Thread by @ChloeFibonacci

A few folks have asked to hear my speech from yesterday (I don’t think it was recorded). Here it is ⬇️ #LoveFE 💜🥂❤️

My name is Chloë Hynes and last year I completed Advanced Teacher Status (or ATS) with the Society for Education + Training (or SET).

When I was asked to do this speech I had this twang of fear: “you’ve got the wrong person”. There are so many fantastic people graduating here today who could have been up here instead of me, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to share my own journey with you all.

So what is the purpose of this speech? Well, I’d like to tell you a little bit about the impact of the ATS process and the importance of achieving chartered teacher status.

As someone who was chronically chosen last in PE or any kind of group work for all of my school life,

it is no wonder I found my fit in a sector that is commonly referred to as the ‘second chance sector’. For clarity, that’s FE or Further Education; basically, anything that isn’t school or university and includes college, community learning, apprenticeships, training,

prison education and a whole lot more. Our sector is wide, diverse and incredibly multifaceted – it’s beauty however is often it’s curse and it can be challenging working in such a complex sector. But as any FE teacher will tell you: it’s worth it.

The whole reflective ATS process has been integral in instigating many lightbulb moments for me as a professional + realising the shape of my personal jigsaw piece and how it fits in the FE sector. One such lightbulb moment is that the common denominator in my work is community.

In my own schooling, there wasn’t much of it. When I started teaching, I hankered for it. Now, as an advanced practitioner and a lifelong learner I realise the value of it. So community ran like a glistening thread throughout the whole process.

Yes, of course the over-arching focus was on me and my development as an advanced teacher, but the pedagogy I was exploring (including online training and thinking environments), my reflective insights throughout (which I turned into a blog)…

Wakelet.com/@chloe_ATS

+ even my action research project, all boiled down to one vital ingredient: community.

I thought it important then to give thanks where thanks was due and I started compiling a list of all the people who helped and supported me throughout the process but it would have taken…

more than the 5 mins I’ve been allotted and I knew I needed to do other things like give context, explain what FE was, and actually answer the question as to what impact ATS has had on me. So here’s the slimmed down list:

Rachel @OnerConsultancy – a friend in ESOL, who a few months after I returned from maternity leave asked me if I had applied to ATS yet and if not why the hell not?

Vicky @vickymeaby – a friend and a critical friend; sometimes at the same time.

Lynne @Realtimeedu – my mentor who I now consider a good friend who was invaluable in her insights and unwavering cheerleading.
Finally, the ATS Staffroom – @OnerConsultancy, @ESOL_Eve, @TutorSinead, @k_pogson and @sarabjitborrill. Not all here today, but as I affirmed…

in the latest issue of InTuition journal, “I don’t know how I would have got through ATS without them.” Thank you.

So what next? I don’t believe a teacher ever stops learning, so I guess it’s a good thing most of us are happy being lifelong learners.

The ATS journey was hard work, it was challenging and sometimes it was a hard slog that brought with it a mountainous to do list. However, we should all be incredibly proud of succeeding a process that went into such granular detail and critique of our own practice.

Something that with it often came an emotional toll, further necessitating our need for peer support and communities; even if it was just for a simple check in to ask: “How are you?”.

I can’t speak for everyone who has completed this process, but I for one am grateful…

for the time I have had to reflect on my own practice, to consider how I fit within my organisation and to visualise where I want to be in the sector as a whole. For me, ATS was a journey in which I shed imposter syndrome as an advanced practitioner, making visible to myself…

(and others) my exemplary subject knowledge, a demonstratable mastery in teaching and a passion for collaborative working. Being conferred with Chartered Teacher Status as well as ATS is a new and important opportunity for those of us in FE seeking parity with other areas…

of the education sector, in recognition of our achievements. As such, I am proud to be here today with my fellow ATS peers, having also achieved Chartered Teacher Status and all the kudos that brings.

Congrats to everyone who was conferred with Chartered Status yesterday! #ATS #CTeach @CharteredColl @SocietyET @E_T_Foundation

Thanks @andrewdowell for giving me the opportunity to speak + @veflint for the photo.

@threadreaderapp please unroll for ease 🧵🤓