Rebecca Schaschke

I believe I am a well-rounded educator who has experience across several local authorities through both employment and placements. As a passionate teacher, I have used my broad range of experience to contribute positively within the Primary School.

I have worked with many children and young people as a primary teacher. Most recently at St Joseph's Primary School. My role was to teach and nurture over 200 children providing a safe working environment which catered to the needs of the individuals.

I gained a wealth of experience during my NQT year at Glebelands Primary. I taught a primary 4 class which was noted for having a range of additional support needs, such as visual impairment, children on the autistic spectrum and EAL. For example, one learner has extreme visual impairment; I am therefore fully committed to understanding the complex needs of this individual. To remove the barriers to learning, I therefore work closely alongside the Accessibility and Inclusion service to provide resources and to ensure that the delivery of my lessons is suitable for their specific needs.
 

I am passionate about contextual learning and bonds within the community. I have made connections with Tayside Fire and Rescue. I value the importance of these ties which enrich the learning experience in a fun and engaging way. 

In addition I was a Girl Guide leader for 4 years, I had responsibility for planning different activities for the girls each week. With their input, I was able to plan their choices in creating fun activities that they would enjoy. I also had to base some part of the evening on the Guiding programme and adapted this to suit the group of girls that I had as well as considering the age range of the girls.

Many pupils in Scotland are recognised as struggling with their mental health as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. As part of my teaching, I have introduced the pupils to the Decider Skills which are award winning strategies for improving mental health which enables pupils to monitor and manage their own emotions and mental health. It is rewarding to observe pupils using these skills to deal with their emotions such as stress, anger and anxiety.

I gained a 1:1 BA(Hons) in Education. Throughout my undergraduate studies at university, I acquired a range of academic and practical skills. This included four placements within schools across four Local Authorities.

My placements were across lower, middle and upper levels of primary education, each providing a different learning experience and providing me with experience and confidence to teach across all levels. There were occasions when I found behaviour management to be a challenge particularly with upper primary. However, this provided me with skills in how to implement a range of effective behaviour management strategies as well as targeted support for learnings.

In my third year, I undertook an ERAMUS+ exchange with the University of Liberec in the Czech Republic. As the first-ever student from my University to go to the Czech Republic, this was a unique experience. I was able not only to gain a valuable insight to primary education in this country, but also to immerse myself in the culture. It was a privilege to have made friendships during this time with friends with teachers there as well as fellow European ERAMUS students. I also attended a Kindergarten each week. I also planned English lessons for the Czech learners. I found that it was possible for me to teach learners without the need for communicating using either the Czech or English language providing the approach was well structured and organised. I have subsequently used this approach to plan for my learners who speak Ukrainian, Mandarin etc.

In my final year, I completed a dissertation, which focused on ways to bridge the attainment gap for looked-after children. This comprised a review of literature combined with interviews. The outcome of the dissertation is an appreciation of the severity of the issue and how I can make my classroom a safe place for learners. I am committed to making school a positive experience all children and aim to ensure that my looked-after learners emotional and academic needs are fully met.

I have gained my Trauma Informed Practice certificate; this course has facilitated me to become trauma informed and responsive. It has given me a greater understanding of how to recognise where learners are affected by trauma and adversity. I now have the tools that enable me to respond in ways that prevent further harm and support recovery. The course broke down different types of trauma and how that may affect the individual. This along with GIRFEC has helped me address inequalities within the classroom.