Personal Assistant Application Form Submission

Title (required): Miss.
Town (required): Pontypridd
County (required): RCT
I confirm that I have the right to work in the UK and am able to prove my eligibility status when required to do so. (required): Yes
Please read the Job Description carefully before providing information in this Section of the Application Form. Give details of your previous employment or experience which you think would help you to do this job. (required): Education Creative and Therapeutic Arts BA Hons Degree, University of South Wales (September 2017-July 2020) Year One Placement: Facilitating arts workshops for six teenagers with special needs in local Special School in Penarth, South Wales. Year Two Placement: Facilitating arts workshops for eighteen older adults living with dementia in local care home in Pontypridd. Year Two NHS Hospital Project: Facilitating a mixed ages and stages group to explore the concept of sounds which could be heard in a hospital environment, using percussion instruments and then reacting to those sounds with abstract art. The final art piece, made up of photographs from this workshop, now hangs in St Woolos Hospital in Newport, South Wales. Year Three Placement: Facilitating arts workshops for group of fourteen older adults in a local care home in Pontypridd and also for a group of fifteen children in Merthyr Tydfil. Qualification: First Class BA Honours Degree Rudolf Steiner School, Edinburgh (August 2009–August 2013) Advanced Higher Art (A), Higher English (B), Higher German (B), August 2013 Intermediate 2 Maths (B), August 2013 GCSE Biology (C), August 2012 Work Experience at Braidburn Special Needs School as Pupil Support Assistant (April 2011) As part of my high school work experience placement, I was assigned to work with a class of pupils. I assisted the teenage students daily in their classroom, helping them with their work, reading stories to them and playing games with them in the playground. Current and Previous Employment “Young at HeArt” Business Owner (2018-Present) My role as an Inclusive Facilitator of the Arts entails running arts workshops, projects and courses for older adults and children (one-to-one or in groups, in person and on Zoom). Since mid-September 2020 I have been using Zoom to offer Inclusive Arts Workshops and Courses for people of all ages and stages from countries across the world, exploring themes of identity, self-belief and inner-focussed self-exploration/expression. Once a month (from September 2020 - December 2021) I facilitated donation–based online sessions for teenagers, adults and older adults on Zoom, where the participants took it in turns to bring their expertise to the group to run a session around their chosen theme for their peers. Every Monday (from January – December 2021) I facilitated donation-based Zoom arts and crafts workshops for ‘Kids and Big Kids’ where the participants decided each week what the theme was going to be and what they wanted to make as a group (e.g. dinosaur costumes/play dough/fairy wings/animal masks etc) using everyday recyclable materials which they could find around their homes. Since August 2021 I have been facilitating weekly 4-10 week Zoom Courses on personal, social and spiritual wellbeing, growth and development for teenagers, adults and older adults, which support my participants to take time for themselves to relax and reflect. From January 2021 until February 2022, I worked on an online community poetry project called “Poetry of the People”. This project started by accident when I was seeking inspiration for another artistic venture and I asked my Facebook friends to complete the sentence “Out of my window I can see/hear/taste/ touch/smell…” The responses to this question were so varied and beautiful that I decided to compile them into a poem. From there, I started posting one or more phrases for my Facebook friends to complete every day for two weeks. By the end of that period, we had twenty poems which, in due course, were complemented by twenty audio recordings and illustrations to go with the poems, created by some of the participants who took part in the project. By February 2022, I had compiled all my participants’ illustrations and audios into a book which was published and named ‘Poetry of the People.’ There were one hundred and eight participants in total who took part in this project which really highlighted to me the importance of community spirit. In December 2019 I facilitated a music and art based ‘Heart Beat Project’ at The Royal Gwent Hospital, with participants from the Children’s Ward, focussing on the sounds of our heartbeats through a stethoscope and how these sounds could be replicated through musical and artistic exploration. Drum Circle Facilitator (2016-Present) Encouraging participants to authentically express themselves with percussion instruments as a group and develop a sense of ‘community consciousness.’ I have facilitated drum circles in Edinburgh, Biggar, Glasgow (Scotland), Cwmbran, Aberdare, Nelson (South Wales) and on Zoom (across the world). Touch Trust Arts Facilitator (2017-Present) Providing safe spaces for people of all ages and needs to authentically express themselves through sensory arts. I have also facilitated arts workshops on Zoom and in person for parents, carers and families of Touch Trust participants, providing a non-judgemental and relaxed space for them to take a break from their caring duties. Artis Community Arts Practitioner (2019-Present) Facilitating online and in-person Arts Workshops and ‘Adventures’ for intergenerational groups from deprived areas in South Wales (UK) who have a variety of needs and interests. These groups include Young Carers, babies and toddlers, children, participants who have special needs and physical disabilities, and older adults. Personal