At Pearson, I was seasonally part of the 'quarantine department', a small team that monitored and fixed problems on the computer system and the paperwork. As well as fixing problems created by employees and the system, I was also responsible for communicating with other departments to pinpoint problem areas in the company so extra training could be given. This job has given me an inside look a how Edexcel processed their exams.

Hasland Support centre is a small pupil referral unit in Chesterfield. Gaining experience as a member of staff at this placement has built my confidence to work with children with challenging behaviour. The placement has also made me quite resilientDuring my time there, I helped KS3 students both 1:1 and in small groups in a variety of classes such as cooking and mathematics. I helped the students when I believed it was appropriate and encouraged them to engage with their work. I also manged behaviour when children were been disruptive to the lesson or violent to other students or members of staff. Furthermore, I created learning resources before classes and helped children set up wall displays. I also interacted with students during social activities and gave staff feedback on any information that I believed to be of importance. At the end of each day, I was part of a debriefing with the staff where we discussed what had happened during the day, as well as steps to be taken the following day. I also attended teaching meetings in order to gain experience and deliver my thoughts on topics.

The Burton Street Foundation is a small, non-profit organisations for adults with special education needs. My duties there included; helping service users with tasks, providing support for service users, assisting staff teach staff in classes. Classes at Burton Street were informal and focused on life skills. I used some of my time at this placement looking at their sensory room and decided to do some of my writing in second year about this. I found the sensory room particularly interesting and I believe it to be a key instrument in the education and care of special needed adults.

At Greenacre, I spent 2 days per week in a class of KS2 children, all of which had SEN. I spent the majority of my time working 1:1 with children in order to help them concentrate or help them with work. I also created learning materials for the class, put up wall displays and made snacks for the children at break time. At break times, I interacted with children of all ages as we played on the outdoor equipment and talked.

Treasure Island is a Play centre which also holds parties for children and serves food and drinks. My duties included, organising birthday parties for children, serving meals for children and parents, washing pots on a large scale, making a variety of hot drinks and cleaning the centre's climbing areas. I also dressed as cartoon characters during some parties and danced with the children.