This week Dr Sarah Aldrich and Dr Owayne Ovenstone attended the University of Plymouth to give a talk on recruitment for next years Educational Psychology Assistant placements.
Background
Each year Plymouth Learning Partnership (PLP) are proud to offer placements to several Psychology Undergraduate students who are embarking on their third year of study. This year, Dr Sarah Aldrich and Dr Owayne Ovenstone were invited to speak on behalf of the organisation during a university lecture. It was a very welcoming experience and a pleasure to share with so many potential applicants.
What was Covered?
The talk gave Owayne and Sarah the opportunity to share what the role has to offer, such as first-hand experience of working with young people in educational settings and applying the psychology students learn about in University to real-life situations. Each year there are also shadowing opportunities with educational psychologists and other members of the multidisciplinary team (e.g., speech and language therapists). Within the team, students are trained as Learning Mentors as a significant part of this experience and have access to a range of around 50 training courses offered through MAST (e.g., Lego-Based Therapy, Precision Teaching, and Write-Dance), as well as monthly ongoing supervision with an Educational Psychologist.
How to Apply?
For University of Plymouth Undergraduate students, applications are now open until 17:00 on the 15th February 2024 through the MyCareer Portal. For applicants further afield, it is possible to send a covering letter and CV to Owayne Ovenstone using the email address: oovenstone@plpcic.co.uk.
Sarah and Owayne shared that applications can be supported by demonstrating aspirations to work with children and associated professionals, relational skills with both adults and children, understanding of professionalism and competence, reflective and critical thinking skills relating to psychological research and theory, and feeling comfortable accessing a placement that can regularly be emotionally and physically demanding.
Next Steps
PLP have an ongoing relationship with the university, and future visits are already in the pipeline, such as the Careers Conference in early February where PLP will once again have an exhibit stand. The plan is that current placement students will be able to attend with Owayne to share all about their experiences so far. We are hopeful that this offers additional inspiration for embarking on a placement experience with us!
