Information About Kate - Juniper Green teacher

Personal Description:

Bonjour! ¡Hola!

Born in Yorkshire, I discovered my passion for languages during my school years. I thoroughly enjoyed studying French, Spanish and Portuguese at university, spending a year in Central America, Brazil and France where I was enchanted by different countries and their cultures.
Following this, I completed my PGCE and have taught in secondary schools for nearly a decade. A career in teaching offers me the perfect blend of what I love- working with children and using languages. The joy of teaching, for me, is building the confidence of children and opening their eyes to the possibilities that await them.

I have recently moved to Edinburgh with my husband and one year old and set up my own business, Language Champs, offering children's language classes in the community as well as one to one tuition. Language Champs has a clear goal- to build children's confidence and inspire in a positive environment.

Teaching Experience:

I began my career by completing the highly competitive Teach First Programme in 2010, achieving my PGCE whilst teaching French and Spanish in a Sheffield secondary school.

In 2012 I moved to an inner city London secondary school where I was promoted to Leading Practitioner. This role required me to model exceptional practice at all times and ensure that all of my students made consistently outstanding progress.

In 2017 I took up the post of Head of Languages in a London school focused on Additional Support Needs, allowing me to further enhance my understanding of how different children learn and can be best supported.

Having recently moved to Edinburgh with my family I set up my own business, Language Champs, which offers weekly children's French and Spanish classes as well as one to one tuition.

Teaching Approach:

I believe that everybody has the potential to be a 'language person'. Considered a challenging school subject, too many children are demotivated with their language studies and this is, unfortunately, reflected in take up levels in higher education. Languages are fun, but only when learners feel confident, successful and enjoy learning! Learning French or Spanish is about more than gaining a qualification- it's about culture, current affairs, modern communication… and I love for students to embrace this.

My one to one tuition is carefully personalised to each learner and aims to inspire and build confidence, allowing constant opportunities for success and clear measurements of rapid progress. My great depth of teaching experience has equipped me with an excellent range of techniques and strategies to engage a diverse range of learners.

Each lesson is planned meticulously and all work produced marked to an exceptional standard, providing clear and detailed feedback. Activities are varied, modern and fun so that students retain focus and enjoyment. I encourage students to complete homework between sessions and ensure that they do so because they enjoy progressing.

I can focus on particular skill areas, such as conversational practice or grammar and my lessons will perfectly complement school studies.