From an early age, Jamie Francis had an inkling that teaching was for him.
Now a qualified teacher, he explains what motivates him, the importance of building relationships with pupils, and why more men should train to teach primary.
Jamie has just finished his teacher training, but his spark for teaching came from his childhood. “I’ve always had a passion for working with children,” says Jamie. “I was clearing through drawers recently and found that I was taking pretend registers when I was in primary school.”
Jamie was also inspired to teach by his own teachers, including a Year 4 teacher and his media studies teacher at secondary school. Both shared similar characteristics – being passionate, inspiring, and providing consistency and steadiness in the classroom.
A point of stability and encouragement
It’s that point of stability that Jamie hopes to be for his own pupils. “That’s definitely something that drew me to teaching. Children like stability, and having a key person they can go to and feel safe.”
“I want every child I teach to feel seen and supported. The best foundation for learning is when children feel safe and come into school with ease. And when a teacher has pupils’ best interests at heart and wants them to do their best, they come into class with a smile. They arrive at school as their best self and are open to learning.”
“And as a teacher, when you give the best of yourself, pupils pick up on that. And in turn, give the best of themselves. I hope I’ve instilled the message that it doesn’t matter where you come from, what your background is, you can always do your best.”
Positive male role models in the classroom
Jamie trained at Edwards Hall Primary School in Essex, part of the Learning in Harmony Trust. When Jamie joined the school, his Year 5 class had never been taught by a man. “At first, a lot of my class were wary of being taught by a man and that barrier probably comes from a lack of male representation in the role. Having more positive male role models is a good thing.”
He also reflects on the wider impacts of men teaching in primary schools. “Having diverse staff brings diverse perspectives. It’s valuable in helping children feel represented. For example, we had some solid discussions triggered by the Adolescence show. We talked about how we could support boys and girls, and how we’d continue to encourage them to talk to staff, male and female.”
Building great relationships
Jamie recognises the importance of building strong relationships with pupils. Throughout the programme, his teaching hours grew gradually over the year. This was helpful for building relationships, as while he observed other teachers in the classroom, he was able to spend time with pupils.
“At the start, I only taught one hour a day, giving me lots of time outside of my teaching to support pupils one-to-one. I could tell them about myself, and get to know them. So as I started to teach more, they already knew me and wanted to interact.” Jamie believes it was building these relationships that formed the bedrock for pupils being open to learning.
Supportive mentoring, growing self-belief
When Jamie was exploring routes into teaching, he was drawn to train with Ambition, as he could stay in the same school throughout his training. It allowed him to build strong relationships with pupils and colleagues. In particular, his mentor played a central part in Jamie’s development – from teaching one hour a day to being responsible for his own class.
“As well as scheduled coaching, my mentor was always happy to answer questions at break time. He was very honest, in the best possible way, and we had open discussions that really helped me to grow. I also had flexibility in increasing my teaching hours. When I felt confident to teach for longer periods, and my mentor was comfortable with that, I was able to become more independent. This helped to build my self-belief.”
Inspiring others to teach and learn
Jamie finds it most rewarding when pupils become excited about learning. “I can make a subject fun and engaging. So, if I’m teaching a subject that I don’t know much about myself, I can say ‘I wasn’t sure about this subject either, but I put the effort in to learn about it’. And when they see you doing it, they’re like, ‘okay, we’ll learn about it too’. It’s so satisfying, knowing that I’ve helped them to become engaged in a subject.”
Jamie is now teaching 13 and 14 year olds. He has this advice for others considering teaching: “You should go into teaching if you’re passionate about it. It can be challenging, but it is so worth it. It’s so much fun getting to see the children’s progress. It’s amazing. You can’t beat that feeling.”
