakfast club and go to my office.
8.15am-12.30pm: I teach in Early Years and lessons include daily phonics. We have areas of learning in EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) to support their fine and gross motor skills and learning skills.
I work with two teaching assistants and an HLTA (higher level teaching assistant), who covers me if I get called away. As I’m also deputy headteacher, I need to be alert and available if any urgent situations arise requiring the involvement of a senior leader.
I couldn’t do my job without the people I work with. I share all my planning with my TAs, so everyone knows what the lesson plans are.
There is nothing else I can imagine myself doing; I have always wanted to be a teacher. As a practising Catholic, it’s such a privilege to not only teach children but also to support them on their faith journey.
12.30pm-1.30pm: I do a half-hour lunch duty with a child who needs 1:1 support and then I have lunch.
1.30pm-5pm: I have a quick catch-up with the head, then check the diary and quality assurance calendar and, as teaching and learning lead, I will carry out learning walks.
For me, I feel I must be super organised but to be honest, it’s not a natural skill, I had to train myself – and I do love a list!
I start working on the next week’s diary on Wednesdays, plan staffing, and look at school trips e.g. risk assessments.
Between 4pm and 5pm: Before I leave I prepare resources for the next day.
Although that is my typical school day, there isn’t a typical day. I can be called to sort urgent safeguarding issues or assist with challenging behaviour.
5.30pm-7.30pm: My school is very understanding about the importance of family and provides flexibility for me to attend my boys’ school liturgies or sports days. Once I have collected the boys, we play football or games. It’s important to me that we play when I get in and have tea together as a family. There are times when I need to open the laptop, but I wait until the boys are in bed; we are strict on prioritising a work/life balance.
7.30pm: Boys’ bedtime and it’s not long after that I totter off to bed to read as it helps me switch off. And then the next day, it starts all over again.
Anyone interested in opportunities at BCCET and its 30 schools, visit www.bccet.org.uk