Maths teacher, Sara Elharm, from Nottingham Girls’ Academy, part of Greenwood Academies Trust, was invited by The Libyan Association for Educational Sciences, who work closely with the Minister of Education within the Libyan government, to present at a forum and share her expertise.
The Libyan Education Forum served as a platform for experts from across the world to share knowledge and aid the development of the Libyan educational system. Themes of the forum included teacher preparation and performance, aimed at developing Libyan teachers’ skills to enhance pupil outcomes.
As a former pupil, and now a teacher at Nottingham Girls’ Academy, Sara is passionate about teacher development. Sara believes learning does not end with qualifications and instead should be continued throughout your career through training courses, workshops and trialling new methods.
On this note, Sara completed her dissertation on ‘Student-Teacher Relationships: Can more positive student-teacher relationships enhance the learning environment?’ with Sheffield Hallam University. At the forum, Sara shared her dissertation findings and discussed the benefits of student-teacher relationships on development with others in the field.
The invitation for Sara to present at the forum is reflective of all the hard work, great practices and knowledge sharing that takes place at Nottingham Girls’ Academy. Teachers at the Academy work closely with the Teaching and Learning Lead to enhance classroom practice across all faculties, with a constant review of what is working and how to improve. Additionally, each department works collaboratively within itself, as well as at school level, by using a forum where teachers can share best practice and promote an open-door policy to further enrich teaching methods.
Upon her return, Sara plans to present what she has learned to her local Steer Group which meets once a week to discuss new ideas to improve education policies even further. Sara will also share her experiences with pupils across the Academy to inspire them and show what hard work and dedication can achieve.
Sara Elharm, teacher at Nottingham Girls’ Academy, said:
“I was honoured to have been invited to present at the Libyan Education Forum. It was a fantastic opportunity to share my knowledge, findings of my dissertation and passion for teacher preparation and training with my home country.
“I am excited to share my experiences of the forum and take forward new ideas with my teacher community at NGA, and even more excited to share my amazing experience with the students at the Academy. I am so proud to show young people that they can achieve anything and empower them to aim higher, especially those belonging to ethnic minorities like myself.”
David Tungate, Principal at Nottingham Girls’ Academy, said:
“I am so proud of our brilliant maths teacher, Sara Elharm, for all of her work in teacher development and her participation in this exceptional forum. It is exciting to have Nottingham Girls’ Academy recognised internationally for the great practices going on in our school community.
“The Academy is delighted that Sara will now share her experience at the forum with pupils and staff in assemblies over the coming weeks.”
For information about Nottingham Girls’ Academy, please visit www.nottinghamgirlsacademy.org