Assistant for Lady who has Down’s Syndrome (January 2022 – Present) Supporting a lady who has Down’s Syndrome and social anxiety once a week to go out to her chosen leisurely activities (e.g. bowling/cinema/theatre/crazy golf/beach trips). This job involves driving the lady to her chosen activities and supporting her to take part in them. Wellbeing Workshop Facilitator for Tasty Not Wasty (March 2022 - Present) Facilitating weekly Wellbeing Sessions for a food waste reduction charity called, ‘Tasty Not Wasty,’ based in Llanyrafon Methodist Church, Cwmbran, South Wales. This group of mixed needs and ages holds a non-judgemental space for participants to come together and express themselves through the medium of upcycled arts. This group supports participants’ growth in self-confidence, encourages community spirit and therefore reduces loneliness. The Children’s Room Music & Arts Facilitator (February 2022 – December 2022) Facilitating weekly storytelling-based music and art sessions for babies, toddlers and children at The Children’s Room Montessori Nursery in Swansea. Arts Facilitator with Cranhill Parish Church and Cranhill Development Trust (January 2021- December 2021) Running online and in-person Older Adults arts and mindfulness sessions, online children’s holiday clubs, and online quiz nights for a variety of groups who live in Cranhill which is a Priority Area in Glasgow ranging from young children, to teenagers, to adults and older adults and encouraging participants to explore their identity through art, music, movement, mindfulness and meditation. These groups included participants who had dementia and also refugee and low-income families. Faith in Community Scotland (FICS) Zoom Training Days (November 2020 and March 2021) Co-facilitating two Zoom training days alongside my parents, for Faith in Community Scotland. The first training in November 2020 was around teaching volunteers some key arts skills which they could utilise when working with ex-prisoners who had just been released from prison. The second training in March 2021 was around teaching leaders of local community groups in Glasgow arts skills for working with their participants/clients. Playscheme Worker at The Yard (2019-2021) Zero-hour contract worker, supporting children of primary school age who have special needs to enjoy sensory play within a school environment during school holidays. Pupil Support Assistant at Balerno High School (2016-2017) Supporting teachers in their classrooms to provide additional help to pupils with learning/behavioural difficulties, some of whom had special needs. Visualise Scotland (2018), Purple Social Care (2018), Values in Care (2017-2018), Freespace (2015-2017), Private Care (2011-2017) - Between 2011 and 2018 I worked as a Support Worker for different care companies across Scotland and South Wales, supporting people of all ages with a variety of special needs and impairments to live as independently and with as much dignity as possible. Voluntary Work Children and Youth Work Co-ordinator for Colinton Parish Church (March 2020-January 2021) Co-ordinating the Children and Youth programme for Colinton Parish Church on Zoom during the Lockdown period, running intergenerational Zoom gatherings as well as gatherings for children and young people, connecting to stories from the Bible and making them feel relevant to the 21st century. Private Home Carer for Grandfather (July 2020) Caring for my Grandfather (who had type two diabetes and lymphoma) in a team with my mother and aunt before he went into hospital for cancer treatment and then into a nursing home. Caring for my Grandfather involved personal care and supporting him with all daily tasks (including walking, standing, sitting, cooking, washing, medication, etc). Assistant Leader of Gorbals Parish Church Children’s Sunday Group and Govan Toddlers ‘Messy Church’ Group (2013-2020) Co-leading art and music activities for groups of young people with mixed abilities. These groups included children who had been diagnosed to be on the autistic spectrum and having ADHD. Private Art Worker for Older Adults Couple (July-August 2018) Supporting an older lady who was living with Parkinson’s Disease to create art in the comfort of her own home with her husband (painting and decoupaging pictures of scenery). Support Worker at Tiphereth, a Camphill Community for People with Special Needs (2012-2014) Assisted residents in doing everyday household chores and occasionally took them on daytrips. Volunteering with Tiphereth gave me the opportunity to work alongside other volunteers who came from countries and cultures across the world, as well as the residents who had various special needs and physical impairments. Co-leader of Young Voices Children’s Choir (2009-2014) Supported young choir members to positively engage with weekly singing and musical games. Music and Art Work Placement with Wild Goose Resources Group (January-April 2014) Supported a Glasgow-based artist and musician to engage with communities living in poverty through the arts. General Assistant with the Iona Community in Iona Abbey (September-November 2013 and July–August 2017) I undertook domestic tasks, such as cooking and cleaning rooms and toilets for guests. Domestic and Artistic Support Worker at The Bield Retreat Centre, Blackruthven (December 2014–January 2015) I worked in the kitchen and cleaning bathrooms and bedrooms used by the guests on a daily basis. I also assisted the resident art therapist, curating exhibitions and running art workshops for guests. Co-worker at Camphill School, Aberdeen (April 2014-June 2015) I cared for and lived with five young adult residents with special needs with five other support workers also living in the house supporting residents with daily chores and activities and occasionally taking them out on day trips.
