A popular webinar series designed to kickstart a teaching career returns on Wednesday 20 October at 4pm, thanks to Teach Portsmouth. The webinar, Teach Portsmouth presents: special educational needs teaching, encourages those looking to teach children and young people with complex needs to take that first step into the profession.
Teach Portsmouth is a Portsmouth City Council initiative designed to recruit and retain the best teachers for the city’s schools and academies.
Councillor Suzy Horton, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education at Portsmouth City Council welcomed the series return:
“Teaching is a rewarding career for the right person. It’s fantastic to see such a well-loved series focus on new topics that will encourage even more people to join the profession.
“With the city’s growing provision for special educational needs, we require skilled practitioners, in both learning and teaching roles, who can support Portsmouth’s most vulnerable children and young people in the years to come. This webinar is a fantastic first step in giving people the know how they need to start on that journey.”
Teach Portsmouth presents is a series of free webinars that invites those who have an interest in the profession to learn more from local experts. So far, the series has explored routes into teaching, changing career to the profession as well as career progression.
The creation of the series was in direct response to government restrictions on in-person events due to COVID-19. Because of this, Teach Portsmouth’s event calendar, including an annual awards ceremony for teachers, moved online. While in-person events are making a comeback, this virtual offering will enable people further afield, to learn about teaching in Portsmouth before they make a move.
In series 2, attendees will be introduced to teaching specialisms, including special educational needs, early years education and STEM teaching (science, technology, engineering and maths).
Luci Johnson, head teacher at Redwood Park Academy who will be interviewed during the webinar said:
“Special educational needs is an area of teaching that supports pupils with moderate to complex learning difficulties. You could be working as a learning support assistant on a 1 to 1 basis or a teacher in front of a class. You’ll see the difference you are making on a daily basis, enabling pupils to excel.”
Alongside Luci, other contributors will give an insight into working as a special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) and a teacher in an inclusion centre. All contributors work in Portsmouth school settings, providing a realistic picture of specialist teaching locally. At the end of webinar, attendees will be able to submit questions as part of a live Q&A session.
Those interested in finding out more about Teach Portsmouth’s latest webinar can visit teachportsmouth.co.uk/webinar or search Teach Portsmouth online.
Teach Portsmouth work to recruit, retain and grow the best teachers and leaders for Portsmouth. It is part of the Portsmouth Education Partnership which is supported by Portsmouth City Council and education providers across the city.
