Case Study:
Chapel Street Primary School

Based in Levenshulme, Manchester, Chapel Street Primary School is a richly diverse school community in which different languages and cultures learn together.

Chapel Street became School Members with The National College and have since been able to offer expert-led video CPD to their staff.

Julie Buckley, Intervention Teaching Assistant, kindly took the time to speak with us to highlight the individual benefits that she’s felt as a result of undertaking our training.

Could you tell me about the background of your school and your position within the school?

Chapel Street is a very large Primary school in Levenshulme Manchester. We have a lot of children from Ethnic Minority backgrounds. A very large proportion of our children have English as a second language.

I started at the school twenty years ago as a Nursery Nurse in Reception. I now work on the LSA team out of class supporting Years 1 and 2.

How much of a positive has it been to be able to undertake training from home during lockdown?

It has been a very positive experience for me being part of The National College in lockdown. I have learned a lot of different things that probably would never have come up in my CPD at work.

Even though some of the training has been more geared to Teachers it has been really interesting to see what goes on beyond the day to day teaching.

What has been your favourite part of the training so far?

My favourite part of the training has been learning about Emotional Literacy, Mental Health and PSHE. I have also enjoyed doing courses on subjects I had very little knowledge on like County Lines and similar webinars.

How has The National College helped you develop your learning as a Teaching Assistant?

I feel I now have a much broader knowledge to take back into the workplace with me. I definitely feel more prepared for how the children may feel when returning to school after lockdown.

Which webinar/course was your favourite and why?

I have completed around 70 courses and webinars so it is very difficult to choose just one. However Emotional Literacy seems to stand out if I had to choose.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

I would like to thank The National College for the quality of the webinars.

Each one has always been delivered by someone who is passionate about their subject. The information on Covid-19 has also been very reassuring at this very difficult time.