Child
and
Young Person Development
TASK 1: Personal development and progression task
1) My main motivation for undertaking this course is to gain a qualification that will provide me with options into further educational opportunities that I hope will ultimately open doors into pursuing a career working in schools. I discovered my passion for working with children and young adults during my time as an adult instructor in the army cadets and found it to be very rewarding but never found the right time to switch careers. Following the birth of my son, I made the decision to leave work and the army cadet force to be a full time mum and whilst I do not regret my decision in the slightest I do feel as though my life was put on hold. I am now lucky enough that I can take advantage of this opportunity to retrain in a subject that am passionate about and that will hopefully lead me to a career working with children. Apart from the qualification I intend to acquire as much experience and knowledge as I can whilst on placement in the classroom and develop new skills in communicating with children. I also aim to broaden my knowledge of child development and schools as an organisation from the course and my peers.
2) Having volunteered as an adult instructor in the army cadets for 3 years I not only developed skills in presenting information, teaching and managing young adults but I grew as a person and built high levels of confidence. I am comfortable speaking in groups and can happily lead a discussion without being over bearing and if I feel I can contribute something to a discussion I will. I feel these qualities will be used in the course sessions and I will hopefully be a valued member of the course. Within my placement I feel the skills I developed during my time as a cadet instructor can be adapted appropriately to working with the children in the classroom where I am placed. I have a relaxed and friendly approach and would like to think my