 In our next Sector Spotlight on Careers Education, we hear from Leah Rendall, who is the DYW School Co-ordinator for Kirkwall Grammar School. Leah has always wanted to work with children and young people and began her career as a Support for Learning Assistant at Stenness and Stromness Primary Schools before working at Glaitness Aurrida for over 14 years. She then moved to Women’s Aid Orkney as a Children and Young People Outreach Worker. She has also run her own business before returning to work in schools as an Early Years Practitioner and a Support for Learning Assistant at Papdale Primary School.  Can you describe a typical day in your role as DYW School Coordinator for Kirkwall Grammar School?
I have a wide variety in my job, and it can vary from day to day. A typical day can include:
How did you end up in this role? Throughout my career, the main thing I have always wanted is to work with children and young people and help them reach their potential. I began my career as a Support for Learning Assistant, firstly at Stenness and Stromness Primary Schools and then for over 14 years I was at Glaitness Aurrida School. I moved from there to become a Children and Young People Outreach Worker for Women’s Aid Orkney. After taking some time out of my career I needed something that would fit around my family life, so I started my own business, Peedie Puffins Music and Movement Classes, I loved doing this but as my family circumstances changed, I felt it was the right time to go back to working in schools. I went to Papdale Primary School where I became an Early Years Practitioner in the Nursery and a Support for Learning Assistant within the school. In 2021 I saw the role of Developing the Young Workforce School Co-ordinator advertised and something about it just made me want to make the move. I wanted a new challenge, and I liked the idea of helping young people make links into the world of work. I absolutely love my job and I feel like I am still doing what I wanted to at the very start of my career and that is playing a part in helping others reach their potential. What is the best thing about your job? Working with the pupils is by far the best bit of my job. I love chatting to them about their hopes for the future and helping them make links with employers. I also love when I get the chance to work with groups of pupils, it’s fun to engage with them and find out all about the different career paths they are interested in. The very best thing is when a pupil has such a positive experience while on work placement that they are then offered further opportunities with that employer, I love to see the young people doing well. What is the worst thing about your job? Honestly, I think I am so lucky that I find it hard to answer that question as I genuinely love everything. If I had to think of something I’d say the hardest part is when I can’t get a work placement for every pupil that is looking for one, or I can’t get a work placement in the area they would like. What skills do you need to undertake your role? Communication is a key skill in this job, I have to speak to so many different people on a daily basis, I need to be able to initiate conversations, be engaging during discussions and show I am listening to others’ views/opinions. It’s important to build positive relationships with all the people you work with and luckily, I like chatting, so I don’t find this too hard! I need to be approachable so that pupils feel comfortable coming to chat with me, I like to think that I am a happy person with a warm personality. Teamwork is important not only within my own DYW team, but I must ensure I work well alongside school staff, other agencies, and employers so that the pupils are getting the best input I can give them. I also have to be very good at being organised, there is a lot of paperwork to do and I have to make sure I have everything in place each time a pupil goes on placement. Which leads me to reliability, I have to make sure that those I work with know they can rely on me to have everything done and if someone asks me to do something they know I will do it. Computer skills are also required as a large part of my time is spent responding to emails, doing paperwork, recording activities and making presentations. What qualifications do you have? I have an SVQ in Care and an HNC in Supporting Learning Needs. Would you recommend this job to young people, if so why? I think any job that is varied is a great job to have, it keeps you interested and makes the work day go very quickly. I would recommend this job to anyone, there is a lot of job satisfaction from helping others achieve things they want to, and it is great to be able to work with so many different people. Visit Developing the Young Workforce Orkney on: Facebook: www.facebook.com/OrkneyDYW Twitter: www.twitter.com/OrkneyDYW Instagram: www.instagram.com/orkneydyw/ Comments are closed.
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