David

Motivation

I was a teacher of secondary science at The Appleton School in Benfleet up until September 2026. I especially enjoyed teaching at the Appleton School as I found the teachers, support staff, and students to be very friendly and welcoming. I believe I have a lot to offer due to the skills and experience I have gained from the military and my teaching career so far, and the wide range of schools across Oxfordshire and Essex I have taught in since leaving the military. With having served in the British military for such a long time I am able to establish a good rapport with students from more challenging socio-economic demographics in the UK, as well as students with English as an Additional Language due to my linguistic abilities.

Working With Others

I have worked in several different schools across both Oxfordshire and Essex in the past two years since leaving the military, and I am able to quickly understand how different departments and individuals work together for the benefit of the children and the wider school community. I have very good team work skills for my 26 years of experience of working in the Army and the RAF, I am always proactive with volunteering to assist with extra-curricular duties, such as parent evenings, open evenings, school plays and trips. I have good inter-personal skills and I have communicated and built relationships successfully with parents on a weekly basis through positive telephone calls home, emails, and parents evenings. With having worked for different schools I have a comprehensive understanding of how they operate, and I have a good working knowledge of the policies and procedures in mainstream educational establishments.

Education and Qualifications

I read biology at the University of York as I enjoyed the practical aspect of science when I was at secondary school. After a six-year period serving as a commissioned officer in both the Royal Navy and the British Army I decided to leave the full-time military to pursue a career in teaching and to start a family. I completed my PGCE in Secondary Science at Manchester Metropolitan University. Whilst serving in the RAF as a Training and Education Specialist I was given the opportunity to complete a Post Graduate Diploma in Defence Modelling and Simulation as part of the department of Applied Mathematics and Operational Research at Cranfield University. I have completed a significant amount of CPD in my last two years of teaching due to having worked for several different supply teaching agencies and schools across Oxfordshire and Essex (I moved to Essex in September 2025), including safeguarding, sex and health education, keeping children safe in education, prevent, SEN awareness, data protection, health and safety, observing other teachers and receiving regular observations etc. I would be more than happy to complete any necessary CPD specific to primary education. My literacy, numeracy, ICT, and technology skills are strong as they have been developed constantly during my time serving as an officer in the military.

Teaching Experience

After my PGCE was awarded, I completed my NQT year at Ellesmere College , an 8-18 Co-Educational independent boarding school in Shropshire, to gain Qualified Teacher Status. I had spent the second 10-week placement of my PGCE at Ellesmere College, and they offered me a full-time position as a teacher of biology due to my personal qualities, work ethic, and the transferrable skills I had gained from military service. I participated in a wide range of pastoral and extra-curricular activities in the school, such as being as Assistant House Master to one of the boarding houses, teaching swimming to middle school children (9 to 13 years old), running a Duke of Edinburgh expedition, and working as a Combined Cadet Force and sailing instructor, It was a fantastic introduction to teaching from which I gained a lot of experience. it was unfortunate therefore that I was called up to deploy to Afghanistan the following year as a mobilised reservist. As one of the few officers in my battalion with operational experience I was selected by my Commanding Officer to manage the training and mobilisation of a company of 120 soldiers to Helmand Province. Due to my strong language aptitude I was selected to attend a 15 month Persian (Dari) language course when I returned to the UK, and I deployed on a subsequent tour of Afghanistan training and mentoring soldiers of the Afghan National Army. I did some supply teaching in Cheshire and Merseyside with Edstaff Ltd Teaching Agency in between military overseas deployments to try and maintain my teaching skills as I knew that I wanted to return to teaching at the end of my military service. Due to my PGCE and language skills I was selected by the RAF as a Training Specialist Advisor in the newly formed RAF Training and Education Branch. It sounded interesting, and it was a way I could continue my military service a but longer whilst developing my knowledge of training and education. I spent 11 years in the RAF managing training systems, and improving training standards in military training schools through observations, audit and assurance. When I finally left the RAF in July 2023 I started supply teaching again in Oxfordshire and Berkshire with the Always Flourishing Supply Teaching Agency. Following a day on supply at the Maiden Erlegh School in Reading I was offered a full-time temporary contract from February half-term 2024 to the end of the 2024 summer term. I was teaching Key Stage 3 science, and GCSE biology and chemistry to years 9, 10, and 11. Always Flourishing received excellent feedback about me from the science head of department at Maiden Erlegh and I was offered a teacher of science position at another school in the Trust (Chiltern Edge). I unfortunately had to move out of my Service Families Accommodation in RAF Benson back to Essex. I was offered a temporary full-time position as a Teacher of Science at the Colchester Academy (part of the Penrose Trust) from September 2024 to May 2025. I then tutored two students on alternative provision during the summer term, one who had been permanently excluded from his school and the other with severe Autism and SEMH needs, which I found very rewarding. It was important to establish a good rapport with them and develop a tailored adaptive approach based on their individual needs. I tutored in maths, science, and English up to Key Stage 4. I had also been doing some supply in schools at the same time as this; the head of the science department at St John Payne Roman Catholic School in Chelmsford observed one of my physics (waves) lessons and liked it, so I was offered a long-term, temporary teacher of science position (0.8 FTE, four days a week) which I accepted. I was also been teaching most Wednesdays during this period at The Appleton School in Benfleet; they offered me a full-time fixed term Teacher of Science position from May to September 2026. Since January 2026 I have also been tutoring a year 10 and a year 11 student in both maths and science after school to prepare them for GCSEs this summer and summer 2027. I have an extensive understanding of the AQA and Edexcel exam boards.

