Lily Cawdell – Teaching in Australia

Before the trip

What’s your background (which uni / course)?

Before the trip, I went to Loughborough University and did Sociology, I will return after my placement to complete my final year.

Why did you choose to do a Teaching placement in Australia placement as part of your degree?

I needed a breather before going into my final year to help prevent burn out and get the best grades possible. I also wanted to go into the industry of my future career and get experience before deciding for definite on my career because my degree isn’t linked to my placement.

How did you first discover us?

I was stuck between doing a placement and a year abroad so I searched up placements abroad on the internet and Placement Year International were the first to pop up.

Were you finding it hard to find a placement?

I was finding it hard to decide on what I wanted to do for my placement but when I saw a teaching placement that immediately drew my attention. Teaching placements in the UK are quite hard to get as there are so many rules around child safety.

Did you think this was unachievable on your own?

This was definitely unachievable on my own as I wouldn’t have even known where to begin. Even contacting the school for the interview in the first place would be extremely difficult on my own.

Why did you choose Placement Year International over other services?

After having a conversation with the director of Placement Year International, I felt comfortable and happy to go forward with them. Not many internship / placement companies do teaching, so this was the main reason.

How easy was the process from interview to getting to your placement with our help?

The process was so easy, it all happened so quickly and within 2 weeks of contacting Placement Year International, I had an interview with a school and they offered me the placement on the call!

The pre-interview call with Richard at Placement Year International was especially helpful as they went through all possible questions to remember and practice.

Lily during time off with a view of Sydney behind her, while on a Teaching placement in Australia with Placement Year International

On placement

What are you doing for your placement?

I am doing a teaching assistant placement at a Public School in Sydney, Australia.

What is your role?

A typical day include me assisting in Reception, Year 1 and Year 4, with maths, writing, spelling, reading, etc. I take some students out of class to work with them one-to-one on work they particularly struggle with. Additionally, I help some students settle when disrupting the class and help them to focus on their work.

What skills or knowledge have you gained so far during your placement?

I have developed my communication skills with the children, as they need more attention and time. When working with students with ADHD or Autism, I have learned how to talk to them when they need to focus or to calm down.

I have also gained a significant amount of knowledge on the education system, specially in New South Wales, as I had to complete a number of courses and training when joining the teachers. This has taught me about child safety and safeguarding, online safety, the aboriginal people of the land and much more.

Did you find it difficult adapting to a new working environment?

At first I found it difficult adapting to the school, there were small things that were different to the UK education system, like the timings of the school day, reception being ‘kindergarten’ or break being called recess. Also getting to know the teachers and getting them to trust me was hard at first, sometimes the teachers don’t want my help, but as time has progressed they are much more welcoming.

The students were also hard to connect with at first because there are so many of them, especially with me going from class to class. But now I also work at the Out of School Care Centre at Rose Bay, I have gotten to know the students a lot better and I feel have a good relationship with many of them.

Have you received good support & advice from your work colleagues at the host company?

The support from the principal at the start of my placement was amazing, she checked in on me everyday and always asked how I was doing. Also my supervisor was great in giving me a timetable and then having a meeting a few weeks in to change what I felt needed to be changed.

Everyone on the staff are so friendly and I have gotten to know all of them. I recently helped at the swim school with the Year 2s, the teachers were very grateful I was there to support them on the buses as well as around the pool.

Lily enjoying some time off on the beach during her Teaching placement in Australia, arranged by Placement Year International

How has your placement helped you develop as a person so far?

Overall, I think my placement has massively helped change me for the better. Getting to know everyone at the school has been amazing and discovering this side of the world has been life changing.

I can’t even imagine my life without having this amazing opportunity and I am so grateful to the company for helping me get here. Outside of the placement, I have also met amazing people my own age living here from the UK, friends for life that I wouldn’t have without coming here.

Since joining Placement Year International, what have we done well?

Since joining Placement Year International, I have had some huge help from their Australian colleagues when I had an issue with my Visa and Working With Children Check, they helped me sort everything out efficiently and were so quick to reply and calm me down.

If you were to recommend us to friends, what would you say?

I have already recommended to my friend doing a placement next year, I recommend it to anyone deciding between year abroad or placement as you get the best of both worlds!

Many thanks,

Lily

Lily standing in front of the Sydney Opera House in Australia, while on a Teaching placement with Placement Year International

Find out more about our placements in Australia.

More info: Click here to read more about placements in Australia, or click here to send us a question or email us at: info@placement-year.org for more information.