Rachel - Taunton tutor
Information About Rachel:
Personal Description:
I am a dynamic and highly experienced Head of History with over 16 years experience in the secondary classroom. . I achieved my NQT status at the Blue School, Wells and held the leadership responsibilty for Citizenship Yr 7 to Yr 11. I also taught KS3 to KS5 History throughout my time there. In 2010 my son was born, moving to West Somerset as Head of History (again KS3 to KS5). I retired in 2017 to care for my youngest son, who in 2013 was born with Cerebral Palsy. I needed to focus on the care and needs of my son and did not feel able to do the same for my students and department. Following this I have spent 7 years maneuvering the incredibly emotional, wonderful yet absolutely relentless world of disability, ECHP's, local authorities, therapists, schools, hospitals and so on so forth. My son has an amazing team of professionals, is content and in Yr 8 of a local mainstream school and flying.
Teaching Experience:
My son is 100% happy and supported and now it is my time to move forward with my career. To offer private tuition is my way of doing so. I am up to recent educational developments. I have privately tutored in Dunster successfully at GCSE. I have spent 8 of my teaching years as a PGCE mentor and an NQT mentor- with two NQT's now teaching as Head of History at two private schools in Somerset- can provide details if needed.
I have a proven track record of driving significant improvements in student attainment and fostering a deep passion for the subject. For example, I introduced History as a coursework qualification for students who loved History yet found the content (reading exam questions) and expectations of a GCSE papers too much- succeeding with 100% pass and super happy faces on results day. I also introduced GCSE Citizenship to offer a wider range of critical thinking and analysis skills- ultimately helping subjects such as History, English and Life Skills. I I am DBS registered.
THE BLUE SCHOOL, WELLS, SOMERSET 2002 to 2010
WEST SOMERSET COMMUNITY COLLEGE 2011 TO 2017
MINEHEAD MIDDLE SCHOOL 2017 TO AUGUST 2017
Tutoring Approach:
My focus is on personalized, interactive teaching tailored to each student's needs to develop critical thinking and essay-writing skills. I identify individual strengths and weaknesses, work with them to develop learning plans for specific goals like exam preparation, and using engaging methods such as discussions and multimedia resources to bring history to life. Developing analytical skills enables the tutee to construct historical arguments and understand source context, which is crucial for deeper comprehension and improved academic performance.
I will:
* Offer a friendly, safe, comfortable learning environment
* Assess the situation
* Set clear goals
* Establish clear, achievable objectives.
* Tailor content
* Adapt teaching methods and content to suit the student's pace, interests, and level of understanding, focusing on strengthening weaknesses and building on existing strengths.
* Provide engaging and interactive methods
* Foster discussion and debate
* Encourage students to actively participate in discussions, share ideas, and critically analyze historical events and sources to make learning more interesting and effective.
* Utilise diverse resources
* Incorporate multimedia resources, debates, and real-world examples to illustrate historical events, making the subject more relatable and memorable.
* Focus on essential skills
* Go beyond memorization by teaching students how to think historically, construct justified claims, assess source reliability, and understand the broader context of events.
* Improve essay writing:
* Provide targeted guidance and practice for historical essay writing, focusing on structuring arguments, using evidence effectively, and developing a strong thesis.
*Develop critical thinking
*Guide students to analyze historical events from multiple perspectives, understand cause-and-effect relationships, and evaluate different interpretations of the past.
* Enhance exam strategies- of the 16 years in have spent 6 years exam marking for AQA, Edexcel and OCR.
* WSCC- worked alongside Chief Examiner for The American West.
* Offer specific strategies for exam preparation, helping students manage their time, recall information, and apply their knowledge under pressure, leading to improved confidence, self belief and better grades.
Subjects Taught:
- Study Skills
- 11+ (secondary) (£15 p.h.)
- GCSE or Standards (£25 p.h.)
- A-Level or Highers (£30 p.h.)
- Philosophy / Critical Thinking
- GCSE or Standards (£25 p.h.)
- A-Level or Highers (£30 p.h.)
- Law
- GCSE or Standards (£25 p.h.)
- English
- Up to 11 years (primary) (£10 p.h.)
- 11+ (secondary) (£20 p.h.)
- GCSE or Standards (£25 p.h.)
- Adult/Casual learner (£10 p.h.)
- Citizenship
- GCSE or Standards (£25 p.h.)
- Adult/Casual learner (£15 p.h.)
- History
- Up to 11 years (primary) (£10 p.h.)
- 11+ (secondary) (£20 p.h.)
- GCSE or Standards (£25 p.h.)
- A-Level or Highers (£35 p.h.)
- Adult/Casual learner (£15 p.h.)
Qualifications:
- PGCE Secondary History Bath Spa University
- QUALIFIED TEACHER STATUS The Blue School
- BSc Archeology (hons) Cardiff University.
Further Information:
Availability: | Weekends / Weekdays (all times) |
Types of Tutoring: | Travels to you / From their home / Online |
References Supplied? | Yes |
Current DBS/CRB Check? | Yes |