Some great shooting time this week on the practise range and in competition, after several weeks of nursing recovery and dealing with the behaviours of others, being forced to step away from a club for my own mental health, it has felt amazing!
lots arranged for the coming weeks from shooting to delivering to new and existing projects, judging and pretty much most things archery related.
safeguarding matters have been taking up time which I will always give but at the moment a lot of it seems to be simply about not being mindful of others, really no excuse for it, we don’t all have to be friends but we can just respect each other.
very busy with work and studying and I am enjoying some of it, maybe not all of it!
along with a couple of really interesting volunteer roles that have come my way and I love the idea of both, but in reality I have to spend some time planning my time to see if I could make anything work, I cannot do something and not give it my best.
Busy weekend coming up with some extra shifts to help out at work and some shooting planned. Whatever you are doing, enjoy it and have fun.
Not very much I can put in here for this week but I have been busy!
Safeguarding meetings, training and a bit of archery and catching up with friends whilst taking a young person to watch some competition ❤️🏹
I am completing my final classroom days of my Advanced Child Sexual Exploitation Practitioner course and so focusing on the assignments and preparing for my presentation on Thursday. I have completed the Safegaurding in a Digital World course with iNeqe as part of my course and this seems particularly fitting considering that today is safer internet day.
I have some dates in my judging calendar and that is making me smile! Very much looking forward to getting it all underway.
Some meetings this week to start making some plans for a couple of new projects that sound very exciting, small groups of people who think there’s no activity for them, restricted by different things, I do love sharing activity with them and seeing them enjoy it.
See you all soon, who knows I might even get the chance to ring my bow and shoot!
I always love the opportunity to shoot with my children, and I have received some great photos of Rose and I from our session with friends on Saturday 🥰🏹
I have spent the week planning, planning, planning. Some groups that stopped for the winter looking to restart in spring, I cannot wait to catch up with the people I haven’t seen for the winter months and hear how they all are. Added to that new groups that haven’t shot before – always exciting. Meetings to discuss new ideas for getting people active who think that sport is out of their reach, always gets me excited.
Now that I have been given the all clear to pick up my bow again, myself and a group of like minded friends we consider to be family have made long term plans to shoot regularly and we had a great time on Saturday. We were even joined by a surprise friend who was back at the field following a period of health issues, great to see him well and shooting.
I had a lovely night out with friends at AOR, always nice to have the chance to spend social time with archers and chat off the field.
This week has seen lots of support for Team Sharpe from friends across the county and beyond after several weeks of issues saw us, as a family, step down from a number of volunteer positions at a club, sad and certainly not how we had wanted things to turn out, but what will be, will be.
I have completed my Contextual Safeguarding- taking it forward course, with the Ivison Trust, another great session spent with like minded individuals who all have the same interests in keeping young people safe in today’s world.
Safeguarding – if you know me at all you know how very important this is to me. As a safeguarding officer I currently have 12 cases/complaints that I am dealing with, some are low level and the urge to bang heads together can be significant. However I have a significant case that I have been dealing with for several years, and there is light at the end of the tunnel, I can see things happening, if safeguarding guidance changes it might feel inconvenient but I know it’s due to change being needed and if you haven’t seen anything then be grateful for that, do not become part of the problem.
I have 2 dates in my judging calendar, both exciting and nervous at the same time but very much looking forward to them.
This coming weekend is my weekend for working so as you know I will not be able to reply to most things until Monday, next week is my last week of classroom days for the Advanced Child Sexual Exploitation Practitioners course and so will again restrict the amount of availability I have but I think you will understand why I think this it’s important.
Have a good week and I do love hearing what you are all getting up to ❤️🏹
This week has been busy, busy, my weekend of working followed by a week of classroom studying for my level 4 Advanced Child Sexual Exploitation Practioner! Hard work and intense as you would expect with a course of this level and the topic, but at the beginning of 2023 I set out to complete courses that would give me qualifications to support my skills, knowledge and experience. The group of cohorts on my course and the fantastic tutors leading it definitely make it a fantastic learning experience.
I have had a couple of meetings for county and region to discuss ongoing issues and again, always a pleasure to catch up with fellow safeguarding/welfare officers and chairs.
Not much shooting done again! Not great news considering that I have a competition on Sunday! 🫣 but I have had some issues with my back so I am just going to go, shoot and enjoy seeing friends and let the arrows do whatever they do.
The next 2 days will see me at lilleshall standing in for the region so I won’t be about much. I think all of the emails and messages have been answered except a couple which are asking for dates as we all pull together our calendars and arrange events.
Stay safe, enjoy your shooting and see you on a range soon.
Schools are mostly restarting archery next week, which is a lovely slow start to the new year for everyone. A couple of community groups were due back this week but the weather has gotten in the way there, always better to be safe and warm than risk anything.
This doesn’t mean I have had nothing to do, I have had a number of meetings around safeguarding and with new groups that we are starting over late winter and spring. Lots to be excited about and it’s given me chance to get lots of admin done, let’s be honest that’s the bit none of us really enjoy 😉
I received a call on Tuesday from BBC Radio Northampton that a gift had been left at the desk for me following the last interview in December, I love it and it’s a very amazing surprise, I do always wonder who might be listening and it’s mind blowing that people that I have never met thought enough to make me a gift.
Thank you to Bill and Kevin at https://www.northamptoncommunitysheds.org and I am now looking forward to going to meet them in a few weeks and catching up with them to see what they are working on.
