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Course at Northern Regional College is Stepping Stone to a New Career

Thursday

Female student

A Coleraine women who enrolled at Northern Regional College as a mature student has just started a new career as a classroom assistant in a local primary school. After leaving secondary school, Samantha Stewart went to university and graduated with a BA Hons degree in Humanities. She worked in accounts for over 12 years and then decided she needed a complete change.

“I always loved working with children so I enrolled on the City & Guilds Level 3 Diploma in Specialist Support for Teaching and Learning at the College’s Ballymoney campus. For the first time, even though I’m now in my 40s, I found something that I really enjoyed doing. By doing this course, which included placements in a local school, I learnt so much about how to support children within a school setting.

Samantha said the course had given her the confidence to do new things and she would have no hesitation recommending the course and encouraging other mature students to go back to school.

“If you enjoy working with children and are interested in working in a school, then this is the course for you. The City & Guilds Level 3 Diploma in Specialist Support for Teaching and Learning at Northern Regional College will give you the skills and knowledge needed to work in a school and you’ll get a recognised qualification that will help open the door to a new career.

She continued: “There was so much I enjoyed about the course. It was great meeting new people of different ages and from different backgrounds. Everyone doing the course was friendly and we all benefited from learning about each other’s experiences and knowledge. The course content was very interesting and I liked the balance of classroom learning and placement which gave us an opportunity to apply what we were learning in class to a real life.

Childcare lecturer, Kasala McCurdy who co-ordinates the Specialist Support for Teaching and Learning Diploma at the Ballymoney campus, explained that the course, which concentrates on the stages from Foundation to the end of Key Stage 4, is the recommended qualification for use in primary, secondary and special needs schools.

“There are units on numeracy and literacy, as well as behaviour, communication, health and safety, child protection and assessment. Students are required to attend the four hour class and complete a weekly six hour placement for the duration of the course.

“Every student who completed the Level 3 Specialist Support in Teaching and Learning at Ballymoney and who applied for a job as a classroom assistant is now working in a local school. 

She continued: “Samantha contributed greatly to the classroom activities, bringing her experiences from placement to support peer learning and I’m delighted she’s decided to enrol on the Level 2 ADHD course at the College which will further enhance her employability.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Kasala attributed the success of the Specialist Support for Teaching and Learning Diploma to the good working relationship the College enjoys with local schools and other employers.

“We placed a high value on this to keep the door open for future students so it’s great to see the hard work invested in these relationships is now paying dividends.”