During my first full year on class, I had a really amazing mentor who not only looked after my wellbeing as a beginning teacher, but also just guided me through anything that I was searching for, or anything that I was unsure about. 

There's a whole other side to teaching where you get to work so closely with students and get to know them for who they are as an individual. You'll teach some really challenging things, and you see them have this light bulb moment and I think that’s a win for them, but also a win for me as a teacher. And that means that you do build these really strong connections with them and get to see all the progress that they make during their time with you, which I think is really valuable.

The NSW Department of Education is really supportive of inclusion and diversity. There are numerous policies that are out there that make sure that teachers are catering for students with diverse learning needs and making sure that students with disabilities can access the curriculum on the same basis as their peers.

We all have the right to learn and we all have the right to complete activities and experience success and make friendships.

My name is Brigitte, and I teach in a NSW public school.