Year 5's morning Literacy task today was planning a discussion piece centred around the question "should school children wear a uniform?" Somewhat surprisingly, all but four of the twenty-five children present in the room agreed that yes, they should. Whatever their opinions were, they still had to argue and counter argue both for and against, which led to a particularly thought-provoking conversation with a girl named 'I'* about whether or not staff members have a uniform or a dress code.
'I' initially believed that because staff don't wear the same clothing as pupils, they don't have any kind of regulations on their clothing and can wear anything they choose. Once we broke this point down by analysing my own outfit choice for the day (blue and white patterned cardigan, plain blue top and smart black trousers) and that of other adults present in the room, she began to realise that staff do actually have rules they too must follow regarding their clothing choices.
We eventually honed in on my lanyard and staff ID badge, discussing how both of these items make me easily identifiable as a member of the school's staff in much the same way that a jumper featuring the school logo makes the children easily identifiable as pupils of our school. They give us both the same thing: a sense of belonging.
As a trainee teacher, I often find myself in conversations with my fellow trainees about whether we all feel like a real part of our placement schools yet. At roughly ten weeks into our placements (five for me, given my move halfway through), it's hard to figure out whether we quite should or not. It struck me whilst 'I' and I were talking that my ID badge and lanyard - two very small details - do give me a rather significant feeling of belonging to the school. My lanyard is marked with the group of academies the school belongs to and reads 'STAFF', whilst my ID badge features my photograph, my name, and most importantly my status within the school - 'Miss R Cross - Trainee Teacher'. By being openly acknowledged as such and this information being available to anybody who happens to see my badge, it feels to me like the awkward question of "…but do they know who I am and why I'm here?" is no longer important because I now have the answer - yes, they do. And by being given both a lanyard and an ID badge, it feels like the school has welcomed me properly and allowed me to become a part of 'the team'. Such a small detail, but to me it really has made a significant difference to my own sense of belonging.
*Initials have been changed
