Mother of two Leanne came to the GRoW Programme to help her find the right kind of job when the time was right and is now about to start a training course and is planning to start her own business.
Leanne said “Before I had children I used to work in admin and though I was fairly confident of my employability skills I was concerned about finding the right kind of job that would fit around my children. I don’t have regular support so I was panicking about how I would make it all work – hours – childcare – reasonable wages etc and I felt that the best option was to just wait until my youngest child was in full time school before I could really start thinking about it properly.
“I spent a lot of my time at the Harefield Children’s Centre and they suggested I go along to the GRoW Programme to help me think about getting ready for work. I am so glad I did because from the moment I got there it was a huge eye opener! I went along with one of my friends and we did the Programme together which was really nice. We met people there who we didn’t know before and it was a really lovely group, they all helped me realise what I could achieve. I’ve always loved being around kids and I could see that working in a school environment would suit me and my family. I’ve done work experience in a nursery before and I’ve helped out at the Children’s Centre too so I thought this would be a good route to pursue.
“When it came to January my friend and I could not wait for the Open Day at Brookfields Adult Learning Centre. We both enrolled on training courses and are doing our first course together in ‘Understanding Behaviour and its Challenges’. The course is a Level 2 and will run from this month until July and then I am starting another Level 2 course in September to train as an Early Years Practitioner.
“The people at the Learning Centre suggested the Level 2 Understanding Behaviour course would stand me in good stead before doing the Early Year Practitioner and I’m now looking really positively to the future with a new outlook. I have options of working as part of my placement or working in a school at the end of my Early Years course or I might even go on to train as a Teaching Assistant.
“During the GRoW Programme Mercedes Grant came and did a session on ‘GRoW Your Own Business’. She was brilliant and so funny and the advice she gave on self employment was really helpful. I will be doing Childcare at the end of this month as part of my course and I am also doing an online Fitness Instructor Course at the moment as my friend and I are looking to set up our own Fitness Club. It was useful to get Mercedes’ insight.
“Before I went to the GRoW Programme I really thought my best option was to just wait until my children had grown up before I could think about doing anything related to work. I couldn’t have been more wrong. GRoW has really helped me to recognise my worth and to see that returning to work is a journey. By undertaking these training courses now I am increasing my skills and knowledge and will be fully qualified by the time my youngest child is in full time school.”