From Then To Now…

Let me introduce myself… I’m Sam. I’ve worked in education since 2009 where I started out as a SEND Teaching assistant in a secondary school. Whilst I worked 1:1 with a year 8 boy with Exceptional Needs,  I also started to get involved with extra job roles – helping children after school with English skills or helping to run the English Summer School for new year 7 students. I loved this job and I learnt so much about various SEND, differentiation, behaviour strategies and also how to have a great time with students whilst they learnt! I learnt that making activities fun was a great way to help students to learn. 

When a job came up at another local secondary school as a HLTA in English, I couldn’t resist. I was very sad to leave my 1:1 student, who was in year 10 by this point. But my contract with the school was tied to him and he only had a year left at school. I also really wanted the English specialism as part of the new job role. So, the next twelve years as a HLTA was where I spent my working life – plus I stayed in contact with my 1:1 student and his family! They moved to Manchester, but we have still met up a few times in recent years. 

By the end of 2012, I’d completed my HLTA status and I was thoroughly enjoying working in a busy secondary school where behaviour was great (overall!) exam results were high – and there were really high standards and expectations, plus great support and family-like staff. I supported in KS3 and KS4 lessons, I taught some small groups and lessons, took lots of interventions groups including reading, phonics and GCSE English, I helped to run a DofE reading volunteer scheme, I became a trained invigilator, Reader and Scribe and did these roles throughout the exam period each year – and the list goes on. The school provided me with so many opportunities during my time there. I started tutoring in my spare time in 2013, using an agency at first. I worked with KS2 students who needed reading and writing help, and also with KS3 and KS4 students who needed help with various English skills for assessments and exams. I also did some  A level Literature tuition and Adult literacy. I loved tutoring and gradually built up my own client list using Facebook and word of mouth. I tutored many family friends, my colleagues’ children and other local students who found me online. 

I also completed my MA in creative writing in 2019 with The Open University. The school supported me financially with this and I completed it whilst working (some of that at home due to Covid) and also whilst battling infertility with my husband. 

By the end of 2020, I had a completed MA with merit in Creative Writing, which included many Lyric essays, Personal essays, Memoir extracts, travel writing, short stories, poems and I also was expecting our first child. 

To bring things to the present day (at the end of 2023), I’m now very lucky to have a two-and-a-half-year-old son and a one-year-old daughter. I have recently made the decision to leave my HLTA job and solely do my English tuition. It wasn’t an easy decision, but it was something I’d always wanted to try and it will fit around my family more easily. See my pages for available group and 1:1 sessions.