Nandhini’s Journey to Becoming a Teaching Assistant

Nandhini recently secured a job as a teaching assistant in a primary school with the support of the GRoW Programme. After moving to the UK from India in March 2023, Nandhini was keen to re-establish her career after a six-year break to raise her son. She wanted to find a role that would allow her to work while balancing her family responsibilities. Nandhini was an excellent participant on the GRoW Programme in Hillingdon, taking full advantage of our online and in-person events and has seen her confidence grow and develop as a result.

Nandhini said “I have received lots of training and support through GRoW such as the in-person Bootcamp, the GRoW Timeline session, coffee mornings, Daily Steps ESOL Training, Functional Skills Training and Multiply Training, as well as important courses in Safeguarding and Data Protection, all of which have helped me prepare for working in a school, which was my goal. All of these sessions have also helped me build my confidence which is something I was really lacking at first.

As well as the online support I was also given lots of support from Saeema and Sheeja at the GRoW HQ in Hayes. It was great being able to visit and talk to them face to face and get advice about what I needed to do to move forward with my plans. They were very helpful and gave me lots of encouragement and guidance.
As well as the training and professional development I have done through GRoW I also did an Early Years Foundation course that was useful and helped when I applied to teaching recruitment agencies.

Since starting the GRoW Programme I feel I have really gained so much confidence, just being with other women like myself, meeting new friends, networking and talking makes such a difference in itself, not to mention the dedicated support around finding a job that really interests me and suits my life circumstances.  
I started my new job this week and am really looking forward to my future.