Free cookie consent management tool by TermsFeed Policy Generator Story - Realising big ambitions | Vision for Education
Realising big ambitions
Amber Hawkeswood, Operations Manager
share

Amber joined Vision for Education because she wanted to make a difference in people's lives and support others to be their best in their chosen career. She has grown both personally and professionally whilst working at Vision for Education and has gone from Safeguarding Officer to Operations Manager. With the right outlook, great support and opportunities to grow, here's how Amber made her goals a reality.

When Amber joined the Safeguarding Team at Vision for Education in 2014, she had big ambitions, she said: “I wanted to work in a role that would benefit pupils, candidates and schools across the country and give people opportunities in education. And I wanted to work for a business that was on a mission to ensure children and young people had access to the best learning and education. I knew very early on, from my interview, that Vision for Education would give me all of this and more.”

With a clear vision of what she wanted, Amber's drive and passion was supported by Vision for Education. She shares: “Vision for Education has helped me to set and reach targets in my career and support my growth as a person alongside this. I've been encouraged to be curious and engaged, and by welcoming change and embracing new challenges it's meant that during my time here my roles have included Safeguarding Officer, Safeguarding Team Leader, Acting Safeguarding Manager, NTP Project Lead and now Operations Manager. I've been both stretched and supported by my teams, managers and colleagues across the company.”

Whilst Amber has been working hard to progress, she never lost sight of her focus to make a difference. And she feels like she does this everyday: “I feel I make a difference to pupils' lives by ensuring that safeguarding is at the core of what we do – and that's through adhering to government, DBS and REC rules and regulations. I also use this knowledge to ensure that the opportunity to work is there for as many suitable candidates as possible, whilst ensuring we maintain high safeguarding standards to protect everyone involved, especially children and young people.”

Additionally, Amber worked on a project that brought catch-up tuition to thousands of students across the country. She shares her experience: “I'm incredibly proud of the work that we did on the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) project – we essentially created a part of the business that had never existed before. I believe that the legacy of that intervention, following the 2020/21 lockdowns, will positively impact the wellbeing and attainment of those students for years to come.”

It's not just the work and progression opportunities that Amber loves about Vision for Education, it's the people too. Amber said: “Workload's change, projects come and go, pandemics emerge and eventually they pass (hopefully!), but the type of people that we are surrounded by in the company is really specific to us. People are looked after, encouraged, given opportunities and supported to achieve, and that makes for a really positive working environment.”

share
back to all news

Got a question
for us?

We’re available 7:30am - 6:00pm, Monday to Friday during term time. If you need us urgently outside these times, our on-call phone line is available 24/7

contact us

Request a call back

Book your place