A year into working in education...

It's somehow the 1st of December already?! Which can only mean a few things... Christmas is on its way! As is my birthday (the big 25 coming up in 28 days😬), New Year & more importantly, the 5th anniversary of this blog being created! (I'll be sure to do a post on that😉)

Anyway, hope this final month of 2025 has gotten off to a good start for you all, whatever you're doing. I fortunately had the day to myself today, so that means I'll be able to make a post on here.

This was another post I was meant to do a couple of weeks ago, as it marks 1 whole year of me working in education, (8th of November 2024 to be more priciest).

As of such, I'd like to take a moment to reflect on my journey. This also will include what I've learned, what I've enjoyed & the downsides of being an agency LSA, if I've not mentioned them already.

Since I began college, I've always wanted a career where I can work with young people to understand their mindsets. It was there & then that I've wanted to go down a psychology degree route. Although at that stage, I was a few years away from considering about going to university to undertake a psychology degree. 

Fast forward onto March 2023, when I was 3 months away from finishing college, and where I got the job as a Saturday Youth Worker at Challengers, I got talked out of going to university by one of my college tutors. Half of the reason was because he went to university himself, and told me face-to-face that the university experience is really not as people make it out to be. He also added that obtaining a psychology degree would not mean anything by the time I've finished uni. 

Fast forward again onto November 2024, where I've gained over a year's experience of being a Youth Worker to vulnerable young people, I decided to apply to lots of LSA jobs through CV Library. I'll tell you what, I was very impressed with the fact that one agency was very quick at getting back to me within just 24 hours! 

Here I am a year on, and I'm sat here with all of this more in-dept knowledge of some SEN needs that I've never heard of before or not have much experience of working with SEN needs that I do know of. For example, SEMH is definitely one of them. I'm sat here typing this, where I feel like I'm an expert with understanding SEMH, as I've gained so much experience & knowledge of how SEMH impacts a young person. As most of you know by now, I am best known for working at a SEMH school for 6 months, where I've found a fond passion of working with vulnerable young people who have experienced trauma in their early stages of life.

I have also worked in other education settings as well, where I got to put my expertise knowledge of SEMH, ASD & ADHD into good use. However, these have only been a couple of days here & a couple of days there kind of jobs, but it was still an enjoyable experience to get to work with different pupils with a variety of different SEN, as well as learn about how all of those SEN impacts these pupils nonetheless!

For those of you who are interested, here is a FULL list of all of the education settings that I have worked in over the past year:

• Bramley Oak Academy (for 1 day)
• Grafham Grange (now Bramley Grange Academy for 6 months)
• Gosden House (for 1 day)
• Merrist Wood College SEN department (1 week)
• Leith Hill School (3 days)
• Carwarden House (3 days)
• Pond Meadow (1 day)
• Brooklands School (1 day)
• Hollywater School (1 day)
• St Joseph's Trust (2 days)

I will be upfront & honest here by saying that I do find it frustrating that a few agencies I am now registered with, do not give me enough support when it comes to being placed into a school, where I intend to get more permanent work in. Especially if I really get on with the school & its pupils with needs that I have expertise in working with. Another thing I dislike, is where I will be specific to an agency that I do not want to be placed anywhere that I have little experience in. Biggest example would be in a school with non-verbal pupils. But they'll still do it anyway, all because they care about filling in staff gaps just so they can make their money for the day.

On a more positive note, I definitely like to think that I've been really successful in this industry so far! Especially how I've chosen not to go down the university route just for the purpose of getting a paper psychology degree at the end of it that doesn't mean much now in the career route I'm currently going down.

The pros & cons of being an agency LSA

Hello everyone! Hope you're all doing well. Since I've been an agency LSA for a year now, I thought about doing a post based on everything I have learned about being an agency LSA, as well as talk about the pros & cons of the job.

