Wiliam Parker Sports College, East Sussex 

 

NVQ in Counselling skills

Debbie Rozier, a TA at William Parker Sports College shares her experience of applying for a bursary and the positive effects of being able to implement Social Skills Workshops and Intervention Groups. These have had an extremely positive impact on the pupils involved and has also led Debbie to embark on the NVQ level 3 course.

After applying for a bursary and completing the Level 2 Counselling Course, I was able to feedback on my experiences and new skills through an inset day presentation to other teaching assistants. I was able to explain how the skills learned on this course could be applied to everyday situations in the school environment.

I was then able to implement a Social Skills Workshop which focussed on boys selected using the the following criteria;

  • Those who had difficulty integrating into a group because of quietness and lack of confidence
  • Those who took over in a group situation because of their behaviour.
  • The workshop lasted for six sessions and we looked at the following areas;
  • Getting to know each other
  • Friendship
  • Communication
  • Speaking & Listening
  • Turn taking & appropriate reactions to events
  • Final questionnaire

This workshop proved to be a valuable exercise in allowing me to work more closely with some students who feel that they are not always listened to and also help the students whose behaviour affects their learning to have the chance to use their new social skills within a classroom situation.

My second workshop focussed on Year 8 boys who saw themselves as ‘unteachable’ because of their behaviour. The Workshop aimed at giving these students a chance to discuss the school and their future, thus boosting their self-esteem.

This workshop was also a success; the students involved wrote reports at the end of the seven workshop sessions which showed that they felt valued and pleased that they had the chance to share their opinions whilst also focussing on what they were good at

Impact

These Social Skills Workshops have also had an impact on how the school is addressing ‘Every Child Matters’.

Benefits in other areas:

From my own CPD perspective, I have had the chance to reflect on my own practice and have found that my new skills have given me a greater ability to empathise with the boys I work with. I have now started the Level 3 Counselling Course in order to further build on these skills