Success Story ~ Lauren Hayes

Lauren Hayes is finding success with Ascent

Having studied Psychology and Identity Studies at Liverpool Hope University, Lauren Hayes decided to pursue a career in education, and so became a Learning Support Assistant in a Special Educational Needs School in Newport

She then moved to a private day nursery, took an NVQ 3 in Care and Education, and eventually became the Deputy Manager of another nursery – working there until she had her daughter

In order to combine work and motherhood, Lauren returned to work on a part-time basis as a childcare assistant with Caerphilly’s Flying Start initiative

In this role, she has been able to attend a range of training to continue her professional development. This included the opportunity to join the Ascent programme and study for the Level 2 Team Leader Award, which, Lauren believes, helped her to win a recent promotion to a Team Leading role.

Lauren’s Ascent experience

Lauren found it good to share management experiences with people from different working environments and felt the course content related closely to her own area of work

It gave her the opportunity to look at her own role and recognise the things she was doing well. The course also encouraged feedback from her manager, which was positive, and so gave her the confidence to apply for promotion.

Ascent in the workplace

Lauren has already made use of the communication skills from the Ascent course to good effect in her workplace

This has included: establishing monthly team meetings, holding one-to-one support meetings, offering feedback to staff after each teaching session, and giving her team opportunities to offer their own input.

Making the most of Ascent

Lauren is looking forward to attending Ascent members’ events

She feels this will help her to further develop her management skills, share best practice ideas with other women, and gain even more confidence in her own abilities

Would Lauren recommend Ascent to other women?

Lauren found the course very useful and thinks others would too. She felt the whole programme helped her to consider her own role, which encouraged her to apply for a management position that she won

It has also helped her to consider her work/life balance, especially now that she is working full-time and taking on additional responsibilities.

‘Doing the ILM Level 2 Team Leading Award gave me the confidence to apply for the Team Leader position which I successfully gained,’ says Lauren. ‘The course really helped me recognise my strengths and gave me the confidence to talk about these at my interview.’

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