David Furse

Qualified sports coach with 5 years experience working in local primary school teaching PE and as a classroom based teaching assistant.  Currently 2½ years working as a part-time retained firefighter mastering related skills.

I started at North Petherton Primary School in September 2016 on a one year apprenticeship as a PE Assistant.  At the end of this apprenticeship I was offered the role of teaching assistant to cover a period of maternity leave which I accepted as I enjoyed working in a school environment and the interaction with the children. I am now in sole charge of covering the sports and PE curriculum for the school and I now have the next apprentice working with me who I am helping to train.  My current role involves lesson planning and leading lessons in PE as well as being a teaching assistant in academic lessons working with children from reception to year 6. I organise the pre-school Wake & Shake sessions and after school clubs which includes football, basketball, netball, rounders, cricket and general fitness. I also liaise with teaching staff and parents both at North Petherton Primary School and other schools in the local area to organise sporting tournaments in football, rounders, rugby, bowels (for children with special educational needs) and cricket where the school won the district tournament and went on to participate in the County finals.  I have arranged and taken groups of children to professional sporting fixtures in the area. I also assisted in taking a group of year 6 pupils on a PGL trip to London where I was one of 4 teachers with 60 children.  We visited many of the top London attractions as well as taking on a host of outdoor activities at the PGL centre where I was involved with helping the children take part in outdoor activities to help build their confidence and overcome their fears. As well as running the PE lessons I also help support challenging children in the classroom environment on a 1:1 basis, which requires a high degree of patience and understanding. 

In August 2019 I joined the Devon and Somerset Fire Service as a retained firefighter.  To be accepted I had to undertake a residential course Recruit Duty System Firefighter Training at the Severn Park Fire & Rescue Training Centre.  The training included the rescue of life involved in incidents, entering a smoke filled warehouse working in breathing apparatus, road traffic collision training, providing first aid and treatment to casualties, decontamination of people involved with hazardous materials and risk assessment. Since passing my entry into the service I have taken the following courses as part of my development and training: water rescue in open water, SHAQs (safety at height) training, working in confined spaces and casualty care.  In addition to being on call for 999 emergencies I attend weekly training sessions for practical and theory updates, this includes casualty care, unconscious bias training, community fire safety, ladder training, leadership training, pumping, BA (breathing apparatus) training, general knowledge checks, agriculture equipment and fire training, rescue of trapped animals.  This job requires a high level of team work, problem solving and communication skills and the ability to be adaptable and flexible.  A high level of fitness is also required.

After achieving 8 GCSEs I decided to concentrate my further education on sports studies so I completed a 2 year BTEC level 3 course at sixth form college and in 2016 I started a one year 1st 4 Sport apprenticeship at North Petherton Primary School (early years and key stage 1-2). 

GCSEs completed at West Somerset College in 2014:
English Language - C
Maths - C
Science Core and Science Additional - C
Food Technology B
Geography - C
Business - C
Sport - BTec Level 2 - Merit

BTec completed at West Somerset College in 2016:
Sport - BTec Level 3 - DMM

NVQ 1st 4 Sport completed at North Petherton Primary School 2017:
Supporting the delivery of physical education in school
Awareness in employment awareness in active leisure learning