Next week will be a little slow on the archery front for me as I have a week in the classroom for my Level 4 course: Advanced Child Sexual Exploitation Practitioners Course (ACSEP) so I will be trying to fit in some walking and shooting my own arrows but no delivery of sessions for me next week.
Thank you to everyone for keeping me up to date with what they are doing, I love seeing everyone’s news and you are all doing so well.
So, with that I shall see you soon on a range hopefully 🤗
So here it is the last day of 2024, what does that mean? Well we all have to get used to writing down a new date! 😂 that’s literally all it means, along with I now have to stop saying next year for anything in 2025 because it will be this year!
The reflecting can be good, it can also be harmful so you choose if you want to reflect and on what?
I am proud of integr8archery and what has been achieved, I like to take this as another opportunity to thank anyone who has helped me provide archery to anyone, anywhere.
That’s really it, short and sweet, I look forward to seeing as many of you as I can soon.
Stay safe in yet another storm with crazy winds 🫣😱🌬️
My calendar is crazy for the next 10 months with family, my archery and integr8archery plus my day job, but always ask, I will always try my best for whatever you want 🙂
I haven’t shot since the county match! Appalling! I will try and remedy that, but I cannot see it being this week either!
It’s been a week of meetings, clubs, county, regional, and topped off by a great weekend catching up with friends and supporting amazing archers including my own daughter who blows me away daily. Those who know her well, know what she’s gone through this last 18 months and now she is working her way through 3 weeks of mock exams and has not had much time with her bow, but it’s humbling to see her standing on the shooting line 🤗 my children are my heroes for certain.
Trying to plan some shoots to help me get motivated and also fathom my schedule of events for the next 6 months with existing and new groups and it’s exciting though very busy looking 😂
Jack’s birthday this week and lots of prep for a very busy Christmas with family up north, at home and working the day job. Give a little thought to those who maybe feel lonely or vulnerable at this time of year, check on those you can 🤗
Right, that’s it, short and sweet this week due to assignments for my level 3, my level 4 and some planning for some safeguarding meetings – sleep? Who needs sleep 😜
Take care of you and keep pinging me those messages about how you are and what you are doing, I love them. 😍
The individual is at the heart of everything that I do and I choose people to work with me who do the same, it allows me to put the right coach in the right group.
A focus for me will always be welfare and safeguarding because without this nothing else will function.
I thought I would explain how that impacts my week, so in the last 3 weeks I have:
Attended the latest East Midlands Welfare virtual meeting, been interviewed on BBC radio Northamptonshire as part of the day of disability special, delivered my last session for 2024 at DISC, attended Corby Archers to deliver archery England federation cross awards to their juniors, attended a virtual meeting with white ribbon UK looking at gender based violence in education settings, attended an event hosted by the children’s society and Ivison Trust on the topic of child exploitation for sports clubs and organisations, attended a workshop hosted by BEAT around eating disorders and the festive period and joined in on the reclaim the night march in Northampton.
The other stuff I do, go to work, shoot, manage and review events delivered by coaches on behalf of Integr8archery CIC and spend time with my family, including my regular weekend with mum, all continued too.
Not everything I do sees me post photos, and it may not all seem exciting but it is all very much worth my time to keep everyone safe.
See you all on a range soon and if you are about, at the indoor nationals for certain ❤️🏹
lots of admin and meetings this week, 2025 will see some new groups start which I am very much looking forward to.
I didn’t get to deliver any archery in person but love hearing how everything is going from coaches working with me, and I love the stories of success and achieving on and off the range, it can be what gets me through the meetings some days 😉
I haven’t managed to shoot my own arrows this week either 🫣 lots of work and some shifts to help out at another house, but a surprise visit and full inspection from ofsted saw us get a string good across all categories which is the reward for the hard work and certainly some intense recent months, my job is a privilege and I love it but it is exhausting mentally and emotionally at times.
Add to all of the working on my level 3 in children’s residential care and level 4 in CSE means the week has flown by!
Along with setting up my JustGiving page now I have confirmed my wing walking for next June and I am so grateful to those who have already started donating 😌
Right I am off to work and just a reminder that this week is my working weekend so I will be pretty much unavailable from Friday evening until Monday. Enjoy your weekend and let me know how everything is going ❤️🏹
This week is definitely feeling that summer is behind us now, highlight of the week for me was Saturday with my active group, this week in Corby, Rose came with me to meet everyone and as always we had a great time with lots of laughter. This group is about getting out of the house, socialising and keeping moving. There is such a great sense of friendship and it’s an excellent way to spend Saturday mornings. As we drove over there was some very heavy rain which did impact numbers somewhat but those of us who were there had great fun and after shooting enjoyed some lovely snacks and tea before going our separate ways. Thank you to every one who came because we know many were also busy with Diwali 🪔 preparations.
As it’s been half term there’s been time to reflect on the various schools and these always make me smile, some have been with me since 2021 some have just come on board. A couple are looking to grow and another couple are looking at leaving, or at least suspending their activity. I am grateful to everyone for letting me help support them and the opportunities they provide and I know that schools are often pulled in a variety of directions so I understand all of the decisions. Full decisions will be made with them over the Christmas holiday as it will mark the end of term.
I hope your Diwali, Halloween and/or bonfire night celebrations are all going well and everyone is safe.
