"Hucknall Children's Centre Nottinghamshire"

Until the summer of 2016 I volunteered at Hucknall Children's Centre to gain some experience of working with Children and their families.

From the start it was clear how much time and effort was put into help volunteers feel settled and supported in the role, especially as my full time work needed a very flexible approach for volunteer work to be at all possible.

I was made to feel a valuable member of the team, my ideas were listened to and was trusted with certain responsibilites.

I was encouraged to study for a level 3 Diploma in Children's and Young people's workforce, using my practical experience volunteering to cover the points of the course. Whenever I needed help with written work, preparing for session or carrying out an observation on a child help was always at hand. I was never made to feel that I was in the way even though it was clear staff members had a huge workload.

I have since been employed by a local company to work with families from pregnancy to school start age. I really believe that I am only in this role now due to the valuable experience gained at the Children's centre and the time invested in me from the fantastic team members who work their.