#TeachingHero

Your new #TeachingHero is @robinflack. Thank you so much friend for your time in answering this interview. If you'd like to take part, and spread positivity in our profession, get in touch!

What motivates you to work hard?
I am motivated by pupils and staff. My team are full of fresh, inspiring ideas and I relish the opportunity to try new things - the continual sharing of good practice in our school hub too has been particularly motivating too as it's given me the opportunity to fine tune my own practice. I also thrive on the children's positivity and proactive 'can do' attitude. I introduced, across the school, a '5-A-Day' arithmetic programme where every child answers five completely random arithmetic-style problems as their starter for every maths lessons. Pupils and teachers get a real 'buzz' from it and the children thrive on improving their scores or remembering those little 'tricks' to help solve problems efficiently and effectively.

Where do you go for personal and professional support or advice?
Personal and professional advice always starts with my Headteacher - I have such a strong relationship with her so it gives me the opportunity to ask those probing questions or seek advice when needed. Equally, having worked in three schools now, I feel I have developed a really good range of contacts who I can tap into when I need to - it's always good to know support is there and I can choose who I feel can support me best or talk through a situation with. I think for me the worst part can be dealing with difficult parents. Verbally abusive parents are really tricky as you want them to support you and the school but equally they have to remember we are professionals. I manage this by talking about it in SLT, with other schools and working hard to engage the parent(s).

What strategies do you use to manage workload and protect your well being?
I would say my workload is pretty well balanced! I do not do ANY school work at the weekend (well it's very rare I do: occasionally I have to prepare for moderation etc). I think my big thing is to be disciplined with my timing - I am completely OCD with my diary but I know exactly what I am doing each day and each week. I timetable staff meetings, SLT meetings etc into my diary and then plan everything else around it. I generally tend to do next step marking at the beginning of the week and less detailed marking at the end, for example, as I know the end of the week can be more hectic. As a member of SLT, we scrapped target cards/target walls etc as it was taking up too much time and not proving anything - children's books are more than enough assessment evidence. 

We were well above the national average last year for progress and achievement and we didn't have any 'sheets' in books to tick off - I personally feel it doesn't make any difference at all. I am also very disciplined with my PPA time - EVERYTHING gets done. I work really hard to plan, resource and prepare and, as sad as it sounds, I have a Monday - Thursday tray (I don't teach Fridays) which I place resources in so everything is ready and I don't need to rush around in the mornings photocopying and printing! Organisation is a big part of the game too - I always work a few weeks ahead so I know what is coming up and I can be prepared for those trips, enrichment weeks, medium term plans and newsletters - this gives me time free when, inevitably, problems arise which need dealing with. I think the key thing is using your time wisely!

What advice would you give anyone who felt like giving up?
If you feel like giving up - write a list! What is making you want to give up? Why do you want to give up? Often when you list things and contextualise, you can see patterns or things that can be dealt with instantly. It also helps someone, like your mentor, to see what the problems are. Negativity is a tricky problem because it can really bring people down - surround yourself with positive people and also BE THE POSITIVE PERSON! I worked with a very negative person and the more positive I kept, the more their negativity broke!

Sum up our profession in 5 words.
A forever journey of learning :-)