Since my last placement on the 23rd October I haven’t had any opportunities since then however my mentor Craig has been emailing me back and forth with opportunities and is helping me work my placement hours around I university times and work times.

Craig has been communicating with me very well through email and has given me a few clubs and days so that I can start to make up my hours. I was given the opportunity to attend a Boccia session on a Monday night from 6.15-7.15 which I would be participating in as well as helping to facilitate with the sessions, however recently I have been promoted in my work meaning that I will need to be in work for open and close on a Monday night which unfortunately means I can’t make this session but Craig has assured me that there are plenty of more opportunities available for me to do this.

At first I was a little gutted that I couldn’t make this session as Craig told us that there may be an opportunity for us to receive our level 1 coaching within boccia but he has told me there’s nothing to worry about and that it’s okay to have other commitments. After discussing my problem with Craig about the Monday night I then received another email for a volunteering opportunity in a primary school where children from the ASN department and mainstream pupils come together to participate in sports together for 1 hour. I have agreed to this placement as it doesn’t clash with university or my work and I am very excited to be volunteering at this event as this is possibly a career job I want to do in the future.

I have previously done placement in an Autism Unit when I was in high school which was very challenging however it helped to show my potential as I had to be very hands on and adaptive during my sessions as a lot of kids needed 1-1 support more than others or found it difficult to pay attention for a long period of time. I am looking forward to my future placements as when speaking to Craig I asked to work more within the ASN departments leading sport sessions as this is something I feel very passionate about and look forward to doing in the future.