Olivia Batey

Tell us a bit about yourself and your background.

My name is Olivia Batey and I’m studying a T-Level in Health, where I specialise in Supporting the Mental Health Team. I’ve always been interested in mental health, especially the learning disabilities and developmental progression side of it. Since I was younger, I’ve volunteered in groups with disabled children in it – it's an area I really want to pursue when I’m older and find out a lot more, if I can!

My mam’s always worked in healthcare, including mental health and learning disabilities, so when she used to go and volunteer with a charity group that took disabled children on pilgrimage, she introduced it to me and that lit a fire in me that made me realise that this was exactly what I wanted to do. 

How did you hear about Newcastle College? Did you attend an Open Day prior to starting at the College? If so, did you find it useful?

I heard about Newcastle College through the careers advisor at my school. She mentioned the course, then I came to one of the Open Events, came and really loved it! More specifically, I loved the idea of a placement – it's not very often you get to do work experience, especially being only 17. I’m also not very good with more traditional, ‘sit-down’ styles of learning, I really struggle to sit exams over long periods of time. I think the hands-on learning is definitely something that appealed to me.

What made you decide to come to the College and enrol on your chosen course?

I chose Newcastle College because it was the best for me for transport, I can get a bus here, and it’s also really close to the city centre, there are loads of places you can go for food and things like that. 

Doing a T-Level means that I get a better understanding and grasp of the conditions that affect shape young people with disabilities or mental health challenges and how treatments or techniques for addressing those obstacles can affect the young people that I work with. I get a grasp of conditions and how that affects them in schools, how these pupils are in schools, not just at home or when you’re away with them. 

How would you describe the advice and support you received from college and your tutors? Have you had any support for our Central Support Team – Pastoral support?  

I’d say the advice I’ve received from my staff members and tutors has been very positive and definitely very helpful, since most of them have past experience working in healthcare, so all the experience and help they can give you is based on past experience, so you know that it’s correct. 

Do you have any tutors who have industry experience? If so, how has this helped you?  

As a student, I think that having teachers who’ve got experience means that you know what they’re telling you is correct, and you get to hear their stories, which prepares you for going into those kinds of jobs in the future. 

Have you overcome any challenges while on your course? If so how has the college helped you?  

I would say that confidence was definitely a challenge for me before I started, but doing role-play tasks during my T-Level (where, for example, I’ll pretend to be a GP while my tutor or another student is a patient coming into the practice with a medical issue I’ll need to support them with and try to diagnose them) and then moving onto placement has definitely helped me to improve my confidence and comfort with that sort of task when I’m really working in the medical industry. It’s definitely a skillset I’ll need to develop even more in the future, but I can absolutely feel the improvement I’ve gone through during my time on my T-Level at Newcastle College. 

What do you enjoy the most about your course?

I’d definitely say my favourite part of my T-Level is doing practicals in lessons and then going on placements, because it’s just such a unique experience and you get to have all these real, amazing experiences, so it’s absolutely something beneficial. 

How do you feel that the course is benefitting you?

I would say the course has benefitted me because I’ve learnt about manual handling manoeuvres and skills like that, which will obviously be important for me in the future, especially working in a healthcare career. 

Have you done any work experience or a work placement as part of your course? 

For my T-Level, I’m on placement at a primary school in Newcastle, where I support students with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND). There’s a SEND classroom at my employer placement site, so I’m working with children from ages five to eight and then in the older class, about eight to twelve, and it’s just about supporting them, helping them to learn, doing one-on-one work with them so that these students can learn well now and thrive in the future. 

My day-to-day, there’s usually a timetable based on what lessons are planned that day or what activities they need to do. Because a lot of the pupils I work with have really high or complex needs, they can struggle to do set lessons, so I focus more on doing sensory activities or helping them out in one-to-one sessions to pick up basic learning, like reading or writing. It depends on how the children are during the day, but if there are any issues during normal classes, I take them to sensory rooms to help to regulate them, making sure their sensory needs are met and they have the best time possible throughout the day. 

In terms of the facilities at the College compared to my employer, it’s very different, because I’m only in the first year of my T-Level, so I’m still doing general health and practice at the minute before I specialise into a Mental Health pathway in my second year. But, using the simulation suites in the College teaches me how to use legislation in practice, and then I get to see it in action on the placement, so even though I can’t do it myself, it’s still really useful to see this work being done by someone else in a practical industry setting! 

What would you like to do when you finish your course? Would you consider studying a degree at Newcastle College University Centre?

I’m not entirely sure what I want to do when I finish my T-Level. Right now, I’d like to go into educational psychology and work with children and young people with mental health requirements or developmental disabilities to help them be the best they can be! To do that, I’d like to study a psychology degree in future at university – I've thought about studying at Newcastle College University Centre, but it’ll depend on whether they’re able to offer a Health course which is right for me and what I’d like to do. 

What would you say to anyone thinking of studying a course with Newcastle College?

I’d definitely recommend a course at Newcastle College, especially a T-Level, since it gives you so much experience that you just wouldn’t get if you only studied A Levels or a BTEC programme! You get to see real-life practice, which is definitely something that’s unusual to see in a course, which is why I’d absolutely recommend it. 

What are your top tips for being a student at Newcastle College?

Be respectful of everyone you meet.

Really try to listen and get your work done – while it can be distracting at times, exams come around really quickly and you always need to complete your assignments.