On Teacher Appreciation Day Kerry Jordan-Daus explains how the Faculty of Education is saying ‘thank you’ to our alumni and teachers.

Everyone remembers a good teacher was a strap line used in 1999 as part of a teacher recruitment campaign.

We know that there are pressures within our profession but we need to remember that our teachers are important and we need to remember how to value them.

So, let’s start reminding ourselves what a great profession teaching is and let’s remind ourselves how teachers transform lives and let’s start saying teachers are fantastic.

We need to stop undermining teachers and the profession; we need to reduce workload and we need to stop the avalanche of new policy initiatives which keep landing on teachers’ desks. We need to celebrate the fantastic work teachers do, we need to invest in their professional learning and development and we need to say thank you for  making a difference.

Supporting the KMCharities Teacher of the Year annual Award, is part of the Education Faculty’s commitment to never forgetting a good teacher, or put it another way, of saying ‘thank you’.

We are also reminding our alumni that as a University we are committed to the continued learning and development which is essential to ensure that teachers are supported through out their professional life.

In sponsoring the Newly Qualified Teacher award, the Faculty of Education is not forgetting the transformational impact that new teachers have on children and young people’s lives. The nominations from staff, children and parents/carers and members of the community testify that our teachers all over Kent are making a phenomenal impact. Receiving an award because your class of children think you are the best means so much. Being valued, being told that you are doing a great job really does mean a great deal and we’re never forgetting a good teacher.

Kerry Jordan-Daus is Head of UK and International Partnerships in the Faculty of Education.