Heidi Shabankareh-Smith - Year Lead

I trained through the Surrey South Farnham programme in 2015/2016. The course appealed to me as the majority of time was spent in the classroom. The school based training was complemented by professional studies days led by experts in each area of the curriculum. This was also vital time to speak to other trainees and support one another. Surrey South Farnham SCITT was a rigorous and rewarding training  programme where, from the first day, we were treated as future practitioners rather than students.

I had the most exemplary and inspiring practice modelled to me during my school based training and I believe this was the beginning of my own career development. Having secured a role in my placement school, I was encouraged by my school based mentor to apply for the role of PE Lead in my NQT year. This allowed me to lead on numerous whole school events and learn about middle leadership. This gave me the confidence and management skills required to lead on a core subject and I most recently secured the role of English Lead and Head of Year 3.

From my mentor to my support tutor and all the other SSF staff I was always encouraged to be the best version of myself. If the trainee from 2015 could see me now, she’d never have guessed I’d be in my current role. The SSF programme provides such a high level of support and yet consistently challenges trainees to harness their own potential from the first day. Thank you to all those on the programme for the confidence and skills you gave me to be where I am today.​

Heidi Shabankareh-Smith
(English and Year Lead)
Stanley Park Junior School