Celebrating Our ITT Trainees

Celebrating Our ITT Trainees: A Year of Growth, Commitment and Calling

As we reach the end of another academic year, we are incredibly proud to celebrate the achievements of our Initial Teacher Training (ITT) trainees across the Emmaus Catholic Academy Trust.

Completing a PGCE is no small feat. It demands resilience, dedication and a deep commitment to making a difference in the lives of young people. Over the past year, our trainees have demonstrated all of these qualities and more. From their first tentative steps into the classroom to the confident, reflective practitioners they are becoming, it has been a privilege to witness their journey.

Throughout their placements, our trainees have embraced the opportunities and challenges of school life. They have planned and delivered lessons, built relationships with pupils, and continually reflected on their practice to improve outcomes for the children and young people in our care. Their growth is a testament not only to their hard work, but also to the strength of the collaborative support around them.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to the many colleagues who have made this possible. To our mentors, who have guided, challenged and encouraged trainees with generosity and expertise; to our ITT tutors, who have ensured high-quality training and coherence across the year; and to the staff and leaders in our schools, who have welcomed trainees into their communities and invested time in their development. Your commitment to nurturing the next generation of teachers is vital to the future of our profession, and we are deeply grateful.

At Emmaus CAT, we are proud of the strong partnerships across our schools that enable high-quality teacher development. This shared commitment reflects our belief that forming great teachers is a collective responsibility and a key part of our mission to provide excellent education for all.

Looking ahead, we are excited to build on this success and see a number of our trainees take up their first ECT posts in Emmaus schools. Next term, we will welcome a new cohort of trainees as they begin their induction programme. We look forward to supporting them as they take their first steps into the profession, and to continuing to strengthen our ITT provision across the Trust.

To our current trainees: congratulations on reaching this important milestone. We thank you for the energy, care and professionalism you have brought to our classrooms, and we wish you every success as you continue your journey into teaching.

On the Road to Emmaus

¹³Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles^[^a^] from Jerusalem. ¹⁴They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. ¹⁵As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; ¹⁶but they were kept from recognizing him.

¹⁷He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

They stood still, their faces downcast. ¹⁸One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

¹⁹“What things?” he asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. ²⁰The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; ²¹but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. ²²In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning ²³but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. ²⁴Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”

²⁵He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” ²⁷And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

²⁸As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. ²⁹But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

³⁰When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. ³¹Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. ³²They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

³³They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together ³⁴and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” ³⁵Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.