Jane, aged 27, from Maidenhead
"I
had heard about the Barton Training course from colleagues at work. They wouldn't
tell me much, just that it was the best course they had ever been on.
"It was a roller-coaster of emotion. When we arrived at Barton, we had two days to get ready. We had instruction in childcare, workshops in how to run sessions, instruction in programming, personal tutorials on what we wanted to get out of the course, and an audit check that our procedures matched the health and safety requirements.
"Then the children arrived. Talk about going live: we didn't know what had hit us. Our fine plans were stretched, examined and pulled every which way. By the time the children were in bed we were exhausted — and then we had a meeting with the course director and worked until 1am replanning the next day.
"And so it continued. We built relationships with our children, we cared for them, we scolded them and we grew very fond of them. We built relationships with our fellow team members: slowly, and with no little pain, we explored what it was to be honest, to form authentic professional relationships.
"Under the guidance of the course director and the course tutor, we explored ways in which teams can improve their performance, resolve issues, create common aims, meet team and individual goals, communicate effectively and, perhaps most importantly, learned how to enjoy this exploration. I shed tears when the children left.
"I learned a lot about me, as a team member, as a team leader, as an adult who cares for children, as a privileged member of society and what it is like to live on the other side of the tracks.
"I had an invaluable experience of being part of a team that formed, stormed, normed and in the end performed."