Stuart Henderson

To whom it may concern,

My name is Stuart Henderson, and I am a 34 year old British citizen, who completed my GCSE's and A-levels between the years of 1999-2007. I completed my BA Hons degree at the University of Wolverhampton in the field of War Studies through the school of humanities. 

I completed TEFL and TESOL courses in 2015, and began my teaching journey in Thailand. Since then I have taught English at a range of different educational establishments in Thailand, and have been responsible for teaching nursery age students through to adults. The vast majority of quality school-teaching experience, as well as the most enjoyable, has been when teaching primary aged students. 

During my time as a primary educator at a Singaporean International School in Bangkok, Thailand, I was able to get a good insight into holistic primary education. I was employed to teach English, Pastoral Care, with additions of teaching humanities, and drama, which were embedded within the curriculum. Additionally for my 4 years of employment, I coached the school football team, which trained weekly and participated in various inter-school football matches. During my time at this school, I also spent two years as the Chairman of Staff Welfare and was promoted to Level Lead for year 3 and year 4 first-language English. 

I truly enjoy spending time with children and see myself as a very holistic and nurturing teacher, who enjoys engaging students in a variety of topics, as well as introducing new and exciting topics to expand their enjoyment, knowledge and skills. Ultimately, I am happy to take on extra roles where needed to support students in their interests and extracurricular activities. 

I achieved a merit in my PGCEi in 2019 through the University of Nottingham, whilst in full-time employment and during my first year of parenthood. During my studies, and upon completion of the PGCEi, I now have a much better insight into educational theory, methodologies, and practices which have aided me in establishing my own pedagogical approach to teaching. 

Throughout my teaching journey, I have discovered a real passion for education and teaching and would like to return to Thailand to teach. I have a diverse knowledge of subjects, and hold expertise in numerous fields of studies. 

I believe that children learn from each other and through interacting with their surroundings, and that my role as a teacher is to facilitate quality learning opportunities for students and aid learners in their own routes towards problem solving and achieving successful/positive answers, and results in activities, tasks, and assessments. I understand the importance of setting and sharing goals with students both as a class and individually when required, and see lessons as a joint effort, in which the teacher and students have to achieve the goal together as a class.

I believe that my effective classroom management skills help to establish rules, respect, safety and a positive and enriching learning environment for all members of the class including myself.

Since being back in the UK, I have been able to gain more valuable teaching experience as an English teacher, in an IB secondary school. This role has given me a good understanding of the UK teaching standards and practices, as well as a much better insight into planning and teaching the IB curriculum. 

Thank you for your consideration, 

Stuart Henderson

I have a great deal of international teaching experience with nursery, kindergarten, primary and secondary aged students, but have found a passion to teacher younger students. I thoroughly enjoy teaching and learning about educational theories and methodologies. I am currently studying for a level 5 diploma in child psychology to boost my understanding of child development, and support my teaching practice. 

I want to work in a school that values my teaching practice and allows me to support the best needs of my students. I always aim to create safe, nurturing and engaging enviroments for students to learn and communicate their ideas, thoughts and feelings. Additionally, I strive to create an atmosphere in which children learn not only from the teacher, but from their peers and surroundings. 

I have a 3 year old daughter who has helped me to understand the best parts of supporting young learners and children with their education through play-based learning. My daughter and previous experiences has helped me to realise that teaching young learners can be one of the most rewarding teaching positions, as well as one in which demands a strong sense of planning, preparation, understanding and deliverability, of which I feel I have obtained. 

As an educator, and a life long learner, I truly want to develop my own skills and knowledge, so that I am able to become a much better teacher and have a great holistic view of education in general. In turn, I believe that being able to support students is crucial to developing the next generation of international mindful successors that will take society forward towards achieving a much more peaceful and harmoneous planet for all. 

I have studied a great deal about child development through my PGCEi and child psychology diploma, as well as by gaining first hand experience of observing young learners in educational settings. I have taught students from the ages of 2 and upwards, who have had almost no English comprehension or speaking abilities whatsoever, but have managed to support and engage them towards developing their English proficiency skills through interactive lessons and teaching. During this time, I have also helped students to realise the importance of learning and speaking English for themselves, which makes them a much more willing and happy learner.