Confidence shouldn't hold anyone back from achieving their academic goals.
Have you been considering a degree in Early Childhood Studies but you don’t know where to begin with writing an essay or balancing work and studying?
At Portobello Institute we support our students every step of the way with small class sizes, tutor support and flexible hours to study around work.
Portobello graduate, Sinead Lawson, who now works at the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) after successfully completing her Level 7 BA (Ord) Early Childhood Studies and Level 8 BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies degrees.
Sinead worked in the sector for 24 years before she decided to go back and get her degrees, she said everyone feels unsure in the beginning.
“Everyone is in the same boat; I remember the first class when we all came in and everyone was hesitant and nervous but as the months rolled on people grew in confidence.
“With the first assignment you hand it in, and you think maybe it wasn’t as great as it could have been but it’s so important to frame everything in the positive and take it as 'well what can I do better next time?'.
“The feedback I found was always really good and really helpful. The tutors gave you something to focus on in the next assignment whether it’s the way you construct your sentences or the assignment structure itself.
“I would say to anyone who is worried about how they are going to compare to anybody else or lacking in confidence that we are all in the same boat together, we all feel that way on day one and then when we finish, we realise how much we have grown and developed and there is your reward.
"I really liked the structure of the assignments and the due dates, even down to things like being able to submit a draft and have that looked over because obviously when you go back to study after a substantial amount of time after being away from it – those first few assignments you were so nervous about your standard of writing and were you understanding the objectives around the assignments so I really liked the hands-on approach and the support.
"That’s why I decided to go with Portobello because it did feel very much like someone was there holding your hand all the way through which was really nice," she said.
At Portobello, we nurture the ‘one’ in everyone. Our tutors support you throughout your learning journey. They are available to offer you telephone and email support at any time and you can arrange to meet them for further one to one guidance at a time convenient to you.
Many of our past graduates have found it is the opportunity to ask a simple question, seek direction and submit a draft of their assessment that supported them most to successful completion.
Emailing your tutor at any stage during your programme to ask a query or submit a draft of your assessment supports you to achieve your personal best throughout your studies with Portobello.
This level of one-to-one support is a particular benefit to choosing Portobello as your Institute of choice to complete your studies.
Portobello Institute offers a range of courses in Early Years & Montessori and SNA.
