22 February 2021
Trainee teachers at the 色狗导航 have been continuing to work and train in local schools during the Covid-19 lockdown.
While schools and settings in the UK have had to adapt at very short notice to changes due to the pandemic, trainee teachers based at the University鈥檚 Institute of Education have been supported to continue their placements, either physically in school or working remotely with a named mentor and school or setting.
Trainee teachers have been able to support primary schools who have faced significant challenges as the highest number of year groups have seen a return to physical teaching.
Teachers have faced additional workloads to manage classroom lessons as well as home learning to ensure that the quality of education for children continuing to learn at home is not harmed, and having trainee teachers to take on responsibility for delivering classroom lessons has been a beneficial experience for all concerned.
One trainee primary teacher who has continued to benefit from the in-classroom experience is Elizabeth Dawkins, who just completed her second placement teaching children of key workers.
Elizabeth said:
鈥淭he teachers and children stay in their own bubble, so I haven鈥檛 been able to mix with the rest of the school as much as I would have liked, and sometimes I have had to teach with a mask on, which has been strange, but other than that everything has been as I expected.
鈥淭here is a lot of pastoral care with children at this age, and you feel very responsible for their wellbeing and welfare, even outside of school where things have been very different for them, so it has been great to be able to provide them with that constant and that routine.鈥�
"If we can train during a pandemic, we can do anything."
Elizabeth believes that learning to be a teacher during a pandemic has been a blessing in disguise, as she has been given the confidence to face each new challenge head-on.
She said:
鈥淚f we can train through a pandemic, we can do anything. Personally, I am loving the training, and everyone says how amazing we are doing. And because we don鈥檛 know any different, this is just how it is!
鈥淪tudying at university has been very different, and I was worried that I wouldn鈥檛 get the chance to build any friendships with other teachers, but during half term when we had our training sessions online, the tutors split us up into different break-out sessions, so we were able to solidify our relationships and compare notes.
鈥淭he tutors have been amazing, and it is so good to know that they are there at the end of an email if we need anything. They鈥檝e really tried to make it more personal by logging onto sessions early so we can have a chat if we need to, they really have been brilliant.
Dr Catherine Foley, Programme Director of Primary School Direct at the 色狗导航鈥檚 Institute of Education said:
鈥淯nlike many providers, the 色狗导航 partnership made the decision that wherever possible, trainee teachers would continue with their placements. Since then, their contribution to keeping learning and wellbeing going for children in schools across the region has been phenomenal.
鈥淭he vast majority of schools never closed their doors during term-time in the last lockdown, so our trainees have been involved with teaching and learning throughout.
鈥淢any of our primary trainees, for example, have continued to go into their schools and settings to teach vulnerable children and children of key workers. They have embraced the new challenges of teaching within a 鈥榖ubble鈥�, sometimes working with children of many different ages within the same group.鈥�
We are in the process of finalising our postgraduate taught courses for 2026/27 entry. In the meantime, you can view our 2025/26 courses.
