UNISON Ulearn Northern Ireland

I’ve been a classroom assistant for around ten years, originally having gone in as a dinner lady. I left school when I was 16, but I went at Easter, so didn’t even sit any exams. I was the eldest and my mother was on her own, I thought if I could get a job, I could bring money into the house.

My first job was in Greenisland Hospital as a catering assistant where I earned £30 a week and was delighted to be able to contribute financially at home. I stayed there for 19 years until the hospital closed. During that time, I got married and had four children, so never had time to think about studying.

Even as a classroom assistant I never did any training. The NVQs were available, but you had to pay for them, and with four children I always put them first. Getting the information from UNISON about the Open University ‘Supporting Children’s Learning in the Early Years’ was probably the first opportunity that really came my way. Because UNISON was paying for it, I could really consider doing it.

There are three of us in our school who decided to go for it, and the principal was very supportive, there was also a lot of support from colleagues. The course covered literacy, using case studies, exploring language and the mathematical language of children, how to engage special needs children and children whose first language isn’t English. We had to do three assignments and a project. I found the assignments tough, particularly learning how to use references. But the tutor was very helpful, you could ring her in between tutorials, she gave out really good handouts and the Open University materials were very easy to follow.

Overall, the course has improved my practice, it makes me think more about the children and how I interact, such as asking open ended questions. What we covered in the course, we do every day in work, but I never really thought about it. It’s also improved my confidence, knowing that I am doing things right.

I’ve just started another module, paid for by UNISON on ‘Working with Children in the Early Years’. This is also a 30 point course and combined with the one I have already completed will give me an Open University Certificate in Early Years. It also counts towards a degree, but I’m not sure if I will go all that way, I’ll get this certificate and take it from there.

This will be my first qualification ever, I won’t get any more money or anything, but it’s for me, knowing that I can do it. I would never have gone for this course without UNISON, maybe in ten years time I might have thought about doing something, but not yet. It was UNISON which enabled me to go for it. I’d recommend this course to anyone working in early years – if I can do it anyone can.