This week I had to complete my 10 minute presentation talk in front of 5 classmates. Although the audience wasn’t very big I still felt very anxious about this, however when speaking to the other students they also felt the same.

Due to complications with my PVG I had only completed roughly 15 hours however I still had a lot to talk about during my presentation as it was all different clubs I was volunteering and being involved in.  I spoke about my placements such as play unified, Scottish disability sport and boccia festivals.

During my presentation I focussed on the positive aspects and also the negative aspects of all the different events and I also reflected back on what I would change for the future to help me in my careers.  I also spoke about the aims of Active Stirling, my personal aims and I also reflected back into my experiences and spoke about what I would change and why I would also change it.

I decided to volunteer first for my presentation group as I felt if I went last I would compare my to work to my classmates which would effect my anxiety and the way my presentation would flow. Although I was still anxious I was happy I went first as it meant that my 10/15 minutes of Hugh anxiety and nerves was over and I could now relax and listen to the rest of my classmates with no worries.

During the presentation I felt that the sheets we filled out helped as it gives you weaknesses that you can work on to improve your presentation skills and it also highlights what you done well which helps to boost your self confidence within presentations.

Although I still don’t feel 100% confident with speaking in front of groups doing presentations or public speaking, I feel that doing presentations in front of classmates frequently helps me to improve bit by bit.

This week I was involved in two different work experiences on Friday the 8th November. My first placement was from 9am until 1pm and it was a Boccia festival at The Peak in Stirling which was for primary and high school students who had additional support needs. My second placement was in Wallace High School which is also in Stirling and it was from 12 till 1 with pupils from the high school plus students from the support base who came together to form a multi sport lunch group to help them make new friends and have something to do.

I had forgotten to mail our seminar tutor about my placement so I was in university from 9-9.45 and I started placement at 10.00. I didn’t miss anything at all as the school pupils started to arrive around 10.00 so Craig put me in a group with Rebecca and Chloe and we were to referee Boccia and keep note of scores and organise all the children into their groups. With this particular role of refereeing I found it a little difficult as it was working with children with many kinds of disabilities and some found it hard to concentrate on the game and would walk off the court leaving their partner without a competitor. I have also been given the opportunity to do my boccia coaching which is another great qualification to put on my CV for future.

With this role I had to be very patient as some children found it hard to communicate or they were non verbal so it took them a little while to process what we were saying and progress within the game however this wasn’t a problem at all as all children learn at their own pace. We also had to think fast during this role as some children would walk off the court and not participate meaning we had to find someone to fill in their space or we would participate with them.

As the Boccia festival finished a little earlier it meant we had another opportunity to volunteer at Wallace high school. This was in their main sports hall and it was a mixture or mainstream and ASN students. This session was very laid back and I participated in many activities such as being a goalie for penalty shoot out, playing doubles in badminton, playing boccia and also playing around with volleyballs. This was an amazing experience as it was good to see both of the schools mixing together and having great fun.

When reflecting back on placement I feel I have widened my knowledge on disability sport due to working closely with the children who all had a variety of disabilities and how they all process at different paces. One thing I feel I could have changed was that I was quite easy going with some of the children when they would walk off the court, however next time I feel I should try and communicate with them more, try my best to keep them involved and see how I can support them and be able to ensure that they enjoy our sessions. I am looking forward to all my sessions I have planned next week and I will take note of areas I need to work on so that each week my sessions improve.

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.

Unfortunately I still haven’t received my PVG confirmation through mail yet however my mentor Craig told us that they may go straight to Active Stirling before we get sent one which eases my anxiety a little. I have been in contact with my mentor a lot through email and I’m awaiting an email back to see what is going to happen as I previously have had a few PVG’s through my work and refereeing which means they would usually be sent out quicker.

I am due to start my placement on Wednesday the 23rd October which I feel very excited about. This will be a Central Parasport Festival which will take place at The Peak. This event will run from 9am until 3pm and is organised by Scottish Disability Sport and Active Stirling.  I am looking forward to this event and I don’t feel very anxious at all. I can’t wait to work along side the other students at this event as this will be our 1st placement together.

We were also offered to help out at another event on the 8th November from 9am-1pm which is also taking place at The Peak and ran by the same organisations however this time the event is called Stirling Boccia Festival. I have been in contact with Craig to tell him that I have a meeting that morning in university however depending on what time I will go after the meeting if that is allowed.

My mentor has been in touch a lot with us through emails with upcoming events and if we have any questions we need to ask him he is very good at answering back within a few days, I feel very confident about emailing and talking to my mentor which has helped a lot so far.

I am feeling very confident about my upcoming placements, however I am feeling very anxious about not making my hours but I keep trying to stay positive as I know that others in my class are in the same position as me.

During the work experience module I will be doing my placements with Active Stirling, although I am from Glasgow I feel I would get more out of doing a placement within an area I am not familiar with as this will help to improve on skills such as my confidence and teamwork.

On the 2nd week of the module I met with my mentor Craig from Active Stirling who spoke to me about the criteria and all the activities we will be participating in as I missed the 1st week. At first I felt nervous meeting Craig as everyone else had already met him and I didn’t know what to expect. Upon meeting Craig we received an email to bring in certain things to sort out our PVG’s so we can start placement straight away once these are done. As I already had a PVG I didn’t have much of the paperwork to do and at the end of the meeting I had time to speak to Craig about things I wasn’t very sure of.

Recently Craig got in touch with us to say that our PVG’s should be sent out to us within the next few weeks and once we have these sent to us we should get in contact with him so that he can sort our placement out.  When speaking to Craig I told him I was interested in Football and Dancing, he told us that our first placement will be on the 23rd of October and it will be a Paralympic event for children with disabilities and it would be great if we could go along.

Meeting Craig made me feel a lot more confident as I had a lot of anxiety as I wasn’t sure what to expect from this placement as I have previously done it within Glasgow when in high school, however my mentor didn’t bother much with me and didn’t keep in contact at all which created a lot of problems with my High School.

I feel very excited to start my placement with Active Stirling and I feel that Craig has a very good relationship with all of us that he mentors as he gets in contact with us regularly and keeps us very updated on everything.