Siobhan Scott

First job: My first teaching job was as reception teacher at Merton Park Primary in London.

What it taught me: My first job was an absolute whirlwind and a steep learning curve that taught me that there is always a reason for children’s challenging behaviour and with creative problem-solving things can change. Children and parents need support and encouragement; we are not here to judge or criticise, but to support and nurture. I will always remember my first teaching job with fondness every time I look at the framed Jackson Pollock painting from the children hanging in my kitchen.

Family/status: I am married with a family of four.

Best advice anyone ever gave you: If you are not happy about something, only moan about it if you are willing to try and do something to change it. If you’re not, stop moaning!

Best advice you could give someone thinking of a teaching career: Teaching is rewarding and exhausting in equal measures. You will be out of your comfort zone for quite a lot of the time as you are continually learning, but being creative and seeing children proud of their achievement is the reward. Just remember that your to-do list will always be endless, but as long as you are working the hardest that you can, with the children you teach at the forefront of everything you do, you are doing your best.

Siobhan, originally from Wales, came to Belfast in 1997 to study English and Scholastic Philosophy at QUB. After a short stint working for a London publishing company, she realised the corporate world wasn’t for her. She completed her Primary PGCE in Canterbury followed by her first teaching role in London. In 2004, Siobhan returned to Belfast and took-up her role at Taughmonagh Primary where she still teaches today. Having completed a postgraduate Diploma in Headship (PGDH) with UU in 2019, she commenced an MA in 2021.

Siobhan is part of the Literacy and Creative Teams, ICT Co-ordinator and co-chair of the Goliath Digital Learning Hub (GDLH). Together with the Goliath Trust, she is spearheading a campaign to improve digital learning in disadvantaged schools in Belfast. During lockdown, they pitched to DENI the need for Seesaw to be provided to all Primary and Nursery schools and addressing engagement with their Learn2Earn initiative.

Siobhan, with the support of Goliath Trust, will further develop her Dragon Summer Reading Project in summer 2021 following a feasibility study last summer. The initiative was born out of her observation of reading loss over summer months and its cumulative effect equating to several years of lost education during the primary years.