To be more precise, I first began applying for agency LSA roles on the 3rd of November of last year, and got officially employed into my 1st one on the 8th of November (5 days later). For most part, I'd happily say that I'm enjoying it, as the role itself is genially rewarding by helping young people thrive in education. However, the job itself can be extremely demanding due to the lack of expectations that some school staff won't tell you about before you go into the school('s) to do your job. 

Without further ado, here are the pros & cons of being an agency LSA...

  Pros:

• Meeting new people everyday - One of the things I really love about my job as an agency LSA, is that I get to meet different pupils, and learn many things about them. I never know, I may even learn something from one of them or more!...

• Getting to know how each school's curriculum works - I enjoy absorbing the knowledge of how each I school I've been into is ran, as this will be useful for me to pass onto anyone who wants to know if those school settings should be recommended to their children or children they know. Moreover, different schools have different vibes!

• Seeing familiar faces - Some of the schools I have worked in, I have seen some young people that I know of from Challengers (my Saturday & holiday job). Again, I enjoy absorbing the knowledge of that some young people from most of the Challengers schemes I have worked at attend these school settings. 

Cons:

• Not getting enough time to know the pupils well - Most of the schools I have worked in (with the exception of Grafham Grange) have only been for 1 day here, a few days there & another few days somewhere else. On an honest level, I really love getting to know the pupils I work with well, as this helps me to build a good, positive & trusting relationship with them by understanding how their mind works. Especially when they eventually gain enough trust in me to be their listening ear if they need/want to offload their thoughts.

• Low expectations from teachers - The one thing that really frustrates me the most about being an agency LSA, is that the teachers in the classes I get put into do not explain to me how best to be proactive in the class or how best to engage with each pupil. All this does is not only set me up to fail if I'm doing one or more days of trail shifts, but feel like I'm only present in the class as a "spare part".

• Little - no support from agencies - Another thing that really frustrates me about this line of work, is that some agencies (and I've registered onto about 10 different ones during October) will be very dismissive of your needs/requests. In the case of some agencies I'm with, I say to them that I specifically do not want to be placed into a school where I have to work with screaming non-verbal children, as I do not have much experience of working with them, but they'll still do it anyway when they call me up asking if I am available to work on the day they call me, all simply because for the purpose of the school giving THEM wages when these agencies fill school classes up with agency LSA's to fill in the holes, as well as keep the schools running as normal.

That pretty much wraps up this post. Hope you all find these pros & cons useful just in case you work in this industry to, or even thinking about it. 

I shall be back soon with another post!

*I began this post on the 18/11, but didn't finish it until the 19/11*

Always look back on how far you've come

Hello everyone! Just a quick one for today, as once again, worklife is taking over me at the moment. Well, as of this Monday. And I had a busy rest of July doing other non-work related things as well.

On the 16/7, I went for a walk from Weybridge - Walton-On-Thames via the Thames Path after a busy afternoon of doing "non-work related things". It was also just over a year ago since I have walked on that very same path, as I used to go to college in the area, and I used to like walking along that path alongside the Thames during long breaktimes or if I've finished early for the day.

It was also a coincidence that I wasn't feeling in the best of moods throughout most of that day by constantly worrying about things like finance & what will happen for me in the future.

However, whilst I was halfway along the pathway between Weybridge & Walton-On-Thames, I stopped very briefly, turned round, and that's when a truthful thought entered my mind. It just kept telling me: "Since I was last in this area, I've done & accomplished so much."

That thought was indeed nothing but true, as during the past year, I have: 

• Worked alongside the Surrey PCC & her Deputy on crime issues in Surrey with other SYC members

• Attended/ran the SYC conference with other SYC members in Woking to showcase all of our hard work we've done with tackling crime in Surrey, as well as gathering views from young people across Surrey to help shape our key findings as evidence

• Joined the IOPC Youth Panel, and began working with members all across the country to gather views of young people on their experiences of the police, criminal justice system & the police complaints system

• Did my own fitness challenge throughout July of last year to raise some money for Mind

• Attended 2 Surrey Police Training Workshops in Ewell with some IOPC members, where we provided the police better strategies when it came to dealing with young & vulnerable members of the public 

• Jumped out of a plane from a staggering height of 13,000ft to raise vital funds for Challengers (I was even joined by the CEO & her wife too!)

