Lily

About Me

Hello, my name is Lily and I have been looking after babies and children of all ages for over 13 years (I'm 35). I find looking after and teaching children extremely rewarding and feel privileged to have been involved in the education and development of the young people I've worked with so far! My approach is enthusiastic, gentle and creative around children of all ages, informed by my many years of experience working with children, my own art practice, teacher training and education, and my strong belief in encouraging confidence, trust, optimism, creativity and playfulness in babies and young people.
I'm currently looking for regular, full or part time holiday nanny and/ or tutoring work for the Summer holiday period.
**I'm now a qualified teacher currently only looking for adhoc/ part time tutoring, nannying and babysitting over the Summer holidays, from 22nd July - 28th August 2026.
I'm learning to drive so your location will need to be within 40 mins walking distance from either Stroud town centre or near a Gloucestershire train station or on a bus route**

I'm a qualified teacher with an enhanced DBS certificate and experience planning and teaching across the curriculum. I'm an English Literature graduate (Goldsmiths, 2015) and have completed a professional Counselling and Psychotherapy training at Birkbeck, specialising in child psychotherapy and early years. I am also a practicing artist, potter/ ceramicist, and theatre maker. Through my work as both a talking therapist and now a teacher I have pursued a specific, ongoing interest in supporting children's emotional and psychological development, education, and understanding how formative experiences effect childhood patterning.

NANNYING AND BABYSITTING
In the past twelve years I have looked after newborn babies as young as four days old, for long periods in the day and at night. For three years I was a full time nanny for a little girl, starting when she was 8 months old and caring for her full time until her family emigrated (they even asked me to move to New York with them!). I've helped support young people up to sixteen years old with tutoring, assisting with homework, cooking, playing games and imaginative artistic expression, supervision and upbeat companionship, for long periods in the day and overnight. While I have a lot of experience I'm always guided by parents' and aim to consistently apply your own parenting style in my approach to childcare.
I'm happy to help parents organise children's routines and activities as well as playdates, classes and events. I love cooking and I'm more than happy to cook nutritious meals for parents as well as children! I don't eat meat but I've frequently cooked meat for families and will always cater to fussy little ones, with some gentle encouragement motivating healthy eating!

SKILLS AND APPROACHES
I am comfortable working as a sole charge nanny, cooking, gardener, and in a parents' help role (I am not a cleaner but I'm comfortable with tasks such as cooking, laundry and tidying up after children).
I enjoy making up games, reading to little ones and teaching them to read, collaboratively inventing stories, making up and performing characters with children, art projects and activities, music and singing, nature walks, going to groups and classes and on outings, helping and encouraging with homework and tutoring, baking and teaching cooking to children, and playing games with children of all ages! I have experience weaning babies, potty training, helping with sleep schedules, and activities that encourage language acquisition and development.
I use my diverse skills as a practicing artist, performer/ actor, psychotherapy scholar and teacher to encourage children to express themselves and learn through having fun, exploratory and creative games, as well as drawing on other resources such as educational work-books, reading plays, and learning to make art projects together (for example clay modelling, origami, puppet-making etc).
I'm confident keeping children safe and helping parents maintain their rules and boundaries set with children (but I am not someone who is strict, shouts or makes rules without explaining why to young people).
In addition to my work as a teacher in schools I have tutored young people, including teaching them to read and beginning numeracy, KS1, GCSEs and up to A-levels, according to the national curriculum and exam boards. As well as my PGCE from Bristol University, English degree, and psychotherapy training masters degree, I achieved 6 A-levels (all at A/B grades) and I'm comfortable with most academic work assisting children and adolescents, except for advanced maths and physics.

I pride myself on being warm, encouraging and enthusiastic with children of all abilities, confident teaching and tutoring young people who are particularly gifted intellectually and/ or artistically, as well as children who have SEND, learning idiosyncrasies/ diagnoses such as ADHD, SPD, ASD, dyslexia, and neurodivergent children (I am not willing to look after young people who regularly physically express emotions or could be physically confrontational towards me in any way).

I specialise in tutoring english, creative writing, drama, history, art, geography, science, and biology/ natural sciences for children aged 1-16, and am competent helping with all school homework and after-school activities.

ABOUT ME
I am fully background checked (Enhanced DBS certificate updated 2025) and have training in paediatric first aid (certified 2018). I co-founded and direct an artist support network and collective and run and organise events and workshops. Following my English degree, I completed a sculpture course, and I have also worked in acting/ theatre-making in London theatres. I have my own practice as an artist, performer and sculptor. In 2019 I wrote and directed a play with a the Arcola Theatre in Dalston, and I really enjoy encouraging imaginative play and drama with young people. I find the equilibrium in teaching and looking after children combined with my practice as an artist/ tutor really inspiring, playful and rewarding.
Through my work as a director of the artist support programme I have worked in schools and taught workshops to young people in art institutions across London, including Tate Modern, Tate Britain and Somerset House. I have also worked as a guest lecturer at Art Universities and colleges, including Winchester School of Art and Bristol University, teaching art and art history to undergraduates and masters students.

In my spare time I make sculptures/ ceramics in my studio and draw, cook (I'm mostly vegan and love cooking vegetable-based meals, but most of the families I've nannied for ate meat, which I’m also comfortable cooking), and doing other craft activities (I went to a Steiner School as a child so learned a lot of craft and art activities I now enjoying teaching to children). I also really enjoy exercise, especially cycling, walks outside, practicing Pilates and meditation. I love animals and am comfortable around all pets.

I really enjoy cooking and am happy to cook and prepare meals for parents as well as children.

I was born and grew up in Bristol, then Stroud as a child, and I lived in London for fourteen years before I moved back to Stroud in 2022. My parents are doctors (my mother is now also a teacher and body worker). Growing up with a medically and holistically trained family I have a sound understanding of mental and physical health and immunity, nutrition and the physical constitution, and am confident and calm with helping parents to assure the general wellbeing, nutrition and development of their children.