Laura

My Summary

My Experience

Live-in Nannying in Summer-
2021
This summer, I wanted to expand my experience of nannying due to mainly doing my placements in nursery settings rather than family in my first year at university. I worked for a family with three children; B6m, B3y and B5y. I worked three or more days a week to suit the family, during these days I had sole charge of the children which ofen differed from day to day, either having one, two or three children to look after! I planned activities which suited both B3 and B5 (having small adaptions to suit the age), see some examples below! I also supported the parents with the weaning process with B6m by helping batch cook meals and also making some bibs to keep clothes stain free!

Live-in New Born Experience-
Summer 2021
During summer 2021, I completed some newborn experience with a family over three days. The family I completed this with had 11 week old twins who had severe colic and reflux at the time. I found this experience really interesting and useful to add to my experience as, prior, I didn’t know how to support these medical conditions. After the three days with the family, I felt much more confident with new borns as I hadn’t spent much time with children this age before!

1st Year at Norland College-
2020-2021
During my first year at Norland I completed five placements in different settings, the ages I worked with were; 6 months up to four years. One of which was a daily family placement and the rest being in nursery settings. These placements taught me lots of new skills when working with children, for example how there are so many ways of supporting development through activities and ways of making these engaging for children. During my placements in first year I also created some lovely bonds with both children and staff in the different settings I was in. This was one of the most rewarding aspects of placements for me, as I find it really important that the children and adults are comfortable and feel as though they can trust me when gong into a setting.

In second year, I completed another family placement in which there was B2 and G5W. Unfortunately this placement was cut short due to me leaving for personal reasons, however in the two weeks I was in this placement I learnt lots! The family were of a religion I was not so familiar with. Going into this placement I did some research into the dietary requirements within the religion, so I had to adapt my meal plans to suit the family accordingly. I also learnt how to support a child with a transition (the transition being having a nanny in the home taking care and doing activities while both parents were in the house either working or looking after the newborn sibling). B2 was really quite nervous being away from his parents so I supported this by taking him to his bedroom to play with me 1-1 for short bursts of time until he was comfortable. By the end of the time I spent here, B2 was happy to go outside with me alone and play in different rooms in the house with me without getting upset if his parents were in the room or not. I found this really rewarding, as although it may not look like much, it was really helpful to the parents as well as B2!

When I wasn’t at placement, I was learning about child development, safeguarding and professional development in lectures, which allowed me to build my knowledge further. We also had our practical lectures which were Sewing and Food and Nutrition, in which I learnt new sewing skills through the two projects we completed (a child’s apron and a felt garland). In Food and Nutrition I learnt lots of new recipes and how to create a meal plan that was nutritionally balanced for a child.

College Placements and Volunteering in Local Schools-
2019-2020
I volunteered in a local primary school for seven days at the end of my final year at school. I spent four days in the nursery and three days in a primary classroom. This allowed me to see how children develop from nursery into primary school and also the structure of a school day for children aged 5-7.

As part of studying for my HNC Childhood practice, I completed two placements which ran through the academic year, two days in college and two days at placement. My first placement was in a small nursery with nine children aged 3-5. During this placement I was able to learn many different observation methods and put these into practice along with building up confidence in the best way’s to support a child and their specific needs. One thing I particularly enjoyed at this placement was supporting the children learn to ride a bike through the programme ‘Play on Pedals’. I loved to see the children develop their cycling skills and enjoy their time on the bikes!

My second placement was in a primary three classroom. I worked closely with a child with additional support needs, here, which allowed me to expand on my experience, specifically on supporting children with Autism. Unfortunately this placement was cut short due to the country going into lockdown but in the time I spent there I really enjoyed working with an older age group, being able to see how skills taught at a young age helps children as they progress through their school career.

Finally, one of the modules I completed in this year of my studies was a graded unit. I had the task of researching a topic of my choice and using this research. I decided to research the communication resources available to children with additional support needs really gave me an insight to what resources are out there and I also learnt to adapt to working online due to the pandemic. I achieved an A at the end of the three stages; introduction, development and evaluation.

Swim Easy-
2019-2021
My role at Swim Easy was to assist and support the teachers and children as they teach and learn to swim. I worked with children aged three to eight years old who all were at different stages, some were able to swim confidently, and some were unable to be in the pool without support. I would often speak to the children’s parents about their progress alongside the class teacher to celebrate the swimmer’s achievements. I have learnt how to communicate with adults with more confidence and I have gained knowledge and understanding of how to support children when learning to swim.

City of Edinburgh Trampoline Club-
2016-2021
My role as a trampoline coach is to teach children from the age of 3-16 to learn how to perform different skills on the trampoline. I work with children from the first time they get on the trampoline, learning how to control themselves on the trampoline and to keep their balance, up to them learning how to do a font somersault! I have learnt many skills while working here, for example, how to support children when they may feel a little nervous, when trying a new skill or when at a competition, I have also learnt how to work within a team, supporting one another and I have also built up lots of confidence in myself.

My Qualifications

National 5's, Higher's and an Advanced Higher.
HNC Childhood Practice
1st Year at Norland College
Paediatric First Aid

My Availability

Very Flexible!

My Fees

• Babysitting from £12.00 per hour
• Nannying from £14.00 per hour (gross)