• Registered with an agency, where I worked as an LSA in a SEMH school from November - May, and gained a better understanding of how SEMH affects pupils. Not to mention the emotional & inspirational journey I had been on in those 6 months as well with the school, as it went from a instructured & failing environment to a safe & thriving place to learn. (More blog posts to come relating to this...)

• Attended/ran the IOPC Youth Panel Conference up in Leeds, where we showcased all of our work on how we are making the police complaints system better for people to access, as well as how we are working with police forces across the country to form better working relationships with communities, young & vulnerable people

• Just for fun, I travelled to every major place in Kent that I haven't been to yet within just 1 week

• Went up to Parliament with a few members of the Surrey Youth Commission & the Hertfordshire Youth Commission, where we were joined by the Deputy PCC to have a round table discussion with some MP's about how vulnerable young people must be prioritzed by the government

That's definitely quite a few accomplishments I will be forever proud of! It made me feel a whole lot better about myself too by looking back at how far I've come to where I'm at now.

The morale of the story is: "Always look back on how far you've come, as it will help you to appreciate your accomplishments in the present moment."

If you've made it this far into the post, then thank you so much for taking the time to read through this, and I'll hopefully be back soon!

*I began this post on the 31/7, but didn't finish it until the 2/8*

Tips on how to form a good working relationship with SEMH students

Hello everyone! Hope you're all doing good.

As the above title states, I thought I'd share some useful tips on how to form a good working relationship with SEMH students. This is especially handy for anyone who is looking into going into this industry. Not to mention that the benefits that come out of this feel immensely rewarding too!

However, I must warn you that the process of forming a good relationship with SEMH students can come with a fair share of emotional obstacles along the way... As I have experienced...

DO:

• Be polite by saying "morning" to them - Even if you see the students walking around who you barely know, it's always good to greet them warmly first thing in school. Especially how it can really secretly brighten up their mood, as they may not be warmly spoken to in that manner at home.

• Try to start a friendly conversation with them - Again, if you come across a student you barely interact with, at least pluck up the courage to begin a friendly conversation with them, such as: "How are you doing today X?" Although a majority of the students (especially the ones I didn't interact with much) will tell you to go away at times, at least they will eventually see in time that you are trying to make an effort to get to know them a bit more.

• Be firm with boundaries & behaviour - I know this will be nerve-racking, but you need to be very consistent with verbally telling students about the inappropriate behaviour they are displaying, as well as to firmly inform them of the consequences should they choose to continue with their inappropriate behaviour. Believe me, they will be thanking you inside their heads later, as SEMH kids crave on a sense of security.

DON'T:

• Keep on changing their routine during their school day - If there is 1 thing that SEMH kids HATE the most, it's definitely change. Every structured routine in their school day must be kept the same where possible, as sudden last second changes can REALLY cause SEMH kids to have some serious dysregulations! Trust me, witnessing a SEMH pupil dysregulated is not the prettiest thing to experience.

• Expect or make them do paperwork for the whole lesson - I know this may sound weird to some people, as you'd typically expect any pupil to get on with doing paperwork for an entire lesson, but with SEMH pupils, that is a different story, and this can cause them to feel tired & overwhelmed, as being in a classroom for too long can stress them out due to carrying an excessive amount of energy then other kids from non SEMH school settings. 

• Make them feel ashamed of their needs - Just because your purpose is to discipline SEMH pupils when they display inappropriate behaviour, doesn't give you the excuse to blame their needs for who they are as a person. The only thing this will do, is cause SEMH kids to have their confidence crushed, as they cannot change who they are inside.

I hope these tips will come into use for anyone who is looking into working in a SEMH environment. Especially having first-hand experience & knowledge. 

