School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences

As a Teacher of PE, I was responsible for the delivery of KS3 and KS4 girls PE lessons in an inner city school in Leicester. The school faces many challenges, including two thirds of the students coming from the most deprived area in Leicester and a large proportion being disadvantaged. I taught core PE throughout KS3, involving a range of different sports such as Rugby, Badminton and Athletics, in single-sex, mixed ability classes. To meet the needs of all learners, I utilised differentiation appropriately to support the lower ability students whilst challenging the higher ability students.I taught BTEC Level 2 First Award in Sport to all students across KS4, including a combination of coursework and examination based units. I aimed to deliver theoretical lessons that are interactive and engaging, building upon prior learning. I was extensively involved in the school’s extra-curricular programme, single-handedly facilitating the entire girls offer; the weekly clubs I offered were Rugby, Netball, Football and Gymnastics. In addition to this, I brought about success with Indoor Athletics and Dodgeball teams at singular events.

The aim of the Sports Development team is to ensure everyone has sufficient access to sport and physical activity, primarily focusing on minority groups. The “Sport in the Hood” programme runs across school holidays, which aims to provide recreational opportunities for participation in differing sporting activities with an inclusive and fun environment. Sessions are situated at the most deprived areas of the borough, including both green-area parks and local community centres. This is an attempt to overcome possible barriers for participation.In some areas we are faced with challenging children which require large quantities of patience and attention, this can include disabilities, learning difficulties and behavioural issues. Due to the “turn up and play” attitude of the sessions, it requires us be very flexible in our planning and delivery; I have to adapt myself accordingly to cater for the varying ages and abilities of children as well as the facilities available to us. Although sessions are meant to be fun and enjoyable, I have to ensure that I am stern but fair, keeping authority over the children at all times.

Little Springers is a gymnastics club that aims to create more opportunities for children to take part in recreational gymnastics as a hobby. When coaching, I use various training activities to teach the basics, developing proficiency in core gymnastics skills before practicing more complex skills with equipment like the vault, springboard, trampette and tumble track. These general gymnastics skills are taught in a fun and progressive way, with activities being simplified for beginners or made more challenging for those more advanced.

Charnwood Borough Council organise fun-filled holiday programmes for children, encouraging them to try a wide range of sports and activities. Sessions take place across the borough of Charnwood, including water sports, geocaching, dodgeball, den building, etc. As a Sport and Leisure Activity Leader, I am required to run sessions and supervise the provision of any activities that are lead by external individuals. This presents a large quantity of responsibility with registers, child information, risk assessments and communication with different facilities. I have been able to expand my knowledge on the less common activities that we deliver, as I see supervising a session as an opportunity for me to learn and enhance my breath of sporting expertise.

I ran sports sessions at the leisure centre within the school holidays for children aged 6 to 15 years. I had the responsibility to plan sessions throughly beforehand and lead the delivery with numerous other coaches. This helped to develop verbal communication skills and enhance confidence when speaking to a large group of children with authority. Sessions varied from multi-sports, invasion games and net games, allowing the expansion of knowledge on sports that I previously was not confident in delivering.

The role of a technical specialist within an Apple Store is to support existing customers with technical issues and queries and training new customers on how best to use their new products and get the most from them. I was responsible for delivering appointments with the public to help resolve their issues, often facing challenging customers and unknown issues requiring myself to keep composed and calm under pressure, while thinking on the spot.

A specialist is one of the first people you come into contact with when you enter the Apple store. I helped to guide customers in obtaining the best solution based upon their needs, as well as maintaining visual standards throughout the store.