Kayleigh: United Kingdom: Feb 20, 2019

I have voluntary experience working with high school age children (ages 11-16), with Special Education Needs; I volunteered for 5 weeks with these young adults and alongside the school council team. The purpose of my time in the school was to work closely with the students and with art materials, to allow them quiet time out of their hectic lessons where they could be in calmness and talk to someone non-judgemental and engage in drawing/painting/ coloring.

I have experience of working as a support worker, in a house of four ladies, all with learning disabilities. The role could be challenging at times, as two of the ladies were non-verbal, and lone-working meant I had to be really good at thinking on my feet and be able to trust my own judgement and instinct.

Through reflecting on these experiences I have extremely good levels of patience and decorum- having the ability to be stern and forthright when needed is extremely important, yet on the other end of the spectrum, being comforting and helpful is equally as important.

I am able to alter the way I give instructions to suit the individual, knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the person and being able to adapt is a really important skill.