Alison Pemberton Smith

Alison joined the team at BCU in 2013 through a secondment from a local primary school. Prior to that she spent 13 years teaching in primary schools across the West Midlands and has a proven and successful record in leading both core and non-core curriculum areas before she started her journey at BCU. She is now the Deputy Course Leader for PGCE Primary & Early Years. Within this role Alison has a responsibility for supporting School Based Training and the progression of trainee teachers across the PGCE Primary course and has a pastoral role for all trainees on the programme. She is also a Personal Development Tutor supporting students both in university and on placement.

Her primary intent is always to ensure the quality of experience that students receive under her stewardship. Her breadth of knowledge has been developed through first-hand experience of teaching and leading virtually all primary year groups and many subject areas.

Throughout her teaching career within Primary schools, she supported students of the Graduate Teacher Programme, PGCE students and BA with QTS. As an Acting Assistant Headteacher she was responsible for the mentoring of NQT’s across a Federation. As part of this role she was responsible for the placement of university students within school and mentored these trainee teachers. Her job brief also extended to the induction and supervision of trainee learning support assistants and work experience students. An additional responsibility was whole school behaviour and monitoring.

As an educator Alison is comfortable and confident in her abilities to motivate colleagues and enthuse students whilst being a strong support mechanism for both.  She is an outgoing, enthusiastic person who is prepared to give 100% at all times.  She believes that success in teaching is not always about meeting standards, it is about setting standards. Alison believes you can enhance learning by promoting or enthusing independent learning and thinking skills but above all by providing a happy ethos. With this end in mind encouraging confidence and involvement is key to the development of good teachers.