Kate was previously Head of Programmes at the national education charity Think Global. She first trained as a secondary teacher, working in schools in the UK and abroad, has published guides for teachers and has a PhD in learning theory.
Kate is currently on maternity leave with her second child, and is proud to have mastered the school run with a newborn!
Learn English At Home (LEAH) supports ethnic minority adults in Kingston and Richmond who are currently isolated due to their low levels of English. When we start working with clients they typically struggle to communicate with their GP or their child’s teacher and are unable to attend college because of their childcare responsibilities, ill health or illiteracy in their first language. LEAH trains volunteers to provide bespoke, practical language support one-to-one in clients’ homes as well as small group classes in community settings. Information about local services is integrated into everything we do. Through language, we empower people to become active in their community.
“Career progression paths are less clear in the charity sector than in some careers, but that’s an opportunity not a shame!”
“As a secondary school teacher, I wrote classroom resources for publishers and charities such as UNICEF. A job came up as an education officer at Think Global, a national education charity supporting teachers to bring global issues into their lessons, and I applied.”
“I wanted to be part of decisions about the direction of my work. And, once I was part of a Senior Management Team I got the bug for strategic planning and management firefighting!”
“I made my first step into third sector leadership as a working mum. I job-shared Head of Programmes with another working mum, and in fact went to the interview during my maternity leave with my baby! My current role is part time, and I am able to combine two challenging and rewarding jobs, parenting and leadership. This may be possible in other sectors, but I rarely hear of real examples.”
“The move towards drawing on LinkedIn and other internet platforms is an obvious shift. I’ve not been in the voluntary sector long enough to know if it’s a change, but in the charities I’ve worked for I’ve been impressed by their commitment to growing internal talent, and I’m now in a position to ensure my staff have opportunities to progress.”
“Being proactive in shaping the right roles for me has been really important in my career path. My job-share partner and I proposed the split when the Head of Programmes role came up at Think Global, and I’ve created a similar HoP role at LEAH which has strengthened the structure of the organisation and enabled me to reduce my hours to suit my family. It’s really empowering that it’s possible to shape roles by seeing approaches that work for both you and the charity, and exciting that small charities are flexible enough to respond.”
“Talk to people! Identify roles you’re interested in and ask people how they got there. It’s useful to hear about the routes others take, but also reassuring to see that there’s no one set path.”
“Look for creative responses to your needs and those of the charity, be open to unexpected opportunities and directions, and be confident in yourself and the type of role you can fulfil.”
“Since being a Citizenship teacher I’ve been drawn to organisations and roles that value learning and empower people to bring about change, in their own lives and their communities. Through supporting clients to learn English, LEAH enables people to make big changes in their lives and how they feel about themselves. I’m personally learning through my work all the time!”
“I’ve still much to learn at LEAH, but know now that I really enjoy charity leadership and look forward to the challenge of a different organisation at some point in the future.”
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