Kerry

I am a mature 3rd year medical student at the University of Glasgow, which has involved extensive studies in Chemistry, Biology and Human Biology. I have also achieved a First Class Honours degree in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh which covered the main domains of psychology - developmental, cognitive, biological, physical and social - and research methods and design, including statistics. Additionally, I achieved an A at Higher Mathematics and Higher Biology. I have vast experience working with young people, including in a school environment, and I have a part-time job as a lead gymnastics coach. In my spare time, I enjoy going to the gym and spending time with my family and friends.

Tutoring Experience

I have been a Lead Gymnastics Coach for 5 years which involves providing leadership to the coaching team and mentoring to assistant coaches, organising and planning coaching sessions, teaching gymnastics to classes of children from 3 yrs, and communicating and liaising with parents as required.
During the summer, I worked as a hub support worker, which provides a programme of activities for children of key workers and vulnerable children. This involves maintaining a safe and caring environment, working as a member of a multidisciplinary team alongside teaching staff and other colleagues, adopting a supportive and flexible approach, acknowledging challenging backgrounds, and employing the use of techniques such as mindfulness, grounding and distraction to de-escalate situations and help children manage stress and anxiety and regulate their emotions more effectively.
Additionally, I worked as an additional support needs assistant in a primary school in East Lothian upon completing my degree. This role involved providing essential care and support to vulnerable children, using a range of verbal and non-verbal communication skills to assess, monitor and review the emotional and psychological wellbeing of the children, working collaboratively with a multi-disciplinary team of teachers, speech and language therapists and other management staff to formulate and implement support plans and ensure children are achieving their educational targets, and create and adapt tasks and activities to a suitable level for children with additional support needs.

Tutoring Approach

My teaching approach involves an individual assessment of the student's needs in order to set achievable goals that are tailored to their educational targets and employ the use of various learning styles and resources. Building strong relationships is also crucial to ensure the student stays motivated and able to voice when they are struggling with certain elements of the work. Providing regular feedback and using stress management strategies will help the student's progress and encourage independent learning. Maintaining a flexible mindset is key to allow targets or goals to be adapted to the student's evolving needs. Regular communication with parents is also important to ensure they are aware of their children's progress and achievements.