Assistant Head of Initial Teacher Training

My personal advice, and I think this applies to any job, not just education, is to take on as much as you can early on. The more experience you gain and the more you can prove your competency, the more brilliant opportunities come your way. 

I’m Amy, and I’m the Assistant Head of Initial Teacher Training for Ormiston Academies Trust, based in the East. Over the last five years, my role has been to develop and curate a teacher training provision in Norfolk. I train teachers so they can get qualified and go into classrooms to work with lots of wonderful students and pupils across the county. 

My background wasn’t always in teaching. I studied journalism at university and worked as a journalist for quite a while. Moving into English teaching felt like a natural transition. Alongside teaching, I’ve developed and grown the OAT Norfolk campus over five years, while also being a practising teacher myself — Head of English and part of the senior leadership team at Ormiston Venture Academy. 

One of the brilliant things about working in education is the number of development pathways available. There are leadership courses like NPQML and NPQSL that help you grow as a leader. But honestly, the most powerful learning comes from being on the job — putting yourself forward for extra responsibilities like TLRs, which are small projects linked to school priorities. 

You can become a curriculum lead, a head of department, or get involved in delivering CPD to colleagues. Supporting others with training, leadership, and problem solving across complex areas of education is what really gives you the cutting edge. 

My favourite quote — whether you like him or not — comes from Richard Branson: “If you get offered a good opportunity, take it, and learn how to do it later.” That’s something I’ve always lived by.