Matthew Soames

I have a passion for working with children and more than 3 years of experience assisting children with both academic and social and emotional needs while working in state primary schools in the UK. I have worked both as a Learning Support Assistant and a Teaching Assistant, and have worked closely with other teaching staff to developed target group and 1:1 intervention with children between the ages of 6-10. Interventions have focused on English reading fluency, comprehension, and inference skills, maths skills, as well as groups for children with additional needs such as ASD and ADHD to help with social situations and emotional regulation.

I have also recently completed a MSc in Psychology at the University of East London. I recevied a distinction, and am currently submitting my thesis for publication in academic journals.

I am moving to Spain in February 2023, and would love to find a job where I can use my experience and skills in education, and will enable me to grow as an educator and develop new skills.

I have over 3 years experience working in Primary Schools in Bristol and London. I have been both Learning Support Assistant and Teaching Assistant, and my roles have focused on supporting children who struggle to access classroom learning, or who have additional needs such as ASD or ADHD. During the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns I led classes in the school I worked at the time.

I also ran an eco-club at the same school. This encouraged children to develop, advertise, and monitor their own ideas for making the school more environmentally friendly.

I also worked for an international development magazine as a campaigner. Part of this role included hosting workshops on issues ranging from international aid to the arms trade for University societies and conferences. These involved both the research and development of workshop content, as well as delivering the workshops.

I have recently completed a MSc in Psychology. This taught me both quantitative and qualitative research skills, and overviews of different strands of psychology such as developmental, cognitive, biological, and organisational.

My thesis was a quatlitative examination of how school teachers in England made sense of burnout, and how the frames through which it was viewed influenced how it was understood as a concept. I received a mark of 90 for this work, and am currently submitting it to academic journals for publication.