Anna Russo is a Spanish teacher at Salford City Academy. Originally from Italy, she moved to England seven years ago to pursue her teaching aspirations.
Describing her first steps into education, Anna said: “Having already achieved my Bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English and Spanish, I started working straight away as a teaching assistant in a secondary school – just to understand how the education system works in England.”
After three years as a teaching assistant, Anna felt confident to dive straight into teacher training and began looking at school-based programmes. Choosing United Teaching, she trained on the self-funded route and received a bursary.
When asked why she chose United Teaching, Anna said: “United Teaching seemed like the perfect provider for me because it gave me the chance to train in only one language (Spanish). Also, their large network of schools meant improving my chances of securing a job after training, which, for an expat like me, is a very important factor.”
Anna trained to teach in 2020 during the pandemic, a time of great uncertainty. She said: “I was prepared to struggle and have fewer opportunities than trainees before me, but I was definitely wrong. United Teaching supported me from the start of my training year, and I felt so ready to start my career.”
After completing her training at Salford City Academy, she accepted an offer to complete her Early Career Teacher (ECT) years at the school and remains there to this day.
Explaining what made her stay, Anna said: “I fell in love with the vibrant and welcoming environment at the school from the very first day and feel very inspired by the sense of community and opportunities that United Learning offers to each member of staff.”
In her first years of teaching, Anna has become even more confident in her role. “Having already been so well prepared during my training year, the following two ECT years have been very successful, and I have had the opportunity to work on my less developed skills as a teacher.”
Anna continues to grow, develop, and reach milestones. She said: “This year I have been offered the role of EAL (English as an additional language) lead at my school – one of my main goals since I started my training journey.”
As EAL lead, Anna facilitates learning for students who are studying English as an additional language. After only a few months in the role, Anna says she is “becoming an even more confident practitioner.”
Anna’s journey is proof that success in teaching knows no borders, and with passion and dedication, you can thrive and make an impact as an educator.