Meet Tracey! New practitioner - Q&A

Meet Tracey, our new Recovery College Practitioner. Tracey joined us as a Recovery College Practitioner back in early February 2022. Tracey's role will sit between the developing Wellbeing and Recovery Employment Service (WRES) and the Humber Recovery College, and she will lead on all things 'Employment' within the college. We are thrilled to have her on board, and she can't wait to meet more of you guys. Find out more about Tracey below...

Tell us about your previous experience

"OK, so about 14 years of experience teaching which started at the primary school level. I then moved into secondary schools and specialised in working with students with special educational needs such as Autism and ADHD. I also worked in social mental health provision, working with children with mental health difficulties in care. This was mainly working with children who had been expelled from mainstream education. They experienced behavioural difficulties, attachment disorders, varying levels of ASD, Asperger’s Syndrome, ADHD, mental health difficulties, and experiences of trauma. I went on to train to be a counsellor. I qualified in that this year, and now I am here!"

What was it about the Recovery College that interested you?

"I think the setup and the idea behind it to actively help people who are struggling with varying difficulties, and the employability side for me. Helping people to build basic skills and getting that confidence to get into work is something I am interested in. At the moment the employability side of my role with the WRES team being set up so that is taking up a lot of time, but I am looking forward to getting involved with the college side of things too."

Is there anything you do daily that helps your wellbeing?

"I would say walking my dog, Annie. I like to get out in the morning with Annie and that sets me up for the day. I try to do some exercise 3 or 4 times a week, going for a run, going to the gym, or doing a class such as Pilates or yoga or something like that. And that helps a lot. I like to do a Pilates for Runners exercise I follow on YouTube. It is easy to follow, and you don’t have to leave the house for it. I like to use my weekends for walking too. I like to get away to the Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales to connect with nature and reset, ready for Monday morning."

What are you looking forward to in your new role?

"Getting out and meeting students face-to-face. From then it will be great to be teaching and helping them move forward in their lives. Even if the students don’t get back into employment, the team I am in has targets, but they aren’t all about getting students back to formal employment. Getting onto a course seeing them grow in confidence and basic skills, and maybe doing a bit of voluntary work, to then go back to college would be a massive step for them."

"Alongside the WRES part of my role, I am looking forward to getting more involved with the college too – I want to start sessions like a peer support group, maybe a weekly one, where employment specialists can have a chat with students who have an interest in anything employment-related. I am also developing my modules too for the teaching of those referred to me, and for college courses."