Paul Maxwell

I am a qualified English Teacher with a PGCE who has completed my NQT year and have experience of teaching current UK curriculum English to students of Key Stage 3, 4 and 5. My most recent full-time teaching was at a large comprehensive school, Fullbrook Academy, in Surrey. I was very fortunate to work with a fourteen member, mutually supportive, English and Media Studies department. I was also involved in the pastoral side: having my own form class, running after-school clubs and helping to organise school trips.
My first teaching experience was in 2012 when I took a career break to teach EFL for two years in South Korea. I discovered that I have a passion for teaching and resolved to get my PGCE qualification when I returned to the UK. I chose a SCITT program for my PGCE training as this four days a week of training in schools from the beginning of the course. As someone who has travelled a lot, taught ESL and lived in several countries, I feel empathy for and a bond with EAL students. I have taken the initiative in organising extra-curricular activities to assist EAL students with their studies and to help prepare them for exams. During my PGCE year, I chose as the topic for my final coursework dissertation to carry out a comprehensive review of the EAL provisions at my placement school to identify strengths, weaknesses and to suggest any areas for improvement, which led to an update of the school’s EAL provisions. I was also fortunate enough to observe some excellent EAL initiatives in London during my training year in schools where EAL students were the majority. I have remained in contact with some of the department members and occasionally ask for advice or resources or share those that I have discovered myself.
It is my philosophy that if students are not making mistakes, they are not giving themselves a sufficient challenge and it’s their attitude towards overcoming and learning from these mistakes that help them make progress on their journey towards mastery of their subject. My personality and teaching style lend themselves to a calm and positive classroom atmosphere and one where I encourage students to share their ideas and suggestions without fear of getting the answer wrong. I have found that the study of English, particularly literature and poetry, can often lend itself to many different interpretations. One of my great joys of teaching English is when a student reads a text and suggests an insightful interpretation that is different than the one that I had, demonstrating that we never stop learning. Our school and department heavily promoted the concepts of growth mind-set and I firmly believe that this philosophy is extremely beneficial to both students and teachers.
Due to a family illness I have been living at home for the last two years and tutoring local students both in Northern Ireland (UK curriculum) and in the Republic of Ireland (ROI curriculum). I am once again seeking a full time teaching position.
I would very much appreciate the opportunity to speak face-to-face or via Skype to communicate why I feel that I would be a good addition to the team and a benefit to the school.
Best Wishes
Paul Maxwell