Sumbal Finds Herself Again Through Grow

Sumbal joined the Grow Programme after trying on her own to find work that would fit around her three young children. As a single parent, she was looking for something that would work for her family life, while also helping her rebuild her confidence and sense of identity.

Through Grow, she was introduced to an Early Years Skills Bootcamp, which she is now completing.

Sumbal said:

“I’ve got four kids who are 8, 7, 3 and 2 and I’m a single parent. After my youngest was born, I started thinking, I need to be me again. Since my first child was born in 2017, everything has been about the kids. People don’t even call you by your name, they just know me as my kids’ mum. I thought I need to snap out of it and do something for myself.

I tried on my own for about eight months. I was applying online, doing interviews, even doing some remote commission work. I thought working from home might suit me because of the kids, but it didn’t work. I was still at home, still surrounded by everything, not socialising. I realised that’s not for me.

I remembered Grow from a presentation that Grow’s Khatera did at my child’s school and I thought I would contact them. I spoke to Sheeja and straight away she said there’s a course starting – an 8-week bootcamp with JCL – and asked if I was interested. I said yes straight away, because I knew I wanted to work with children.

Before I started the course, I joined a few Grow online sessions. They really helped me. They talked about different types of work and how to choose something that suits you. That helped me decide properly that working with children is what I want to do.

Now I’m doing the 8-week Early Years course. The first two weeks were face to face, then online, and now we’re back face to face again. We’ve done things like safeguarding, legislation, and first aid training. They also help with work placements and interviews at the end.

It means if I go to a nursery or school, I already have what they are looking for.

Grow ask you during the course what you want to do next. You can go into work or continue studying, like Level 2 or Level 3. They don’t just leave you after the course, they stay with you until you’re ready. For me, I want to go into employment in a school or nursery setting.

Grow made everything easier for me. I was struggling on my own for eight months, but with Grow, from the moment I walked in, they’ve been helping me.

They check in on me, they support me, they guide me. Sheeja even said she can provide a reference for me.

I honestly regret not coming to Grow earlier. I should have come first instead of trying on my own. I’ve already recommended Grow to other mums. When they see me, they ask what I’m doing and I tell them they should join. Some of them have already started doing things through Grow as well.

My focus now is to get a job. If I can get a role in a school or nursery, I’m ready to go.