Summer 2013

I delivered my first work experience scheme this summer (Summer 2013 Holiday Football Programme) which went better than I could ever have expected. Although 5 people were initially enrolled onto the scheme, 6 eventually took part. The workers were all boys.

“Lionel took time and trouble to make sure my son, who was helping him as work experience volunteer, benefitted just as much as kids. The thoughtful guidance, feedback and encouragement to develop his skills was evident in a very short space of time. My son grew in confidence as Lionel gave him the right balance of responsibility and support.”

The workers had their own specific tasks which were set out on weekly rotas and were responsible for leading on some activities as well as supporting me on others, and I was very pleased with all of their professionalism, commitment and performance throughout the programme. I ran two 2 weeks programmes over a 4 weeks period and was supported by Fabian Godfrey, Kai Richardson and Henry Flynn on the first programme and Jordan Hart, Montel Adams and Paul O’Kaluon the second.

To help prepare the workers for their experience in advance of the programme, all were provided with a brief that set out the general duties that they would undertake over their experience and the skills and attributes that they would have the opportunity to demonstrate and hopefully develop. During their induction on the first day, each worker was given a copy of the weekly rota and a daily log booklet where they were required to record what they did each day and provide examples where they used the different relevant skills.

“Something which I feel really helped us to settle in was the Work Experience pack. It was a thorough introduction and served as a fantastic guide throughout the week.”

One of the hardest things for the workers was to change ‘hats’ / roles e.g. from supervisor to participant regularly throughout the day and to always display professionalism. Another challenge for the workers was to gain control of young groups especially when leading on activities. This was mainly due to talking quietly when explaining the tasks and not intervening when the children were talking to each other at the wrong times. However, as the programme progressed, most workers’ voice projection improved, they become more assertive and as a result, were able to lead the groups well.

All workers were good team players and there was a noticeable development in all their leadership qualities by the end of the programmes.

“I felt that the placement helped my son to boost his confidence, and could see that it grew day by day. It has also helped him realise how important it is to focus and be a team player. This has been noticed on his sport development course he is currently studying and has made a good start.”

Well done to you all and it was a pleasure to have you all as part of my team. You all were a great help that helped make the Summer 2013 Holiday Football Programme a wonderful, fun and educational experience for all the kids involved.

Thank you ‘TEAM’!