My QTLS experience: Yasmin Manjra

I started my career by training as a hairdresser – I did my Level 2 and 3, and had various jobs over the years, and then in 2018 I completed my teaching diploma. This opened my eyes into what was available in schools, and this is the reason why I went on to do QTLS.

I wanted to help students make a choice about want to do when they finish school and what career path they want – rather than finishing and finding out what they have chosen to do isn’t for them.

How QTLS widened my horizons

Once I got into the flow of things, the QTLS journey was really good. I felt fully supported by the team at SET, as well as by the staff and learners at my college. Undertaking QTLS has opened my eyes up to the wider teaching profession, and since doing it I have wanted to take my career forward and go into research in education.

I believe that QTLS is an amazing status to have and is hugely recognised in the teaching profession. Only yesterday I was talking to a lecturer at Warwick University who is also a quality inspector and she was also saying that QTLS is a massive status to have.

I would advise people to get as much resources as possible to begin with. Do some research, read Geoff Petty’s book Teaching Today, his textbook is amazing and will give you lots of support as it links a lot to QTLS. It is all about understanding what is required from the QTLS workbook, working your way through it slowly and not rushing it.

My aspirations for the future

I am now looking at doing a Masters in education research – an Advanced Teacher Status (ATS) would also be amazing, and through this I want to look at the ways teachers can support learners with mental health issues so I can take this research forward into schools.

For me it is always about keeping the student in mind first – although I’m undertaking a qualification, my duty of care was to look after them, so they always came first, so if it did have an impact on students that would be in my reflections.

1. I enjoy shopping – shoes are my thing. I like reading too and will read anything for fun.
2. I would invite my late brother. I think he would be really proud of where I’ve got to at the moment. Michael Jackson too, I think he would be very interesting, and maybe the queen!
3. I am absolutely petrified of heights (and would never do this again), but for charity seven years ago I jumped 15,000 feet out of a plane, raising £2,000 for the Scleroderma Society.