Maternity Reads and Thoughts

"Everyone is going on about this new virus called COVID. Apparently it's really bad and it's all over the news," I say to the unconscious man on the bed. That was a year ago. Coronavirus wasn't really a thing. We'd heard about it at the start of the year and it was all everyone could… Continue reading Reflections on a Pandemic: Grief, Teaching and Parenting

I've toyed with the idea of writing a blog post for a while, but I wasn't quite certain about how I was going to start it. However, I've been thinking for a while now about my first year back in teaching after my maternity leave, because ultimately, when I returned to work I felt like… Continue reading Reflections on Year 1

I haven't taught a proper lesson since July 2018. Ok, so I've taught an interview lesson but that was a condensed version and I've covered some lessons when I returned to work for the final week of the Summer term in July, but I haven't taught a full length lesson since July 2018. And I… Continue reading Fears and Doubts

I had the privilege of marking for one of the exam boards this summer and it was an interesting experience. This post is not specific about any exam board or anything like that, just the ups and downs of juggling a baby on maternity leave and marking scripts. I find exam marking really interesting; I… Continue reading Reflections on a Maternity Leave Part 3: Exam Marking

The clock is ticking. I'm almost about to head to work in less than 24 hours. My feelings remain unchanged because I don't know what I'm feeling, so I thought I would write a post instead. (This post will be published after my first day back, but imagine I'm sat in front of my laptop… Continue reading Reflections on a Maternity Leave Part 2: Being 10% Braver

I'm on the final countdown as I reach the end of my maternity leave. I go back to work next week and I have so many mixed feelings that I'm not sure how I feel, although about a hundred people have asked me expecting some sort of answer. As a result, I thought I would… Continue reading Reflections on a Maternity Leave Part 1: Then and Now- A CPD Journey

I like my job. I love my baby more and always will do, but I really do like my job. I've always known that I would return to work part-time as I really enjoy the fact that teaching is incredibly diverse, that no day is ever the same and that I get to talk about… Continue reading The MTPT Project

This will be a fairly short post because there's not really much to say apart from the fact that I've been reading. A lot. I know I'm an English teacher, but quite often, I find myself reading, no longer necessarily for pressure,but for curriculum. Unlike reading for pleasure, I am one of those people that… Continue reading Read, Read, Read

Questions whilst you are on your maternity leave can be overwhelming as well as being potentially helpful or unhelpful, and as I navigate through this new area of my life, the following questions keep on coming up. However I found I was being bombarded with them at the very beginning all the time. I should… Continue reading “How are you finding it?” and other such questions

My life is run by bells. Bells tell me when my day starts. Bells tell me when I can have a break. Bells tell me when I can eat. Bells tell me when I can go to the toilet. So. Many. Bells. When October half term hit, I was ready to be done with the… Continue reading Culture Shock