My Journey with Thrive......
By Ros StoneJanuary 2010
Where did it begin?
I work at HinwickHallCollege in Northamptonshire where I teach students with mild to moderate learning difficulties and physical disabilities. In my second year of teaching at Hinwick I moved classrooms and was lucky enough to have a greenhouse outsidethe back door! I have always had a love of being outside and decided to start using horticulture as part of my programme with the students. How could I not take advantage of the green house and the wonderful grounds of the college?
How did I found out about Thrive?
Hinwick were already a member of Thrive. We received GrowthPoint, and the training programme was part of their publications.
My journey...
Began in 2007 when I decided as part of my own CPD I wanted to develop my teaching skills to support the students to access horticulture as a means to develop and learn new skills, to build on communication skills, independent skills, soft skills to name but a few.
My journey started by taking me outside of my comfort zone and travelling to new places, meeting new people and talking about my own teaching practices (thank goodness for TomTom sat nav).
I decided to take advantage of the courses Thrive offered and start at the beginning. For me this was the right route to take. I enrolled on the following courses:
- Introduction to Social & Therapeutic Horticulture in Birmingham(February 2007)
- Using Social & Therapeutic Horticulture to benefit people with LD, level 1 in Edgbaston (February 2007)
- Using Social & Therapeutic Horticulture to benefit people with LD, Level 2, in West Midlands (March 2007)
- Practical horticulture skills (2 day course) in Reading (May 2008)
- Professional Diploma in Social and Therapeutic Horticulture (2008/2009)
By working through the Social and Therapeutic programme at each level, I acquired new skills, met new people with whom I was able to share ideas and pick up new projects to take back to my own work environment.
I remember being really excited about the Professional Diploma and was very motivated to get onto the course and graduate. The Diploma was demanding but well worth all the hard work and effort. The group of students I was lucky enough to work with during the year were great, we all learned a lot from each other, supported each other, laughed a lot(and moaned about the work load, the pressures of the presentations and the computer network for students), but we achieved the ultimate goal and passed.
What have I done with my qualification?
I am using many of the skills I gainedat all levels of the Social and Therapeutic programmes in my working practise. It has helped me to think outside of the box and develop new techniques to help the student’s access horticulture.
This year we have been lucky enough to have a raised bed area built for the students to access and a new poly tunnel has now been completed, which will be a more appropriate working environment than the classroom.
As an individual my confidence has increased, my horticulture skills have improved, my knowledge and understanding of how to support students/clients who can benefit from Social and Therapeutic Horticulture has helped me to plan and structure my teaching programme.
As HinwickHallCollege develops its horticulture provision in the future, I will be able to offer support, guidance and structure toan exciting and challenging programme designed to meet the diverse needs of our students.
Ros Stone- Lecturer
Social and Therapeutic Horticultural Therapist
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