Gareth Sweeney

I am keen on sport, music, cycling and water sports. I have travelled lots in my life and enjoy visiting places. 

I am an experienced teacher with 20 years experience of the KS2 curriculum, primarily in upper KS2.  I have recently gained 2 years experience of delivering the US curriculum to students in Al Ain.

I am a committed, hard-working teacher with the right experience for this job. I have high expectations of the students that I teach and always seek to get the best from them. This, I believe, can be achieved through instilling a good work ethic, having good class discipline and adopting the correct strategies in praising a student’s efforts - all the while building strong relationships with individuals.

I am a good team worker and am always supportive of those around me. I produce presentations and working resources to a high standard and I very much in tune with students’ pedagogy and progression of skills across the curriculum. I am thorough with formative assessment as I mark and feedback children's work daily which gives me the overall picture of their progression and next steps learning. I use both formative and summative assessment to inform next steps to children's learning through computer-based assessment programs and data analysis. Through pupil progress review meetings, I am able to discuss - with leadership and parents - where a child can improve in their learning. In terms of the day-to-day running of the class, I believe that learners need routine and also a sense of ownership of their learning: whether it’s roles and responsibilities within class or whole school, or the responsibility of marking and assessing their own performance and allowing critical feedback.

I like to think I can inspire children too. I have much life experience which I believe can make a difference to the learning in a class and have a positive influence on young minds.

Having taught at Primary level (Years 3-6) for around 18 years, including working with EAL children both in the UK and in the UAE, South Africa and Taiwan.