Sunday, 11 May 2014

Work Placement Blog

Project Brief

Experiential Placement (70% of the final mark)

This element requires you to identify and organise experience within a professional art & design context. The experience must be for a minimum of 30 hours and the context/contexts you choose should be appropriate to your future career options.

With this in mind they could be:

  • Within an institution, e.g. a company, gallery, school, art team, museum, health setting, design agency.
  • With an individual freelance designer/artist/project manager/photographer or other creative practitioner.
You can choose to undertake experience in one, or a combination of places or contexts.


Finding My Work Placement

When looking for my work I made enquiries at a couple of local school at where i live, but with vary little success. Many of the schools and nursery I applied to were unable to offer me a place as they were mid-term or mid-year.

I also applied to do a weeks work experience at Rowley Owls in Rowley Regis. They were unable to give me a weeks work experience, but have encouraged me to apply for their apprenticeship programme if i still wish to work in partnership with them. 

Finally I made an enquiry at an after school club programme called Boni Kidz, and they were able to accommodate my request for a Work experience place.




Boni Kidz is a Community Interest Company (CIC). We're a 'not for profit' organisation with no shareholders to take dividends.
All proceeds are used to provide the best possible environment for the children in our care.
Boni Kidz has been serving the community of Quinton since 2008
Our After School Club is based at St Boniface Church Hall, Quinton Road West. 3.15pm – 5.45 pm £10.50 per session including collection from school and a light tea

About Us
As parents ourselves we understand the need to be sure that our children are safe, well looked after and enjoying themselves to give us the peace of mind we need while we are at work or college.
Boni Kidz aim to provide a reliable and consistent service in a happy, secure and stimulating environment for our children. We include  a range of stimulating activities and encourage the children to choose for themselves what they want to do at each session with the support of our practitioners if needed.
Our activities are carefully designed to ensure that all children have equal opportunity to participate in any activities regardless of their age or ability.

Daily Routine
§  Collection from school by walking bus
§  Homework- reading, writing, drawing and colouring
§  Light tea
§  Choice of activities including outdoor play, crafts, games, DVDs, Wii games, sports, team games and lots more
§  Quiet time
§  Tidy up time
§  Home Time

Job Description- After school Club
Job Title: Playcare Worker 
Job Purpose: To assist the Manager and staff team in planning & delivering a programme of play activity's and learning for children of primary school age. 

Daily Duties Include:

  • Meet & escort the children from school to Club using the 'Walking bus' Scheme, high-vis coats to be worn.
  • Set up and clear away equipment and materials as required.
  • Prepare and serve snack, and clear away afterwards
  • Safeguard and Promote the Safety and Welfare of the children in our care.
  • Communicate in a calm and effective manner to children, their parents/carers, teachers, club staff and any other professional body involved in the child's welfare.
  • Ensure care and maintenance of site and equipment, reporting faults and defects to the appropriate person.
  • Tidy and clean up areas on a rota basis
  • Other add-hoc duties as required. 

 The daily routine of the club although appearing very prescriptive is relatively flexible, meaning that if a certain craft needs more time or a certain area to work in they are flexible to change, as long as those changes are beneficial to the children at the after school club.

As part of the After school club we go and pick the children up fro two local schools, and walk the back to a local church where the After school club is held. When walking back to the church we always walk a pre-approved route. The children are encouraged to walk in pairs, usually holding hands for safety. the children and adults doing the walking bus from the schools to the church all wear high-vis jackets for safety and viability.

The children finish school at 3.15pm every day, therefore we are at the schools from 3pm to collect the children. We then have the children till 5.45pm or until their parents come and collect them. When the children are collected from the After school club they have to be signed out by their parents and escorted to the door by a member of staff.

During their time at the after school club the children are given time to do homework, with help from the staff. they are also given a light tea, and a choice of activities throughout the afternoon. such as, interactive play, outdoor play and exploration of nature, crafts and team games. the children are also encouraged to help tidy up and prepare for collection by their parents.

Week 1:

Monday:
  • Assisting with making a light tea for the children.
  • Enabling creative/interactive play with the younger reception aged children: Building a tower out of jumbo jenga bricks. 
  • tidy up the activities they have had out that day, and prepare for children going home.
Wednesday:
  • Assisting with making a light tea for the children.
  • Enabling creative play with the children, exploring nature in the garden that we have access to. Using magnifying glasses to find nature in the garden and enjoying the weather and freedom to play.
  • tidy up the activities they have had out that day, and prepare for children going home.

