Would you recommend this school as a training school?

This was the question I was asked this week by the University tutor.

This is a question I hadn't expected to be asked.

This week was official observation week.
I'd spent so long frantically organising folders and planning (what I thought was) a safe observation lesson (too safe, as it turned out) and ensuring all the resources were ready and that I was ready and could provide evidence for anything, that a question about the suitability of the school kind of threw me.

I know I'm training in the school. I know I'm expected to be trained by members of staff in that school, but at the same time, I've been in the school. I know what's going on. I see the stress they're under every day. And more than that, I want to do things for myself and then call on help/tips when it's not quite working.

Does this put me in a good position for judging if it's a decent training school?

There are elements of my school which are brilliant (and by 'elements of', I mean 'people in'). My mentor, for example, is rushed off her feet but always finds time to check that I'm ok. I have three of her classes- she always checks that I know what I'm doing with them. One of my other host teachers is fantastic. Always on hand to offer tips and advice, suggestions of how she would do things; but ultimately, let's me try things for myself.

However, there are other times when I feel that I have no support and that the school is treating me as a cover teacher, rather than a trainee. There are some classes where I feel that I've been completely abandoned. And these are difficult classes. One of these classes was picked for the observation lesson.

I "laid foundations" before his arrival, and they were on their best behaviour. It was a pleasure to teach them. This was the first time in 7 weeks where I've actually enjoyed teaching them. The tutor cannot understand why I've been given this class, because all I've done is spend 7 weeks battling poor behaviour with little effect.

At other times, I'm told to do one thing, then it changes, so I edit my approach to accommodate the changes, then when it's assessed, suddenly the original criteria are back in place. And I don't find out about important meetings etc, unless I overhear someone talking about it.

So, I do feel a bit like a spare part. I'm torn on the 'am I being trained' question, because I'm not quite sure how much I'm supposed to being doing by myself.

This is all the stuff that ran through my head, and which I tried to express in my answer when suddenly asked 'Would you recommend this school as a training school?'