After recolating to London from India in 2022 Uzma enrolled in GRoW’s ‘Preparing to Work in Schools’ programme and has now found a part-time job with an agency Zen Educate working with primary school children with a focus on additional needs. She is also exploring voluntary opportunities to boost her learning and skills.
Uzma said; “I feel blessed to have been part of the GRoW programme in London since September this year. When the GRoW Team visited my daughter’s school to introduce parents to their programme I was immediately interested in what they had to offer. Having only been in the UK for 6 months I was finding it a bit of a struggle at times and wanted to feel I was moving forward. I needed opportunities to meet other people and feel I was getting somewhere. What I found at GRoW was a unique opportunity to connect with other like-minded people and a welcome community of women who were ready and willing to support each other and strive to do well.
Even though I have worked as a Primary School Teacher, Social Worker and School Administrator in the Middle East and India and have a Bachelor and Masters Degree my qualifications are unfortunately not recognised in the UK so when I joined the Preparing to Work in Schools programme I was feeling a bit down and worried about my future prospects. Kaneez really helped me through it and advised me to start slowly, take small steps and build up, which I thought was good advice. Sonia was also fantastic and I am so grateful for her help in boosting my confidence and spurring me on, as too did Mercedes who had many words of valuable advice for me to learn from. Sonia suggested I do some voluntary work to boost my skills and CV and so I applied to Learn Hillingdon and I have an interview for a voluntary position in April which I am looking forward to.
The Preparing to Work in Schools programme was really valuable and after completing it I applied to a local education charity and they have offered me a part-time position working with primary school-aged children in and around the borough of Hillingdon. This is a great start for me as I can only work part-time at the moment as I also have a 3 year-old son who is not yet in school full time. Combining work with the charity and hopefully the voluntary position too will build my reputation and skills here in the UK and I can then work towards a higher position within the teaching profession in the future.
I am so grateful to GRoW for the opportunities they have given me. For someone who is quite new to this country being part of the programme has been so beneficial, even the weekly coffee mornings which I often attend in person, are really valuable. They are so joyful and give you the chance to meet people from so many different backgrounds and the speakers from local groups and organisations that join the sessions are always so informative – it’s a great opportunity for networking and I love how I became part of the team. I am now looking forward to my new job and to the future.”