*I began this post on the 7/7, but didn't finish it until the 14/7*

Conversations In The Community Review + Key Takeaways (A MIND accredited online course)

Hello all! As the above title states, I will be distributing what I have learned, as well as include some key takeaways/points from an online course that I have managed to complete recently.

A little backstory for you here, I was working at my MIND store one day back in July, and I happen to glace up at a poster which was advertising an online course associated with MIND. Me, being the curious-minded person I am, only decided to scan the QR code on the poster to see what the said course (in the above title) was all about. Then me, also being the scatter-brained (sometimes) person that I am, only managed to get through 1/5 modules the next day, before ending up not getting around to doing it again until a week ago.  

*This was the only convenient picture I could find on the internet*

What was the online course about? Conversations In The Community is purely about educating people about the best ways of beginning, flowing & ending conversations with other people. And this can be having a conversation with anybody at all, regardless if they are struggling with their mental health or not. Moreover, this course goes into fish tank depth about the pros & cons of forming a conversation with somebody in the community. (I'll bullet point them later in this post)

How did the online course provide me with useful information? The online course provided me with a lot of tips of how to make a good & effective conversation. The information had also stated that it is important to bare in mind no conversation ever HAS to be perfect, as there isn't such thing as a 'perfect conversation'. The useful tips had included respecting the person's or your own boundaries, never ask leading questions, always remind the person that your there for them & try to show interest.

Would I feel more confident about starting my own conversations In the community? In a word, definitely! To further extend my reasoning, I will now remind myself to always begin a conversation to anyone by using open questions, like: "Hiya, how has your day been today?" or "Hey, how has life been for you lately?"

What are the pros & cons of forming conversations?

Pros:

• Finding a suitable environment
• Allowing the person to take their time
• Asking open questions
• Reminding the person you'll be always be there for them
• Respecting your person's privacy 
• Giving yourself an appropriate time

Cons:

• Being insulting
• Comparing your person's struggles to everyone else's
• Asking leading questions that will make your person feel uncomfortable 
• Not showing interest
• Violating your person's privacy
• Not going through the flowing & ending process in the conversation

What have I learned? As I have mentioned earlier, I have learned that any form of conversation doesn't NEED to be perfect, as long as I make the effort to actually make any form of conversation at all. And as long as the person I am having a conversation with is satisfied with everything, then I will be more than happy.

I have also learned that conversations are more effective when you allow your person to have their preferences. This is to provide them with empowerment that will make them feel comfortable & secure prior to a conversation. An example of this could be allowing your person to convey the conversation in a wide open green space, where they feel more comfortable by knowing that nobody else is going to invade the private conversation.

Finally, I have learned that you are entitled to setting your own boundaries when it comes to finding the most convenient time to form a conversation with somebody. This is important because you must consider you self-care before thinking about beginning a conversation with somebody. Especially when you know in advance that you are going to be having an emotionally draining conversation with somebody who is fighting depression.

Conclusion: Even though I was inattentive towards the online course when I have first started it back in July, I have found it really interesting & enjoyable throughout when I had eventually got my inattentive self round to getting through the rest of it, and managed to complete it on Wednesday. (The day before my birthday!) After doing the course, I feel more confident about forming conversations with people whenever I go out & about into the community. Although I know in the back of my mind that is easier said than done, as I still consider myself to be a shy person when having a random conversation with anyone out in the community. That being said, I can easily just shrug it off, and just focus on making conversation.

If anybody would like to develop better conversation forming skills when out & about in the community, I definitely recommend doing this course! Direct access link: https://www.conversationsinthecommunity.org.uk/

Happy 3rd Birthday to PsychologyIntake!

