Zainab Chemistry
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I have been tutoring since the age of 18 and have built a 5-star rated platform as an online tutor. My tutees have improved significantly since signing up with me. Please visit @gold.tutoring on instagram to read tutee reviews.

I joined my current school as Head of Chemistry with a focus on establishing the chemistry department in the sixth form by embedding a consistent Teaching and learning framework. More recently, I was successful in my appointment as Teaching and Learning lead which has allowed me to widen my responsibilities to the whole school. To support me with these roles, I am completing a National Professional Qualification in Senior Leadership in my spare time. I am enthusiastic about leadership in education and furthering my progression in this sector.

My journey in leadership started in my previous school, which was Ofsted rated inadequate. Although it was a challenging environment, it was a steep learning curve, that allowed me to quickly develop my skill set. In a short amount time, I learned how to navigate difficult conversations, improve my public speaking skills (through running INSET training days and delivering teaching and learning sessions), build a united team and establish good relationships with colleagues, embed organisation into the department, manage my time efficiently, confidently make decisions to solve problems, know when to coach versus mentor staff and analyse data on an array of platforms including Smart Grade, Pupil Progress, 4matrix and Excel. This experience also gave me the opportunity to network with colleagues in the educational sector and build a rapport with stakeholders. For example, my department was successful in winning a bursary from The Big Bang Project to host a mass STEM event for our school, in which I collaborated with neighbouring schools as well as esteemed companies including Rolls Royce, The scientist and the Royal Society of Chemistry.

In my current roles, I used my prior experience alongside the Ofsted framework 'Intent, Implementation and Impact' to strategise a plan for my department. I started by building a positive and trusting culture with colleagues to allow an efficient and supportive working environment. I did this by getting to know my team, learning about their different strengths, and conducting informal learning walks to build a picture of the department. It was important that I collaborated with colleagues and included them in the decision making to encourage staff voice and build a team culture. This began with developing the overviews which helped to embed structure in the department, especially at KS5. I relied on tools such as Excel trackers, Trello, and Science Bulletins to monitor progress and help staff manage deadlines easily, transferring some of the onus onto them. Furthermore, I coordinated an in house CPD with institutions such as the Royal Society of Chemistry to develop the confidence of the team in Chemistry and to stay on top of new advances in the subject. More recently, I have designed a lesson template, to reduce staff planning time but maximise the efficiency of our resources and time with our pupils in lessons.
I regularly reflect on my practice and try to find ways to further develop and improve my skills. My mantra is ‘Every teacher needs to improve, not because they are not good enough, but because they can be even better.’ For this reason, I regularly engage in CPD (hosted by my school as well as by external providers) and in reading materials like Teach Like a Champion and Rosenshine’s Principals of Instruction. Examples of CPD I have attended include: KS4 physics, DEAF training, OFSTED training, AQA mastering exam techniques, Excel training, Supporting SEND leaners and much more.

In my wider experience as a teacher, I have worked with a diversity of pupils aged 11-18 covering an extensive scope of courses from GCSE, A-level and BTEC applied sciences. I have always been enthusiastic about science and teaching. For this reason, I completed a degree in Chemistry at Queen Mary University of London whilst simultaneously tutoring students. After graduating with a First-Class degree with honours, I was determined to pursue a career in teaching. Hence, I completed a PGCE course at the University of Nottingham, funded by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) scholarship programme. This was a proud moment in my educational journey as I was shortlisted out of thousands of students and esteemed professionals. I built good relationships with colleagues from this charitable organisation, which I have maintained as I continue to work alongside the RSC to support their ongoing scholarship programme. Additionally, I was invited as a guest speaker at one of their events organised for successful scholars and aspiring teachers to share my journey in teaching.

Subjects

  • Chemistry Grade 7-A2 level

Experience

  • Head of chemistry (Apr, 2024–Present) at Monks walk school
    -Develop chemistry curriculum for KS3-5
    -Establish the sixth form provision
    -Deliver CPD for staff
    -lead the teaching and learning for the whole school
  • Head of science (Sep, 2023–Apr, 2024) at Bulwell academy
    -Manage and lead a team of 9 members in the science department
    -establish and embed curriculum for all key stages.
    -monitor and analyse data
    -responsible for pupils' outcomes
    -lead CPD for department
  • Teacher of science (Sep, 2020–Sep, 2023) at Nottingham University Samworth Academy
    -Teacher of science for KS3-5
    -Taught GCSE, A-level and BTEC sciences.
    -mentor for early career teachers

Education

  • PGCE: Secondary education science (Sep, 2019–Aug, 2020) from University Of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK–scored 2:1
  • BSc Chemistry (Sep, 2015–Jun, 2019) from Queen Mary University of London–scored First clas

Fee details

    £40–50/hour (US$50.63–63.29/hour)

    £40 for GCSE and £50 for A-level chemistry
    If you book a block of 6 lessons and pay up front, fees are reduced to £35 a lesson for GCSE and £45 a lesson for A-level.

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