An Interview with Emma Sison

Emma Sison – CPT3A Intensive

Emma Sison currently works as a Deputy Examination Manager within a mainstream secondary school and sixth form in Suffolk, which has 1500 students. She has recently completed the CCET intensively with us and is now starting the AAC component of the CPT3A qualification. 

When asked what her specific interest areas are within SEND, Emma explained that she is fairly new to the role but passionate about working alongside the school SENCO to support their students. We had a chat with Emma to see how she found her time on CCET and what her plans are once she has obtained the full CPT3A.

What made you choose the Real Training course over other options?

I originally found out about Real Training once I had been asked to do the qualification, and it was recommended by a few of my colleagues. It worked really well being able to complete it online and have it fit around my current work situation. The time they give you to complete the course is enough to give you the flexibility and work at your own speed.

I also found it was really useful to be able to do the online aspect and chat with others in the same or similar situations.
 

What was your experience of learning with Real Training?

The whole experience with Real Training has been amazing! Angela was fantastic at booking me onto both courses and answering all the questions I had.

The online platform for the intensive course and the module page was also great – easy to navigate and the resources were well put together. The tasks following the day course integrated all the learning into a great practical element, which tied everything together nicely. Being able to do the online training and be split into smaller groups for work was also useful, as it almost provided that face-to-face interaction.

I have now attended the one intensive day for AAC (currently working on this) and the three days for CCET. Both presenters and tutors were great, very responsive, and the feedback given was clear, relevant, and really useful for me going forward.

I honestly cannot thank the whole Real Training team enough for their support and commitment to everyone on the course. On top of this, it has given me a better understanding of SEND and what is involved in terms of AA.

How has the course helped make an impact at school?

Despite not having completed the full CPT3A, I have already been able to push for more test kits to be purchased and streamline the process a little bit with our SENCO, who is already a qualified EAA assessor. Once I am fully qualified, this will help a great deal.

As a non-teaching member of staff, I hope to be able to assess students as and when they are brought to my attention and ensure that support is in place early on in their studies.

How has the course helped develop you as an educational professional and what do you hope to achieve with the new knowledge/skills in the future?

It has been great to be learning again. The course has taught me a lot and given me the confidence to conduct educational testing.

I look forward to putting my qualification to use and conducting Access Arrangement Assessments in school. There are already talks for me to oversee AA in other secondary schools in our Trust too, which will be interesting for me to do.