Yes, as the title states, I will be taking a brief moment to celebrate 3rs of my blogging site!🎉 I know 3yrs may seem like a short amount of time as the days & months go by, but to me, it feels like it has been an eternity! (Even though it hasn't😂)

Throughout my time as a blogger, (so far) I have:

• Talked about the psychology behind certain things, such as social media influencing
• Talked about how sport & psychology go well together
• Showed pictures of things to talk about my personal perspective behind them
• Spoken up about mental health & its effects 
• Shared my research on neurological disorders, such as ASD
• Liaised my work with LinkedIn 
• Shared my research from other sites, such as Psychology Today 
• Talked about why exercising is good for your mental health (Hence the 310,000 steps challenge in aid of Samaritans)
• Spoken up about the benefits of volunteering (Hence my part-time voluntary vacancies with MIND & Samaritans)
• Shared some personal insight about what I do in my part-time paid vacancy with Disability Challengers (As there is a lot of psychology involved in the job)
• Explored the meanings of quotes to understand the psychology behind them
• Done several research projects

Just to bare in mind, that I listed what I've done so far in no particular order. Mainly because I haven't look back on most of my past blog posts since publishing them, and have therefore had to rely on my muscle memory alone.

Anyway, here's to making loads more creative posts!

The benefits of "Putting Yourself in Timeout"

How has this week gone by quick?! All I've done is mostly chill out, as I had a busy holiday last week.

Which is why I want to discuss all of the beneficial methods of "Putting Yourself in Timeout" with you, as you may find these tips helpful for yourselves.

What does this expression mean?

It means, that you decide to be somewhere else, doing something else, when your mind gets overwhelmed by everything around you. This is where it screams: "STOOOOP!"

(The above picture shows MY definition of Putting myself in timeout. Everyone has their own way)

My top 5 bulleted points:

• Go for a long walk - This will help you to clear all the current worries in your mind, by replacing them with your distance goals.

• Listen to music - You could use this method to help keep your mind calm when working on something or to help keep your mind calm when you need alone time.

• Drawing - This is something which I find therapeutic, as your mind just focuses on your imagination sketched out on paper,  as well as being a silent activity.

• Relaxing - This not only helps your body to recharge itself, it also sends messages to the mind by saying: "Just relax, you're in no rush to do anything."

• Watching TV - Use this method to help escape your own stressful mindset, by going into the world of comedy, celebrity gameshow's or sport.

These are all my choice of activities to do when my mind gets overwhelmed by everything and needs to go into timeout. 

It does deserve a well-earned break when you think about how many things it thinks about day-in, day-out. Just so you can keep it happy and healthy for when you need it for important stuff. I.e. Researching.

That's concludes today's discussion.

Thank you for reading through. Please do feel free to let me know what your thoughts are in the comments or in person and enjoy the rest of your afternoon!😊

Why is it important to make yourself into an example?

I said I'll hopefully be back in 2 days time from my previous post... and I was right! Anyways, I hope everyone is enjoying their week right now, as I currently am. Hence I feel like creating an exciting post today.

In this post, I shall be highlighting the several ways of "Making yourself into an example" as well as talking about why is it important.

*After reading this post, I guarantee that you'll be feeling inspired to give my advice a try!* 

  

How can you make yourself into an example?

• Be positive - This will reflect good on other people including yourself.

• Highlight your interests - This will encourage your audience to the same.

• Motivate your mood to the audience - This will help THEM to feel motivated with whatever they wish to achieve. 

• Give out a backstory - This will help people to understand you better, as well as praise you for your journey and inspire THEM to tell you theirs in order for THEM to be praised.

• Be knowledgeable - This will help your audience to remember and keep any useful advice for becoming THEIR own example figure.

Why is it important to make yourself into an example?

It is important, because you need to learn how to cope with your journey in order for you to become a successful person in life. This means that you MUST overcome the obstacles in your journey to help your mind become stronger and show no fear to anything.

Furthermore, by self tackling these obstacles throughout your success journey, you will be able to have the built-up confidence to express those feelings of courage, motivation and determination to anybody your audience.

As of such, you may wish to become an entrepreneur. (I suggest looking on Instagram would be a good place to start)

Thank you for reading through. Please feel free to let me know what your thoughts are in the comments or in person. Even if you wish to share your own example ideas with me.

I hope to post again sometime this week. Have a gooden!😉