Being a student support assistant at Treloar's is a highly responsible but also rewarding role. Once student support assistant, now passionate supporter of Treloar's, Tivon shared with us his experience of working at Treloar's and the reasons behind becoming a supporter and running the London Marathon for Treloar's.
"Having worked at Treloar School and College since November as a Student Support Assistant, I have become completely engrossed by the ethos and dedication of this organisation. Treloar's takes care of the educational, medical and therapeutic needs of young individuals with complex physical disabilities, whilst always supporting students with their independence. The students are so incredibly inspiring, it has been a true privilege to get to know so many vibrant personalities, and I honestly look forward to work everyday for this reason. This place has become a huge part of my life and I feel privileged to see the importance it has in the lives of all the individuals it supports on a daily basis."
Running for charity
Treloar’s is so much more than just a school and college. Treloar's is a charity that delivers outstanding nursing care, therapy, independence training and education to around 180 disabled children and young people aged 4-25. But all of this cannot be done without our supporters. Tivon, always physically active, signed up for the London Marathon, knowing that fundraising for Treloar's will only motivate him more.
"I've always been physically active and had previously been a trampolinist, however, I have never undertaken a challenge like this before. Despite this, I think I've always been inspired to want to do a marathon, my grandpa was a marathon runner, and as a child, I loved hearing about the different races he had run for charity. This baseline motivation was probably always there but knowing I could do it for Treloar's really made me want to go for it.
"For training, I have been trying to keep to a moderately structured routine—ensuring I always get in 3 runs of different distances throughout the week. With the long runs, I’ve been trying to build up the distance gradually to avoid injury, and I am on track to run at least 20 miles before the day. It has been difficult at times to balance training with other aspects of life, but I am incredibly grateful for it—it gets me out of the house, out in nature and always feeling good afterwards (despite the blisters!)."
Tivon's time at Treloar's
At Treloar's, there are 365 support assistants across the campus who help students with all aspects of daily living—day in, day out. When we asked Tivon about his responsibilities as SSA and his typical day at work, he said:
"Being a student support assistant is a role that provides an incredibly unique opportunity to really connect with and get to know the students personally, to support and empower them in a way that is individually centred to their needs in both - a classroom and care setting. A typical day for me would always begin by collecting the students at reception and bringing them into the hall before everybody goes to their separate classes. This was always one of my favourite parts of the day as it was such a joy to have that whole school connectivity before starting the day and seeing students from different classes and parts of the school interact together. Much of my day would be spent in the classroom. I was previously working in a class of 4 students supporting them in group learning as well as their personal individual targets. The classroom work is nicely balanced with breaks and lunchtimes where I'd be getting involved with supporting students with their feeding and personal care. These times broke the day up and offered a lovely opportunity to work with many different students as well as those in your class.
"Despite a well-structured daily format, you never find two days the same—being a student support assistant is constantly stimulating, and there are so many opportunities to learn new skills and continue your personal development. Treloar’s has become a massive part of my life, the main reason for this is seeing the immensely positive impact you can have on the lives of so many students. I personally feel that when you join Treloar’s you become an advocate to help those who are not always seen in broader society; the entire organisation has a fantastic mentality that is always asking the questions ‘How can we be better here?’ and ‘How can we make the world better for young disabled people?'"
Treloar's team of over 800 staff and volunteers are instrumental in creating the environment that helps our students thrive, and this was one of the reasons that attracted Tivon to apply for a job here. He said:
"I decided to apply for a job at Treloar’s as I have always planned to one day go on to study medicine, however, I knew I wanted to further develop my interpersonal skills and explore different working environments and ways of helping others. Living relatively locally, I had always heard amazing things about Treloar's so when I delved deeper and read up about the work that goes on at Treloar’s and the history of the school, I knew I wanted to apply straight away. I immediately became engrossed by the ethos and even postponed my university application as I wasn’t yet ready to leave. Treloar’s is an environment fuelled by an uplifting, compassionate team spirit, but the best part is working with so many astounding students."
Support Tivon and donate to his fundraising appeal
After joining Treloar's, Tivon became so connected to the students and so passionate about making a positive impact on their lives that running in the TCS London Marathon in April 2024 in support of Treloar School and College became an obvious choice. Tivon commented:
"I am really looking forward to the day as I have been told the whole event is filled with uplifting positivity and encouragement—the same atmosphere I remember at Treloar’s. I’m sure this will drive me forward. I am excited to apply all I have learnt and practised through my training and to participate in such a huge event, whilst having some of my friends and family watching on."
A huge factor that enables Treloar's to be the place that it is and deliver exceptional, specialised care is fundraising. A donation of any size is massively appreciated and really does go a long way in enabling the level of support provided. I am super excited to be running the London Marathon to raise money for this amazing organisation and would be immensely grateful for any donations.
You can support Tivon and help him raise money for Treloar's by following the link to his London Marathon profile and donating—every penny counts!
Careers at Treloar's
If you have been inspired by Tivon’s experience at Treloar’s, please visit our vacancies page.