Friday:

  • Assisting with making a light tea for the children.
  • Enabling creative play, which included drawing on a exterior wall in chalk. Building towers out of jumbo Jenga Blocks, and supervising creative play of children of different ages.
  • tidy up the activities they have had out that day, and prepare for children going home.
The first week I was on Work placement was a chance for me to get used to the dynamics of the After school club and how the club is run. I was able to learn what sort of crafts and interaction the children responded best to, and how to cater each activity or craft to the right age group, and style of learning. The first week I  was on placement at Boni Kidz, was used as an opportunity for the children to get to know me, after this first week of them getting to know who I was I would then start to lead crafts within the after school club for the children.




Children Playing and exploring the Garden







Light Tea Provided for the Children: Toast - the Children's favourite











Hours: Monday: 2.30pm - 6pm
Wednesday: 2.30pm - 6pm
Friday: 2.30pm - 6pm

Week 2:
All of the crafts that have been organised for this week are all based around the theme Mothers day.

Monday: Mother's day pictures











Hand drawn picture for the children to colour in and take home.

What's needed for this activity:

  • Photocopies of hand drawn images
  • felt pens
  • crayons
  • pencil crayons
Prep Before:
draw out interesting Mother's day themed pictures for the children to colour in.

Wednesday: Mothers day cards




Creating their own individual mothers day cards, to take home for their mothers.

What's needed for this Craft:
  • Card Blanks & Envelopes
  • Gems 
  • Buttons 
  • Ribbon
  • Petal shapes 
  • felt tip pens 
  • Pritt Stick
Prep Before:

Before the evening I bought the materials: Buttons, gems and ribbon. I also cut out petal shapes out of different pastel shades of paper to be added to their cards. Card blanks and Envelopes bought from a stationery shop.

Thursday: extra hours! Help needed for walking bus and light tea.


On this occasion I was asked if I could assist in collecting the children from school and helping to make them a light tea, as they were short staffed for the ratio of adults to children.


Friday: Pipe-cleaner flowers & Bead bracelets






















Making mothers day flowers out of pipe-cleaners, pom poms and glue, and gifts for their mothers in the form of bracelet using elasticated bracelet thread, buttons and beads.

Pipe-cleaner flowers:

What's needed for this craft:
  • Pipe-cleaners
  • pom poms
  • pritt stick
Prep Before:
very little preparation is needed before this craft, other than buying the materials.

Bead Bracelets:
What's needed for the craft:
  • selection of beads 
  • selection of buttons 
  • elasticated bracelet cord/string 
Prep Before:
once again very little preparation is needed before this craft, other than sourcing and organising the materials. 

Crafts like the previous two that don't take much Preparation or setting up before the craft allows me to be actively playing with the children and supervising their interactive play.
I tried to make one day a week easier to set up and organise so that I could have interactive time with the children and learn how they interact and like to play and create.

Hours: Monday: 2.30pm - 6pm
Wednesday: 2.30pm - 6pm
Thursday: 2.30pm - 4.30pm
Friday: 2.30pm - 6pm

Week 3:

Monday: Healthy eating, Fruit salad

Teaching the children about healthy eating and giving them a chance to try fruit that they may not have had chance to try before

What's needed for this activity:
Selection of fruit-
  • Strawberries
  • Raspberries
  • Apples
  • Pears
  • Oranges
  • Banana
  • Kiwi
  • Plums

The way I ran this session was to put bowls of the different fruits onto the table, allowing the children to choose what fruits they wanted to try.
One thing I had to consider when planning this activity for the children was allergies. One of the children at Boni Kids is allergic to strawberries, another child is allergic to green apples, another child is allergic to lemons and another child is allergic to avocados.

Wednesday: Easter cards


All of the crafts that have been organised for this week are all based around the theme Easter.




Making Easter cards/ Easter plaques. cutting an Easter egg shape into card blanks, decorate inside of the card blank with coloured strips of paper and glue together to make a striped Easter egg design.

What's needed for this craft:
  • Card blanks, with an egg shape cut into the front of the card blank
  • Strips of coloured card
  • Pritt stick
  • Scissors
  • Felt pens

Prep before:
Before the craft I had to cut the egg shapes into the card blanks, and cut out the strips of coloured card to decorate the eggs. I cut the coloured strips in a range of fluorescent coloured card.


Friday: Polystyrene eggs





















pre made polystyrene eggs to be decorates and coloured in with sharpie Markers.

What's needed for this craft:
  • Pre-made polystyrene eggs
  • Sharpie markers
Prep Before:
there was no prep needed for this craft, other than purchasing the supplies.


This week I started to run Easter themed crafts for the children. I wanted to give them the chance to make something they could take home with them for Easter. I also wanted them to make something other than the standard Easter cards and Easter bonnets they had already made at school.
Easter crafts will also continue to be the theme for the next up coming week too.

