Simon - Attleborough - ESOL (English)

Methodology

Be sincere, persevere and have confidence in your abilities. Success is then only a matter of time.

- Which subject(s) do you teach?

I teach Geography, Environmental Studies, Wildlife Conservation, English and English as a Foreign Language.

- Tell me about your qualifications.

CELTA: one month intensive Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (2015)

PGCE: focused on GCSE Geography (secondary school) and BTEC Countryside Management (FE College). I split my PGCE in order to gain formal experience with both older and younger students (2010).

MSc Education for Sustainability: critical studies in global social and environmental issues. This combines my two passions: education and the environment (2006).

BSc Conservation Management: the theory and practice of ecology and wildlife conservation. Including nature reserve management (1997).

BTEC National Diploma Countryside Management. This course was about the practice of managing the countryside; including such skills as hedge-laying, machinery operation and wildlife surveying (1994).

- How much do you charge?

Tutor Sessions: £22/ hour. First session free.

- Where do you teach?

I teach in students' homes both in or out-of-doors, as appropriate.

- When are you available?

I am available during early evening and school/ college holiday periods.

- Which ages and levels do you teach?

I teach primary to A level; from 6 years old upwards.This includes individials with SEN.

- Which qualifications do you prepare your students for?

GCSE
A level
City & Guilds/ BTEC levels 2 & 3
Functionsl Skills
IELTS

- Describe your arrangements for online tutoring.

I prefer face-to-face tutoring. This is because I have found that digital communication does not convey the visual cues or spontaneity required for effective learning to occur.

- Do you have a personal message for students?

Remember that learning is just playing with added purpose. You can do it!

Experience

- What kind of experience do you have?

Before my current teaching, I taught A level Geography and Environmental Studies, then subsequently land-based studies, such as wildlife conservation and forestry. Prior to this, I undertook my PGCE alongside private tuition work. Before teaching in formal education, I worked as an educator for The Wildlife Trusts, in London, Suffolk and Norfolk. This included leading fieldwork activities for primary, secondary and A level students. The subjects I teach are rooted in my experience of the rural industries.

My industrial experience includes work as a farm wildlife consultant, a crop research assistant as well as a labourer on both livestock and arable farms. My work on nature reserves has involved stock fencing, scrub clearance and reed cutting. In forestry, have I worked as a woodcutter in both broadleaf and conifer plantations. I have also travelled (and worked) in different continents, including Africa, Australasia and Europe. These jobs have included farming, factory and building work.

- Do you have an up-to-date DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service, formerly CRB) Certificate?

I am currently registered on the DBS Update Service. Expiry date 01/09/2016.

- Where and with whom did you train?

PGCE:
Stoke High School, Ipswich with Open University (GCSE Geography).
University College Suffolk, Ipswich (BTEC Countryside Management).

CELTA: ITTC Bournemouth.

MSc: London South Bank University.

BSc: University of East Anglia.

- Do you belong to any professional organisations?

Society for Education & Training (Member).
Royal Geographical Society (Fellow).

- Tell me about some of your current students.

My current students include individuals with learning difficulties. These students can grasp ideas as effectively as the rest of the class, particularly when they have time to process the information. Topics are best presented as visual or practical examples, based on their own areas of interest.