Villina Nicholas

Before starting at WAES, I had taken time away from work to focus on supporting my neurodivergent son and balancing the needs of my family. As a parent, my children have always been my priority, but I knew I also wanted to continue developing myself professionally. 

I have worked in Early Years, Health and Social Care, Residential Care and HR for many years, and although I wasn’t working at the time, I knew I still had a lot to offer. Enrolling at WAES gave me the opportunity to invest in myself again and take the next step towards my future. 

I enrolled on the Level 3 Award in Education and Training because so many friends, family members and former colleagues encouraged me to do it. Throughout my career, I have delivered in-house training programmes and mentored staff, and the feedback was always the same: 

“I learnt so much. You took your time and explained everything in a way that made sense.” 

Those comments over the years gave me the confidence to believe that teaching was something I could pursue professionally. 

During my enrolment, I also learnt that adult education could provide flexible opportunities, including evening classes, which would fit around my family responsibilities.  

The course taught me how to effectively plan and deliver lessons, make reasonable adjustments for learners, and use different teaching strategies to support people from diverse and inclusive backgrounds. 

At the beginning, I felt quite anxious and wondered whether I would be out of my depth, but those feelings soon disappeared. 

I really enjoyed working with my classmates. Everyone brought different experiences and ideas, The discussions, group activities and practical tasks made learning enjoyable and gave me more confidence in my own abilities. 

Charlotte, my tutor, was amazing. Her enthusiasm was infectious, and every lesson was engaging and different. We experienced a variety of teaching methods which kept everyone involved. 

Charlotte created such a welcoming and supportive learning environment where everyone felt comfortable asking questions. Her feedback was always constructive, encouraging and helped me continue improving. The course was well structured, with each session naturally building on the previous one, making it easy to follow and apply what we had learnt. 

Without a doubt, my greatest achievement was being nominated for the Learner of the Year Award. 

To be recognised in that way meant so much to me. It reminded me that despite the challenges I have faced personally, I can achieve great things.  

This course has confirmed that teaching is the direction I want to take my career. 

My long-term goal is to work in adult education, delivering training to professionals within Early Years and Health and Social Care, while also creating training and workshops for parents of neurodivergent children using both my professional knowledge and my lived experience. 

I am currently looking for employment and hope to continue my professional development by completing the Assessor qualification at WAES in the future. 

The course has made me much more confident in sharing my knowledge and speaking up. 

The skills I have learnt have also encouraged me to begin developing my own training workshops and resources, with the aim of helping families and professionals better understand and support children with additional needs. 

I would absolutely encourage anyone thinking about studying at WAES to go for it. 

Don’t be afraid to ask questions during the enrolment process because everyone genuinely wants to help you succeed. The tutors are incredibly supportive, the learning environment is welcoming, and you’ll meet people who encourage you to believe in yourself. 

Taking this course has been one of the best decisions I’ve made, and I would encourage anyone who’s thinking about it to take that first step. 

For me, WAES has been more than a place to learn, it has reminded me that it’s never too late to start again, to believe in yourself, and to use your experiences to make a positive difference in the lives of others. For that, I will always be truly grateful.