Gowri Balakrishnan
Virtual School Officer
My role as a Virtual School Officer includes supporting a range of vulnerable children and young people in schools, colleges, or other alternative provisions; ensuring each one of them is provided with an educational placement in a timely manner, monitoring their progress, educational targets, attendance and any support requirements.
I have been working with children and young adults in many different capacities for 20 years. Prior to joining the Virtual School, I was teaching ESOL for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in West London and found it to be hugely gratifying. The one thing about teaching that fascinated me is that while I may be teaching, I learn something every day myself. Prior to moving to London, I have enjoyed a rich and varied career as a primary and secondary school ESL teacher back home in Malaysia. I then became a university lecturer, training future ESL teachers before moving on to become a corporate trainer. My invaluable experience in Education has motivated me to further pursue a more rewarding job which is to make a difference for our disadvantaged children in care.
I have always found my work with children to be hugely rewarding and I am passionate about helping to provide children with opportunities that allow them to grow and achieve their full potential. Seeing them grow in confidence over the years is vastly fulfilling. It is not just giving them the support and strategies for learning, but more importantly giving them the confidence and motivation for life-long learning. I wish to see these children thrive and young people develop into happy adults. It is the reward that makes it all worth it.