Hours: Monday: 2.30pm - 6pm
Wednesday: 2.30pm - 6pm
Friday: 2.30pm - 6pm




Week 4:
All of the crafts that have been organised for this week are all based around the theme Easter.













Monday: Foam Bunnies & Easter Eggs to decorate

Pre made flexi foam bunny and Easter egg shapes to be decorated using sharpie markers, sequins, stickers and pom poms.

What's needed for this craft:
  • Pre-made flexi foam bunnies and Easter eggs
  • Sequins
  • Stickers
  • Buttons
  • Pom poms
  • Sharpie markers
  • Felt pens
  • Pritt stick
Prep before:
No real preparation was needed before this craft, other that buying the materials.

Wednesday: Chocolate Easter Nests

Making chocolate Easter nests for the children to make home and enjoy.


What's needed for this activity:
  • Shredded wheat
  • Chocolate
  • Mini eggs
  • Paper plates
  • Cake cases
  • Bowls, spoons, microwave
Prep before:
Buy ingredients to make the Chocolate Easter nests. Prep kitchen for the children.

The children really enjoyed making the Chocolate Easter nests, they like any form of cooking and making within the kitchen context. And of course they loved making something out of Chocolate and covered in Chocolate.

Friday: Paper Plate Bunnies and chicks

Easter characters made out of paper plates with additional card features.

What's needed for this craft:
  • paper plates
  • Bunny shapes (bunny ears)
  • Chick shapes (wings, feet, legs)
  • pritt stick
  • felt pens 
  • sequins 
Prep before:
Before the evening I cut out the shapes for the Bunny plates and the Chick plates.

For the Bunny plates I had to cut out the Bunny Ears, (inner and outer ears). For the Chick Plates I had to cut out the Chick wings, feet and legs.


We were very lucky on the afternoon we made the Bunny and Chick paper plates, as we were able to take the craft outside and do the craft sitting on mats in the garden. The children love to be out in the garden anyway and always love running around and playing in the fresh air. But it was especially nice to take the craft outside too, so that they didn't have to come inside if they wanted to be part of the craft.





Hours: Monday: 2.30pm - 6pm
Wednesday: 2.30pm - 6pm
Friday: 2.30pm - 6pm


I have also done three additional Monday sessions to help out, as they are short one adult on a Monday. I was asked to help in order to meet ratio's of Children to Adults
3x 2.30pm-6pm

Work experience hours in total: 54 hours & 30 mins


Review Letter of my time at Boni Kidz:
May 2014

Lindsey Broadfield has been working with us at Boni Kidz for the last few months.

The staff, children and myself have thoroughly enjoyed having Lindsey here with us. They all ask for her when she is not here and she has fitted into our team really well.

 Lindsey has created many fun craft activities for the children including Healthy Eating, Easter crafts, and a gorgeous rainbow picture. All of them a huge success with the children. All the activities are excellent quality, well planned and well thought out. They are always age appropriate for the groups she works with. Lindsey always comes well prepared for each activity with all the equipment that she needs.  All the activities have been hugely successful with the children and the staff have loved them too- often taking crafts home to do with their own children!

I have found Lindsey to be a conscientious, hard working individual, who can work on her own initiative and can follow instructions when needed. She is an excellent time keeper and her work attendance has been excellent. She is a fantastic team player and we have really enjoyed having her here as part of our team.

We shall miss her!

Emma Broughton
Boni Kidz Manager


St Boniface Church Hall, Quinton Road West, Quinton. Birmingham B32 2QD

07977878339 mail@bonikidz.co.uk

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Boni Kidz, I have learnt such a lot about how to successfully run an After School Programme, in conjunction with two local schools. I have also learnt about all the things you have to think about in order to run an After School Club that meets Ofsted regulations and EYFS Guidelines (Early Years Foundation Studies). I am now considering looking into doing the EYFS diploma course, as well as the PGCE to teach after my degree. I have also learnt how to cater my crafts to children of varying ages and varying skills and attention spans. As well as, considering the needs of the children such as health needs and allergies. I have been able to work in a team situation to provide the highest value of care and support to the children who attend the After School Club, giving help to them with their homework reading and development of friendships and social skills. By working with a children of a wide age range I have learnt hoe to encourage children of different ages to work, play and create together, and learn from each other. This experience with Boni Kidz has been very beneficial to me and has helped to some what guide me in what direction to take next, with my education and career.

I am pleased to also add that I have been offered a place of payed work, working with them at Boni Kidz till the end of July.