Liamcott

My Summary

My Experience

January 2022 - ongoing

I am currently working Monday - Thursday as a Childminder’s Assistant. We care for a number of children whose ages range from 18 months to 7 years old. I am enjoying being creative in this role, running regular circle time music sessions, creating large artworks to display in the different play areas, performing puppet shows with my favourite children’s books, playing games such as hide and seek in the garden and leading regular trips to nearby Hampton Court Palace.

September 2021 – December 2021

For the latter half of 2021, I undertook a teacher training course at Kingston University. I spent most of my time on placement, teaching year 6 pupils at a school in Surrey. The rest of my time was spent attending education lectures at Kingston University. However, having completed and passed the first half of the course, I have come to the conclusion that teaching just isn’t the right profession for me. I feel I have learned a huge amount in my time on the course, and there is a lot that I will take forward from this experience.

December 2020 – September 2021

I worked for a family in Wimbledon, looking after two children aged 2 and 5. I spent most of the time with the 2-year-old boy, playing football, taking trips to the playground and playing music together. I took the 5-year-old girl to school and picked her up, taking both children to after-school clubs and playdates. Both children loved art, cooking and playing board games. I cooked lunch and dinner, helped the older girl with her homework and took both children on trips to local attractions. The older girl is precociously bright, and we loved discussing every topic under the sun, from science and history to music and art, reading books together on these subjects that sometimes taught me as much as her. Before this position began, I made the family aware that I was about to start a teacher training course in September 2021. However, we still meet up with the family for playdates, as the little boy became good friends with my daughter during our time together.

September 2019 - March 2020

I worked for a family in East Molesey, looking after two boys aged 2 and 6. I spent the majority of the days with the two-year-old boy, going to playgroups, playgrounds and soft plays. I took the older boy to and from school, to his swimming lessons and after school clubs. I cooked lunch and dinner for the family, helped the older boy with his homework, and helped to work on the children’s developmental goals. The boys loved a guitar singalong, helping me cook dinner, playing football and making mini-films. Unfortunately, I stopped working for the family at the end of May 2020 due to Covid-19, but we still meet up for playdates in the playground with my daughter.

September 2019 - March 2020

I looked after three children (ages 1, 3 and 3) in a nanny-share on Friday afternoons in Kingston. My duties included mealtimes, potty training, bottle feeds, nap times and trips to local activities and playgrounds. We all enjoyed singing and playing music together, as well as art activities and playing tag in the garden. Caring for three children of such young ages also taught me to have eyes in the back of my head, giving me a great deal of experience in hazard spotting and risk assessment to ensure that we had a safe, fun and educational day. Unfortunately, this position ended due to Covid-19, but I am still in touch with the families and we plan to meet up for a playdate.

August 2018 - September 2019

I worked for a family in Surbiton, looking after two boys (ages 2 and 8). My duties included meal preparation, school runs, potty training, help with homework and trips to local playgrounds and playgroups. The 8-year-old is very talkative and tested the limits of my knowledge on football and Pokemon on a daily basis. He loved to make things, so we enjoyed designing box forts and paper planes together, as well as the usual cricket, football, juggling and tree climbing. The 3-year-old is a bundle of energy, so we spent most of the day out of the house on playdates with his friends, visiting parks, playgrounds, exhibitions and museums. The family no longer needed me in September 2019, as the youngest boy started nursery. We are still in touch, talking via video call and meeting up for catchups.

Tiny Dancers Events: 2018 - 2020

I was co-director of Tiny Dancers Family Rave; an events company specialising in daytime clubbing for all ages. Our award-winning events sold out at a range of venues in SW London for almost two years, gathering five-star reviews from customers and introducing a new generation to clubbing culture. We aimed to breathe new life into the tunes we all raved to when sleepless nights meant “bottled beer” rather than “bottle feed”.

I was the resident DJ at the majority of the shows, going by the name “Joy Alarm”; spinning classic dance hits and remixes that the parents know and love, MCing and whipping up the crowd with a set full of big moments and audience participation. As one of two company directors, my responsibilities included meeting and pitching to clients, coordinating staff, marketing and design and much more.

Pint Sized Popstars: 2018 - 2020

Pint Sized Popstars was a weekly guitar and singing group led by myself, where I drew on my experience of over 15 years spent working with children to provide a fun, engaging and educational musical experience. It was a parent/carer and child group music session, for ages 0-5. Each 45-minute session was filled with excitement, games, movement and music. I performed songs that attendees knew, some they didn't, and some that I'd written especially for the sessions. After a wrist injury, the regular sessions came to an end, but I continued to perform at children’s birthday parties, bringing my guitar and my suitcase of props to provide some extra fun for a little person’s big day.

