ATS Experiences
Hear from previous participants about their experiences of the Advanced Teacher Status (ATS) programme.
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Read our guidance on the application process and prepare to apply for the next Advanced Teacher Status (ATS) cohort. Application window opens from April - August each year, for an October start.
Advanced Teacher StatusLouise Elsby
Louise Elsby, Law Lecturer and Work Force Development Specialist, describes how completing the ATS allowed her to reflect on and develop her teaching.
Abby Bruce
Abby Bruce, Academy Director at The Sheffield College, describes her ATS journey and discusses her project on using online platforms to improve engagement during periods of lockdown.
Lynn Baker
Lynn Baker, GCSE English Lecturer, Lincoln College, discusses her ATS journey and the impact the ATS has had on her role and her organisation.
Jacqui Browne
Jacqui Browne, Professional Standards Learning Coach at Lincoln College, discusses their decision to undertake Advanced Teacher Status and the ways it has benefited their professional development.
James Foster
James Foster, Head of Academic Studies and Quality Improvement Manager at Weymouth College, talks us through his ATS journey and the importance of using it to mentor others and gain recognition.
Molli Bennion
Molli Bennion, FE GCSE and Functional Skills Maths Lecturer at Preston College, discusses ATS as an opportunity to get upskilling and to do something that challenged her.
Sally Richards
Sally Richards, GCSE English Lecturer at Hartpury College, undertook ATS for an opportunity to engage in Master’s level study. She shares her experience with us here.
Oxana Nikitin
Oxana Nikitin, Maths Lecturer at East Surrey College, wanted to master teaching methods through educational research and so undertook ATS. Here she shares this journey with us.
Jacqui Scott
Jacqui Scott is the Head of Teaching and Learning Standards at Riverside College. Keen on a qualification with a practical angle, Jacqui undertook ATS, and here she reflects on this experience.
Sarabjit Borrill
Sarabjit is a Professional Development Lead and a GCSE English Tutor at Leicestershire Adult Learning Service. She wanted to continue her research into the ways in which teachers understand their own practice, and found ATS as a great vehicle for this.
Ecaterina Bright
Ecaterina Bright works at Haringey Adult Learning Service (HALS) as a Senior Tutor/ICT where she teaches Level 1 and Level 2 IT user skills courses. She explains how the research project she carried out as part of her ATS journey has not only led to boosting her learner’s employability skills, but has strengthened her own skills and teaching competencies.
Peter Saban
Peter Saban is the Hostage Negotiator Development Manager in the Avon and Somerset Constabulary. Peter explains how completing Advanced Teacher Status (ATS) gave him added confidence in his teaching style and fulfilled his yearning for a new challenge.
Alex Downing
Alex Downing is Head of Department at Askham Bryan College. Having worked in further education for over a decade, Alex undertook ATS to emphasise commitment to teaching and learning, and to raising standards.
Leona So
Leona So reflects on her "rollercoaster" ATS journey and the positive impact it had on her learners and subsequent promotion.
Dave Shurmer
Dave Shurmer explains how Advanced Teacher Status (ATS) inspired him to take a new path in his career and step out of his comfort zone to challenge the norm.
Katie Wilden
Katie Wilden explains how she believes she wouldn’t be doing the job she is doing now if it wasn’t for achieving ATS.
Natalie Morris
Natalie Morris explains how the experience of gaining ATS has already started to have an impact on her organisation.
Penny Taylor
Penny Taylor explains how completing ATS has changed her outlook as a practitioner and given her the boost to develop herself even further.
Phil Green
Phil Green explains why the research project he undertook as part of his ATS journey was such a success, for both himself and his colleagues.
Stacy Vipas
Stacy Vipas explains how the ATS process was about her learning in the first instance, and then putting that into practice and building it into a teaching and learning strategy for the rest of her organisation.
Helen Wood
Helen Wood explains how completing ATS enabled her to adopt a more external facing outlook, as well as helping improve her resilience and self-confidence.
Gloria Diabour
Gloria Diabour talks about how her ATS journey has helped her re-gain the confidence she felt she had lost over the years, while inspiring her to give her learners a more interactive and fun learning experience.