Phoenix Park Reflection

As part of the social care practice degree, the author completed a 400 hour placement in Phoenix Park Special School as it was an area that she was extremely interested in. Phoenix Park Special School is a primary school for children aged between four and twelve who have emotional and behavioral difficulties. The children are taken out of mainstream school with the hope that after a year or two, they would be able to return. Each class has six students per class with one teacher and two special needs assistants. The school has a nurture room which offers “a short term, focused intervention strategy, which addresses barriers to learning arising from social, emotional and behavioral difficulties in an inclusive, supportive manner” (Phoenixparkschool,
The authors experience on placement had been extremely positive. Before starting, the author was apprehensive as she wasn't to sure what she would be doing or how the children would react to her. Very quickly she was made me feel like staff and was given a lot of responsibility. She was originally supposed to be in the nurture room but due to unforeseen circumstances, the social careers left so the nurture room wasn't in use. The author ended up working in the classroom instead. When she was in the class, she did one on one work with the children and was given the opportunity to play games and do pieces of art with different students. On various days, she was able to take one of the children to hall or the sensory room. This gave her the opportunity to work with them individually. From working with the children within and outside the class, she learned a range of things about them from what they like to do and what their triggers are. On occasion, the author saw the children trashing the rooms and throwing various objects. This was extremely hard for her to see but after a while she became
Her original supervisor was supposed to be the social care worker in the nurture room but because she was in the classroom, the teacher of the class became her supervisor. The author worked along side the teacher so she seen all of the work that she was doing and the teacher was able to supervise how she acted with the children and how they worked with her. The teacher was there all day so she could guide her around areas she hadn’t worked in and if she had any questions there was always someone there to ask. The authors overall supervision was excellent due to the regular guidance and support that she was given throughout her entire placement. From being on placement, she realized how important supervision was. It is important for your everyday work and to help you enjoy what you are doing within your job and in return this is reflected in the work you do with your clients (Tsui, 2005). Supervision is essential due to the “emotionally charged nature of the work” and supervision provides a time to reflect on that (Social Care Institute for Excellence, 2015). The list of things the author learned about herself and the area she worked in was endless. From week one to week fourteen, there were her main three learning outcomes that stood out for