What qualities do you think are important when working as a personal assistant with a disabled person? (required): Patience, a good sense of humour, lightness of being, continuity, punctuality, kindness, understanding, acceptance.
How do you think you can contribute towards the needs and the independence of a disabled person? (required): I am a very patient and kind person who takes an interest in people and in peoples stories. I have worked in care work for around 12 years and in other fields such as the Creative Arts and Drum Circle Facilitation. From 2017-2020 I did my Degree at The University of South Wales in Creative and Therapeutic Arts and achieved a First Class BA Honours Degree. Through my University Degree and previous life and work experiences, I have learned how to set up a non judgemental environment for my participants and clients in which they feel safe and accepted (through art/music making and/or just spending time together). I was born and raise in Scotland and moved to South Wales for University. My Scottish background has helped me to bring light humour into my everyday life situations, which has allowed my work to be fairly light hearted. At least half of my life to date has been dedicated to supporting people to grow and thrive in their self confidence and in navigating their lives as independently as possible.
What is it about PA work which appeals to you? (required): I love getting to know new people, and having the chance to support someone to grow in confidence and their own feeling of self worth - there is no better gift in my opinion.
What are your hobbies/interests?: Key Skills/Hobbies • Facilitating participants’ personal growth in confidence and wellbeing, using tools of Arts media and Meditation • Teaching people to sing together using different harmonies and rhythmic instruments and encouraging confidence building through therapeutic voice work • Being calm and present to people’s needs, a good mediator and natural leader • Promoting myself and my participant groups on social media platforms (e.g. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube) • Planning, co-ordinating, delivering and evaluating online and in person arts sessions. • General Computer Skills (e.g. using Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Word, Publisher and PowerPoint)
Would you consider a casual position if you are unsuccessful with this job? (required): Yes
Do you drive? (required): Yes
Are you a vehicle owner?  (required): Yes
Do you smoke? (required): No
Are you able to undertake training? (required): Yes
What days/nights are you able to work, or prefer to work?  (required): Monday Evenings/Tuesdays any time/ occasionally other week days (depends on Freelance work)
Are there any circumstances which would prevent you from providing cover or swapping a shift? (required): Yes
If you would like to expand on the answers given above? Please use the box below.: I am a Freelancer in the Creative Arts so it depends on what other work I have on at any given time
Is there is any such information you wish to disclose, relating to any cautions or convictions which will appear on your mandatory DBS check? (required): No/
Please provide details if necessary:
I agree that there is nothing which would prevent me from doing this job. (required): Yes
I consent to the above (required): Yes
I agree that the information I provide will be posted to the Dewis CIL PA noticeboard (all personal information will be withheld).: Yes
What geographical area’s are you able to cover?: Pontypridd, Mountain Ash, Aberdare, Surrounding RCT Area
How many hours of work can you offer per week?: Flexible Hours, likely to be 5-10
Please indicate the approximate times that you are available for work throughout the week.: Monday PM/Tuesday AM/Tuesday PM/Wednesday AM/Thursday PM/
Further Information: