Philosophy - Kickstart Learning

Every child and young person has the right to be given the tools and opportunities to allow them to grow into a happy, confident and successful adult. Everything I do in Kickstart Learning with Kerry is with this in mind. Every student I meet has their own unique set of strengths and challenges and I see it as my mission to help each student to discover what these are and then find ways to build on the strengths and overcome or manage the challenges.

Below, you will find the core principles that I try to always adhere to with my students. They are all linked and often it is hard to separate one from another, but they are all equally as important.

Everyone wants to be understood and it is very frustrating to feel misunderstood. I approach every situation with patience and curiosity. It’s not always obvious why a child is behaving in a particular way, but there will always be a reason behind it. It is of utmost importance to me that I show a child that I understand how they are feeling or that I am genuinely trying to find out how they are feeling. I do this through a combination of observation, questioning and reflection. I often find that I intuitively understand due to my own experiences, but even if I don’t, I sensitively seek the answers that are needed to help make progress. I have a thirst for knowledge and spend much of my free time finding out about how children learn and how the brain works.

I am an incredibly compassionate and caring person. I feel other people’s emotions deeply and I try very hard to be non-judgemental and positive. I am well known for always having a smile on my face and I think this helps children to feel relaxed and secure with me.

I accept everyone for who they are and I understand how damaging it can be for someone not to feel accepted. Although I can ensure that I offer acceptance, this is only part of the battle. Someone needs to accept themselves and feel accepted by others if they are to be happy and confident and these are often the areas I need to focus on with my students.

A student’s self-esteem needs to be built slowly and carefully. They need to learn to love themselves and see any difficulties they have positively rather than negatively. Emotional support is key for these students and sometimes just having someone to listen to them can make them feel on top of the world and change the direction of their whole week. Learning about any diagnoses they may have is also very important so that they don’t feel it should be a secret or something to be ashamed of. They need to be inspired by successful people who have similar difficulties to them so they know that it’s possible to achieve their ambitions if they want to.

Many people have firm opinions and beliefs about the difficulties that students with special educational needs might experience. It is part of my role to help educate people on the truth and build awareness and understanding of these conditions. I have a large bank of resources that I can share with families to help them to learn more about what their child is experiencing. I’m also able to help educate family members, friends and schools so that your child can feel understood and accepted which is vitally important.

I strongly believe that you can’t gain respect if you don’t give it first. Everyone deserves respect and it is the foundation of all relationships. I show all my students the greatest of respect and I expect them to show respect to me in return. Although I am a very fair and kind person, I also set clear boundaries and expectations and follow through with positive and negative consequences. Students know where they stand with me and respond well to the consistent structure and predictable routines I provide.

I make sure students know that their ideas, opinions and worries are valued and I offer support and guidance to take them in the direction they want to go. I work hard to build up the trust between myself and my students because, unless they trust me, they won’t reach the potential they are capable of.

From the first time I meet a student, I make sure that my belief in them is never in doubt. I have had people in my life who have both believed in me wholeheartedly and those who have doubted my ambitions and goals and I'm sure you can guess which of those people still play an important part in my life.

I use trust and respect to help prove the belief I have in my students. Once a child realises that I do genuinely believe in them and their future, this nurtures their self-belief also. Once someone believes in them self and isn’t afraid to take risks or face failure, they will be unstoppable.

I have always been a determined person. I have never allowed my difficulties to stop me and I’m very proud of the things I’ve achieved so far in my life. I am particularly proud of achieving my black belt in 2015 after over 15 years of training. When I got to brown belt, which is just one belt away from black belt, I had to start again from white belt as I moved away from the area for a short time and my membership expired. Many people would have just given up, but not me. I worked my way back up and I realised that it was actually an opportunity to make myself an even better martial artist than I would have been otherwise.

I take this positive and optimistic view in all areas of my life and I know that I would not be where I am today if I didn’t possess these traits. That’s why I spend a lot of time developing these qualities in my students. Once a student believes in them self, they can then build the determination to achieve their goals. I model the passion, perseverance and dedication needed to do this and hopefully this inspires students to do the same.

I meticulously plan all the sessions I provide and reflect constantly on a student’s progress and goals. I change anything that isn’t working and am creative in how I motivate and engage students. I focus on encouraging my students and letting them know what they are doing well. The video below helps to sum up the message I aim to give my students.