Communication

I have had lots of experience in both formal and informal written communication in the military and in my teaching career so far. I am confident in communicating with peers, Senior Leadership team members, and parents, respectfully and diplomatically, and I enjoy contributing my ideas in meetings. As a Dari (Persian) linguist I also understand some Arabic and read the Arabic script. This was very useful when I was teaching at the Maiden Erlegh School in Reading as I was able to quickly establish a good rapport with the large number of Muslim students. As a trained Islamic cultural awareness advisor also I was able to advise my school leadership team on how to manage possible factors affecting the students’ learning during Ramadan.

Working With Children

With having raised two children of my own, and working with young children on summer camps, I can develop a good rapport by being approachable and friendly, but firm when required. I always ensure that I follow and rigorously implement the behaviour management policies of the schools I work in as consistency across individual teachers and departments is key in ensuring that discipline is maintained and that effective learning of all children can take place. I have a strong understanding of SEN and learning difficulties with having working individually with SEN students through one-to-one tutoring, and in classroom environments through learning Support Assistants. I was a Specific Learning Difficulties Advisor whilst serving in the RAF as a Training Specialist Advisor, and I am currently privately tutoring a Year 10 Student in Colchester with specific SEMH needs. I have additional experience of working with children of all ages from having volunteered as a STEM Ambassador in the RAF (part of the RAF Youth Engagement Team). I went into a few primary and secondary schools across Oxfordshire delivering school science and technology projects such as rocket design competitions, driverless cars using the Lego kits with programmable EV3 kits, and making paper/plastic water and wind turbines with dynamos.

Responsibilities

My 26 years spent as an officer in the military has provided me with excellent organisational and time management skills. I was regularly working to tight deadlines and expected to provide innovative and creative solutions to problems. I have tried to carry this self-discipline through to my teaching practice, by contributing effectively to meetings with my ideas. I was a Year 7 form tutor at the Colchester Academy and a Year 9 form tutor at The Appleton School.

Personal Interests/hobbies

I am interested in early mediaeval history and I am a Viking, Saxon, and Norman re-enactor with the Viking Society. Members of my society go into schools on visits to deliver talks and show and tell about the Early Mediaeval period. I enjoy learning foreign languages, having served as a linguist/translator in the military, and I am creative and have a passion for art and music; I love drawing, painting, 2D/3D animation and I perform several Viking crafts (such as bone carving, spoon carving, wood turning, and blacksmithing) at shows where we engage with members of the public to bring history alive. I also play the flute and violin.