Kate Merrick Email & Phone Number

England, United Kingdom

Since 2017 I have worked for Lifetime, supporting learners and Regional Trainers with their Functional Skills development. As one of the first tutors employed in the department, I have helped shape the delivery, resources and successes of the team. Due to all observations being considered Good or Outstanding, as well as my excellent success rates with students and colleagues a like, I was a part of the Lifetime Ambassador’s program, inducting and supporting new staff in the development of Lifetime DNA behaviours as well as taking part in OFSTED visits. In my final year with Lifetime I moved to work in the Management and Professional Services department, delivering L2 Functional Skills qualifications to learners on L3, L4 and L5 qualifications

Northampton

Initially I joined Starting Off as a part time assessor/trainer, working with students completing their apprenticeships in business, customer service, ICT and AAT. As a qualified assessor, I supported young people develop the skills necessary to work in both large and small companies across Northampton. This involved assessing learners’ current capabilities and implementing a programme that enabled them to develop into effective team members.Regardless of the learners level of seniority or ability, all training programme require a systematic and methodical approach with time for learners to understand and question the concept, apply the skills learnt with support before being given time to use the skills or knowledge in a practical situation. I regularly hear 'I can't' when everyone can! In recent years I have become part of the senior management team, taking responsibility for the delivered training department, managing the training facilities that deliver core skills in Maths, English, ICT as well as the core units of the business diploma. My responsibilities include scheduling and coordinating learner attendance in training, monitoring progress against course aims, evaluating programmes and further developing programmes where necessary. As part of the senior leadership team, I have the responsibility for observing and monitoring programmes and training staff, providing constructive feedback and mentoring where necessary, as well as reviewing necessary policies and procedures. In addition, I have full responsibility for the exams system for Business, Customer Service and ICT, ensuring that we adhere to all rules and regulations.On occasion I have taken a lead in various projects at Starting Off, including the redevelopment and relaunch of the training centres. This involved the upgrade of the company IT capabilities, the redesign and production of all training materials and the relaunch of the training facilities according to the company ethos.

Teaching requires the collection of data which needs to be analysed and understood before conclusions can be drawn and an appropriate course of action taken. As a class teacher in a primary school I had responsibility for assessing the children’s abilities and delivering an appropriately broad curriculum to children with a wide range of needs. This included all planning, preparation, delivery and assessment of each area taking account of individual needs and individually prepared education plans. Outside of the classroom, the role required working with a variety of professional and outside agencies to ensure all children were included and their needs met, and to ensure that information was coordinated in an effective manner. I also had responsibility for the coordination of a subject area for the whole school, ensuring that all children were being taught a wide range of skills. This included planning the curriculum, allocating subject areas to colleagues, as well as the observation of teaching and learning and the analysis of work product before offering constructive criticism and mentoring to colleagues to remove inconsistencies.