All my talks are free of charge
My work with schools have been very rewarding – often unless children have a family member/friend who is disabled they do not come into contact with disability. I have experience of visiting both Primary and Secondary schools.
I have also done some work with West Hertfordshire College, speaking on the Health and Social Care Courses. I think speaking to the students who will be going into the field of care work is invaluable, helping them to understand disability from a personal perceptive rather than just from a text book
Primary Schools
The majority of my talks have been to year 5 and year 6 although I have had schools who have asked me to speak each individual class going from Reception through to year 6. I tailor my talk depending on the age of the children and I make my session as interactive as possible. My primary talks last approximately 20 minutes and I then actively encourage questions. (I have delivered talks where the children have thought about what questions they would like to ask, before my visit. This has helped the children to get the most out of their time with me.) My sessions fit into many different curriculum subjects, for example, citizenship as well as forming part of any special weeks you may have planned. One school invited me in as part of their anti bullying week and asked me to share my personal experience of being bullied, giving the children a greater awareness of the importance of acceptance
I recently visited a school and as you can see from the thank you letters which I received, the children found my talk very useful. My talk helped them to learn even though I have a disability, we are all equal.
Please email me heidibuckell@hotmail.com if you would like me to come and give a talk to your school.
During the peak of the pandemic I decided to record my talk and put it on YouTube so it could be accessed during the time of home schooling – Please click here to view the recording
Secondary Schools
My talks to Secondary schools have been aimed at years 12 and 13 with teachers including me as part of their PHSE lessons. In contrast to the talks which I give to primary schools the talks which I give to years 12 and 13 are much more detailed and I make use of PowerPoint. I cover topics which I believe would be of interest to them for example, how I managed at University and how I now manage at work. Together with covering general topics such as how I find people’s assumptions of my disability to be frustrating and how I cope with day to day life. My secondary school talks last approximately 45 minutes and I then actively encourage questions from the students.
I am proud to have been invited to Parmiters School every year since 2007, please click on the below link to read the many positive comments which I have received.
Please email me heidibuckell@hotmail.com if you would like me to come and give a talk to your school.
During the peak of the pandemic I decided to record my talk and put it on YouTube so it could be accessed during the time of home schooling – Please click here to view the recording
While recording the secondary school version, I did experience a slight technical problem. Very near the end of the recording, the presentation stops but please leave it running and it will continue.
Be Aware Be Clear 
