1st October 2026
Starting out at Ark Tindal
Wajahat was early in his teaching career when he joined Ark Tindal Primary Academy. As a new teacher at Ark, he was supported by an experienced colleague who coached him regularly and gave him practical feedback.
“I was relatively new to the profession, and the weekly coaching I received really helped shape my teaching career and boost my overall confidence.”
After a couple of years at the school, Wajahat wanted to gain international experience, so he moved abroad to teach for a year. It was a great experience, but he found he missed home, and Tindal too. He came back with fresh perspectives on education and new ideas to apply in his classroom.
Since then, Wajahat has taken on two middle leadership roles: Year 4 Year Group Lead and Maths Lead.
Development that grows as you do
Wajahat’s professional development has evolved as his responsibilities have. Early in his career, his CPD focused on the fundamentals, such as creating a positive climate for learning, managing behaviour and planning for progress over time. As his teaching practice developed and his ambitions grew, it naturally moved towards leading teams and developing other teachers through the instructional leadership model.
He also completed a two-year NPQ in Leading Teacher Development, where he worked with colleagues from across the profession.
“By the end of that, I came out as more of a confident middle leader, with up-to-date research to back my practice.”
More recently, he also took part in training with Doug Lemov on the science of deep learning, then brought those ideas back and shared them with colleagues through staff CPD.
Support that goes both ways
The coaching that helped Wajahat grow is now something he gives. As a middle leader, he coaches early career and experienced colleagues alike, sharing best practice so that every child gets the best possible education.
He isn’t doing it in isolation. Maths leads from Ark’s primary and secondary schools meet every half term to share ideas and talk through challenges. Wajahat says he can go to almost anyone for advice, and that colleagues are just as willing to give it back.
And it’s in the classroom that Wajahat sees it all come together.
“I love seeing the impact I’ve made on our pupils. Children come with all sorts of starting points in their academic lives. We have children who aren’t necessarily confident readers or not very confident with maths, but by the time we do our job here, they’re able to leave those gates and tackle that wider world.”
Wajahat’s story shows there’s more than one way to build a career at Ark. Whether your next step is leading a subject, leading a year group or deepening your classroom practice, we’ll support you every step of the way.