Childhood Practice BA (Ord) personal statement example

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

Between three and six o'clock the after-school club where I work changes completely. Children arrive tired from a full school day, then by five the hall is loud and busy, and by six the last few are quietly waiting for a parent. Planning for that shifting energy, rather than a single plan for the afternoon, is the part of my job I find most interesting. It is also where I can see the limits of what I know. I want to study Childhood Practice because I am ready to take on more responsibility for how our club is run, and I want that responsibility to rest on a stronger understanding of child development, policy and leadership than on-the-job experience alone gives me. I want to understand the responsibilities of leading practice as well as to read properly about why different approaches work.

How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare?

I completed my SVQ Social Services (Children and Young People) at SCQF Level 7 while working, and the reflective accounts taught me to explain my decisions instead of just describing them. My assessor pushed me to link examples to GIRFEC wellbeing indicators. At first this felt like box-ticking, but it changed how I wrote about a child who refused to join group games: I started recording when she seemed safe and included instead of only noting that she stayed apart. Since then I have read parts of Realising the Ambition and noticed how much of its thinking about play, space and responsive adults applies to school-age children too, even though it is written for the early years. I also read about Simon Nicholson's idea of loose parts, that open-ended, movable materials invite more creative play than fixed equipment. That led to my own small project. Over four weeks I recorded where children played in our playground and what they used, and found that the fixed climbing frame was busy for ten minutes and then ignored, while a box of crates and tubes kept groups occupied for most of an hour. My manager used my notes to justify buying more crates. I know a four-week tally is not research, but it showed me how useful careful observation can be, and I want to learn to do it more rigorously. The tally made me consider what time spent with an activity can and cannot show. Longer engagement does not by itself explain what children are learning, so I want to connect observation with their own accounts and with careful reflection on the support adults provide.

What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?

Last summer a colleague and I planned the six-week holiday timetable together. We split the work so she handled trips and transport while I designed the daily rhythm, including a quiet room in the afternoon because I had noticed younger children becoming overwhelmed after lunch. Agreeing on how much structure to offer older children took several conversations. We settled on letting the P6 and P7 group choose one activity a week, and their attendance stayed steady through August. I have also worked weekends on reception at a local swimming pool for five years. It is not childcare, but it involves calm handling of queues, lost property and anxious parents at the start of lessons, and it has made me quick at keeping a busy space organised without seeming rushed. Outside work I crochet, and I taught a small group of children at the club to make simple chains during wet afternoons. Teaching a physical skill slowly, one stitch at a time, reminded me how differently children learn and how much patience a good first attempt needs. I am used to balancing shifts with study, and I am looking forward to studying part of my working life more deeply.