January 2016 to August 2018

I worked a 30 hour week with a family in Surbiton, looking after a 5-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy. My duties included meal preparation, school runs, trips to local playgrounds and playgroups and occasional doctors appointments. The 5-year-old is bright as a button - she loved to listen to facts about nature, read stories together and sing songs. The 3-year-old is a great little football player, who loved nursery rhymes and drawing together. We enjoyed swimming, play dates and trips to "The Dinosaur Bones" museum in London. The family no longer needed me in summer 2018 as the younger boy was starting nursery, but we still see each other often for playdates.

July 2014 to December 2019

I worked two days per week with a family in Teddington, looking after a 3-year-old girl (cared for since 1) and an 8-year-old boy (cared for since 6.) My duties included school runs, cooking for the family, potty training, helping with homework/instrument practice and local day trips during school holidays. The eight-year-old is a very intelligent chatterbox who loved to bake cakes, play Monopoly and talk about cars (a subject about which he knows far more than me), and the 3-year-old loved to draw, play doctors and sing Disney songs. Due to a redundancy in the family, I was no longer needed in this position. I still have a brilliant relationship with both kids, and we are still in touch.

July 2014 to August 2015

I worked one day per week with a family in Teddington, looking after a 4-year-old (cared for since 3) and a 1-year-old (cared for since 2 months). My duties included school runs, preparing meals (lunch and dinner), bottle feeding and solid food weaning. I had a great time playing make-believe with the 4-year-old, who loved singing and reading together. I also gained a great deal of experience in caring for a young baby, using my experience from previous jobs in sensory play sessions, and helping her on her journey to walking. In August 2014, the two children were ready to go to school/nursery respectively, so I was no longer required to care for them. I am still in contact with the family, and the littlest girl regularly attended my group music sessions in Surbiton.

January 2013 to July 2014

I worked with a family in Kingston, primarily looking after their 2-year-old girl (cared for since 10 months), but also providing wraparound care for their 8-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl (with full days during school holidays.). I regularly took the youngest girl on trips to the riverside, playgrounds and playgroups, amongst many other activities. The family were primarily German speakers, so I learned ways to communicate effectively with children who aren't fluent in English (whilst inadvertently picking up a German toddler's vocabulary!) The position ended when the family returned to live in Germany, but I am still in regular contact with the family, staying with them when I visit Munich and meeting up whenever they come back to London too.

2012 - 2015

I helped my wife in her nannying position where she cared for a 3 year (cared for since 4 months old) and a 2-year-old (cared for since newborn). We looked after the girls at home, on local trips to the park and playgroups. We went away with the family on several occasions, notably a week in Devon, and also to run a Harry Potter-themed activity at a party for a group of children aged between 2 and 16. Although my wife is no longer in this position, we are still in contact with the family and occasionally meet up to take the girls to the park.

2011

I gained a great deal of practical and theoretical knowledge about creative play with children aged 0-5yrs whilst working as a teacher at Gymboree in Islington. After a month-long intensive training period, my duties were to learn and deliver 45-minute classes, which consisted of songs and activities that encouraged the classes of fifteen children to learn through constructive play. Teaching the classes gave me experience with the different needs of children between 0-5yrs, and I found that while I had the energy to entertain and play with the older children, I also learned that it can be necessary to be calm and measured when working with the much younger children.

2011 - 2012

My work at Play Association Hammersmith & Fulham and Dysart School has helped me learn to work and play with disabled children between ages 5 and 18. It has taught me that every child learns in very different ways, and has given me a great deal of experience of working one-to-one with children in a variety of different settings. At Dysart School, I often ran music sessions and circle times for children aged 6-10 years.

2006

As a Learning Support Assistant at Abbey Wood School, I gave one to one support to a number of students within a classroom environment, liaising with teachers to constructively manage the behaviour and learning needs of SEN students. I worked closely with one year 8 boy in sessions away from the classroom, devising a flashcard game that markedly improved both his reading ability and concentration.

My Qualifications

- Degree: Kingston University - BA Hons 1st Class - Music
- Caring For Children In Their Own Home - Tinies Training
- Food Safety In Catering - Level 2 - Tinies Training
- Making Music Time A Success - Sing & Grow UK
- Paediatric First Aid (2022)

My Availability

I am currently working full time, and am not looking for any more hours.

My Fees

• Babysitting from £11.00 per hour
• Nannying from £11.00 per hour (net)

Minimum of £11.00 p/hour (plus tax and National Insurance)