“Get ready to work with an amazing team and prepare to be rewarded in unexpected ways”

Are you looking for a rewarding new role? If so, working at Peterhouse School could be a fantastic career path for you. Founded in 1973, Peterhouse School is one of Autism Initiatives’ school settings, providing specialist education for autistic children and young people aged 5 to 19.

Simon Hawkins has been part of the team at Peterhouse for 15 years, helping pupils to develop their knowledge, understanding and skills.

To help shed some light on his career progression, Simon kindly took the time to tell us a bit about his journey with Autism Initiatives…

Simon shared:

“My background was originally theatrical, and I spent two years working in theatre, performing Shakespeare and English literature plays in schools across the UK and Ireland. During this time, I enjoyed working with young people, but didn’t have my qualifications yet”.

In 2010, Simon joined the Peterhouse team as a Lunchtime Assistant. Simon’s brother is on the autism spectrum, so he was keen to start working at the school and to continue working with young people.

With an interest in gaining more qualifications, Simon made the decision to undertake training supported by Peterhouse School. After achieving a Level 2 Teaching Assistant qualification, Simon then worked towards his Level 3 and in 2015, he was delighted to join the team on a full time basis as a Teaching Assistant.

Simon shared:

“I have worked with numerous young people over the 15 years that I have been with the organisation – watching them grow and develop has been very rewarding!”

Although Simon has worked in his role for a number of years now, he still enjoys the busy, creative and varied nature of working at the school. He emphasised:

“My advice to anyone looking to apply for a role at Peterhouse is to get ready to work with an amazing team and be prepared to be rewarded in often unexpected ways. No two days are ever the same. Our students are the best!”

You can find out more about Peterhouse school here.