How I Got Here: Victoria Phair, therapeutic training and support lead

Career shaped by tragedy

Growing up on a southeast London council estate, I experienced many ups and downs. There was the community feeling of having friends and family close by juxtaposed by the challenges of living in an environment where the National Front would regularly hold marches. When I was in secondary school, the murder of Damilola Taylor, in an area I was familiar with, shaped my decision to work with children and young people. I decided to become a psychology teacher, with the hope to make a positive impact on the lives of those I taught. It was a great decision as during my teacher training, I was given the opportunity to work in an alternative provision and I chose a prison. This opened my eyes to what it was like inside, but also hearing some of the testimonies of the prisoners got me thinking about the early life experiences of children and young people.

Leadership in education

After qualifying as a psychology teacher for 14-19 year olds, I quickly started my journey in leadership. I have always been privileged with having good mentors at each stage of my career. I became a subject leader and head of department after my NQT year and my subsequent roles in teaching were all leadership roles, eventually reaching assistant head of sixth form. As a teacher and in leadership, I always cared about making sure those I taught and supported knew that I believed in their ability to achieve. With kindness in my challenge, I encouraged my students to think about what success looked like when they made a genuine effort to achieve. In doing this, I learned the importance of celebrating all successes, at all levels.

New career path

Like many other teachers, I experienced burnout and I needed a change. I felt a sense of grief leaving a career I invested so much in, but also sadness at the thought of leaving behind children and young people I could have helped. I wanted to still be involved in working with children and young people. I became an assistant director for a hate crime charity where I was able to use my skills and experiences in education to support schools, local authorities, the police, and other agencies. I worked on many projects including contributing to developing a Race Equality Charter for Schools in Bath and North East Somerset, designed and delivered equalities training to schools, police, youth justice services, regularly reported to the Mayor’s Commission on Race Equality, and advised on serious case reviews.

Therapeutic practice

While doing my equalities work, I realised I wanted to remain focused on contributing to work that supported children and young people. This led to my current role in The Mulberry Bush Organisation as a therapeutic training and support lead in the outreach team. This has brought all my skills and past experiences together, as I train and support those that work with children and young people who have experienced complex early life trauma. I work closely with the criminal justice system and social care professionals, to develop their understanding of and ability to work with some of the most vulnerable children and young people. As an organisation we work with the children and young people, directly and indirectly, whose lives have been impacted by trauma.

TOP THREE CAREER TIPS

1. Maintain your professional curiosity to ensure you are exploring what is happening in children’s lives and see behaviour as a communication of an unmet need.
   
   
2. Be brave in exploring opportunities outside of the more traditional routes others may take.
   
   
3. Look after yourself and value good mentorship and reflective supervisions to help work through some of the challenges you may face.