Charley

About Me

I am 23 years old and live in Sussex. I enjoy playing cricket and walking my dogs in my free time and love to spend holidays in Cardiff Bay.

I am currently looking for work with families on weekday evenings either providing tutoring or activities and childcare for children. I am very flexible and love animals so would love to work for a family with pets. In addition I have a muck in attitude and love to keep busy and be productive so will always take on any household tasks required such as tidying children’s rooms, organising toys, laundry, making beds and keeping on top of housework. I enjoy cooking and baking and like to include the children in this as appropriate for their age and development. My approach is gentle and empathetic, encouraging communication, independence and autonomy, and I believe it is important to support children to understand emotions and feel comfortable expressing themselves.

I am an enthusiastic, caring and hardworking individual and especially enjoy the experience of working with babies and young children. I am very loyal and committed to providing the best for any family I work with through a positive and empathetic approach to catering to their individual needs. Each child is unique and as such requires a flexible and pragmatic approach which is something I have been able to develop throughout my time working in childcare. I am incredibly polite and possess excellent communication and listening skills and I thrive when working under pressure; I enjoy learning and firmly believe that we as adults have as much to learn from children as we can offer them which can only be achieved through mutual respect and autonomy. I am a highly conscientious and caring individual and love seeing children and babies grow and develop in their own unique way through sensory play, role playing and storytelling and life experiences both within their home and in the wider community. I am patient and passionate and am often praised for my logical and adaptable approach to tasks as well as my originality and creativity; my favourite activities are usually those which involve making and creating or storytelling and sensory experiences and I love getting involved and sharing these moments with the children and babies as this further supports their confidence and sense of security and helps to build lasting relationships with them.

I am a very bubbly, unique and empathetic person with an abundance of energy to give to any task and a genuine enjoyment of some of the littlest things in life such as animals and nature and new opportunities to learn. I grew up in a household where family was always at the centre (whether this be the family we are born into or those we choose to surround ourselves with) and believe that a loving and supportive environment where independence is encouraged is the best place for children to grow and learn. Some of my fondest memories of my own childhood involve baking, Disney, animals (I still have a number of pets residing in my family home) and imaginative play and I would love the opportunity to make new memories with a new family through these experiences. I also have previous experience communicating with young babies through baby sign as well as music and always promote individuality and autonomy as appropriate for each child’s age, stage and development, from giving children choices at snack time or when they need a change of clothes to collaborating on how they would like to spend their day or supporting their curiosities and interests on a day by day basis – as I also appreciate how quickly these preferences can change! My impressive memory, proactive and organised approach and attention to detail make me a unique candidate for any role whilst my reliability and naturally nurturing nature mean I would be the perfect fit for the right family.

I am a courteous and considerate individual and value honesty and open communication especially when being trusted to take care of someone’s children. I always maintain contact throughout the day or night as each parent wishes, to ensure that transitions when returning to work from maternity leave or times when children are forming attachments are as smooth, consistent and supported as possible. In my previous role I would often contact parents after they had left their babies in the morning to reassure them that the transition had been positive and share photos of their children settled and taking part in activities. In addition I have a particular interest in the ways we can create lasting memories of children’s experiences through scrapbooking and documentation with photos, videos, writing, art and anything else each child wants to add to remember a special day or moment and enjoy creating and reflecting on these pieces with children – especially when working with siblings who can begin to recognise each other’s individual and shared experiences as I feel that this solidifies a very special bond.

My previous childcare role was based at a Reggio Emilia inspired setting with a focus on modelling positivity and encouraging independence, curiosity and decision making by providing a warm and supportive environment valuing mutual respect between adults and children. Some of my favourite enquiries I was lucky enough to investigate with the babies and toddlers in my previous role included mark making with berries and other natural materials, reflections and mirrors, exploring smell as a sense and many enquiries into light and colour. During my time in this role I worked with babies and toddlers as well as preschool aged children which gave me a wide range of experience especially with babies up to 18 months as I settled primarily in the baby room for the majority of my time whilst working at this setting. This role also gave me the opportunity to familiarise myself with the EYFS and developmental stages of babies, toddlers and young children and develop my understanding of how to best support their individual needs and aid their progression. In addition I have experience working with individual families with children of various ages as I previously worked with home educated children supporting their learning within their homes and accompanying them to local group activities such as Spanish and music classes. Furthermore I have personal experience caring for babies from birth, working closely with parents to ensure that all elements of care are performed as they wish and that both parents and babies are happy and healthy. Through my own personal experiences in high level and recreational sport including cricket, football and elite gymnastics I have been able to see first hand the benefits physical activity for children of all ages and enjoy coaching and mentoring younger members of our local cricket club where I captain the women’s first team. In my spare time I am also passionate about furthering my own knowledge and developing new skills and am currently learning about baby massage and the benefits of this - at my previous setting we explored yoga sessions with the babies and toddlers which was a very exciting and rewarding experience - and child nutrition via online CPD courses. Most recently I have assisted with providing respite care for a toddler whilst their mother was in hospital and have also built upon my experience working with children and adults with additional needs (especially autism, ADHD and dyslexia) and am currently working with several neurodiverse young adults as well as parents who are themselves on the autistic spectrum on a voluntary basis.