House Life

Most new co-workers will have 1 or 2 pupils in their house with whom they will work more closely. With the help of either your house co-ordinator or a more experienced co-worker, you will learn to help, encourage and educate the pupils. Pupils need help with care of possessions, recreational activities, participation in daily routines and in some cases intimate personal care.

Usually there are one or two pupils sharing a room and one co-worker is responsible for them (waking them between 06.30 and 07.00 hours, helping them into their clothes, bringing them to school, playing games etc). Some pupils have their own room and need a single co-worker's help for their care all of the time.

Co-workers and pupils take their meals together in the houses. Some of the pupils, with the help of co-workers, will have helped with growing the produce, cooking the meal or perhaps just laying the tables. The meal times can become a focus of social contact, conversation and appreciation of what each one has to offer.

Entering fully into the life of a community such as that at Camphill makes new and often unexpected demands on the individual co-worker and some words of guidance and encouragement may be helpful.

Belonging to an individual house means that you are part of an "extended family", with all the stresses and rewards which that entails - sharing in the daily routine of work and recreation, living very closely with a number of other adults as well as with the pupils, and becoming aware of the many different feelings and temperaments that go to make up the collective spirit of the household.

Sharing fully in all the joint responsibilities and duties of the house, you will at times find the day-to-day work both exhausting and challenging. Many tasks will seem very basic and routine; others will make unexpected demands upon your personal initiative, self-discipline and presence of mind, yet all those duties, whether simple or complex, are absolutely essential for the successful care and education of the pupils in your charge. Your sense of achievement will come from knowing that you have contributed effectively to the well-being of the community as a whole.


Introduction to School and Workshops >>