Rachel, childcare in Oxford

Personal Profile
I am a dedicated person who aims to achieve the best outcome I possibly can in regards to children. I recognise the importance of a quality customer service especially within the child care sector which is evident from my prior experiences. I believe that every child deserves a right to education, a right to a voice and a right to feel included within society regardless of their background or additional needs. I enjoy working within a team or alongside a colleague but am not afraid of working independently. I work well in a team and I am sympathetic to the needs of all different types of people. I am a good time keeper and always try to keep to deadlines.

Education and Qualifications
Liverpool John Moores University 2015-present
BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies
Throughout my degree, I have studied a wide range of aspects regarding childhood, for example, modules have included an awareness of inclusion, research, child development, pedagogy and multi-agency working. At present, for my independent project of third year, I am researching the portrayal of autism within children’s television which is proving very interesting and I am developing an in depth knowledge of Autism through this.

Voluntary Experience
Educational sourced experience January 2017
• University-sourced international placement in Kathmandu, Nepal, teaching English as an additional language in a private school.
• Worked with a range of ages, using different teaching resources, it was a challenging but rewarding experience.
• Developed more confidence, resilience and team working through this experience.

Volunteering within the school/educational environment 2009- Present
Throughout my school life I have volunteered and participated in many sectors. From 2009- 2012 I participated in school plays, for which I sang and danced but also sometimes helped my peers and younger years to understand the choreography and lyrics. I was part of the school’s year 11 yearbook team which required a lot of skill from the collection of the photos, to putting it all together and the collaborative work I did in a team- which required spending a lot of time on it but it was worth it in the end.
I very much enjoy working with children and participated in an extracurricular course during year 13 run by my school to aid the transition for year 7 pupils from primary school. This included jointly leading a form group once a week and helping them in a chosen subject once a fortnight. This opportunity also included a religious studies school trip with year 7 around Oxford to widen their knowledge on different religions.

I have also expanded this further; I am now part of the peer mentoring programme at University which helps the first year students settle in. I helped them in their induction week, showing them around, helping to get conversations started and to be there for them to talk to if they are struggling. Within the programme, we also set up networking events which are useful to track progress of their first year and see how they are settling in. I am also a course representative at University therefore, I work together with other course representatives to collate feedback about our course and present this feedback to our programme leader to constructively improve our course.

Partyman World of Play, Oxford
February 2014- current
I worked behind the bar serving people as a multi-skilled worker which entailed cleaning, waitressing, and general customer care for meeting specific needs.

Cutteslowe Play Association, Oxford
Summer 2016 and 2017
I have worked as a play assistant in a 3 week summer play scheme for two years running, which was a great opportunity for getting an in-depth taster into working with children. Within the play scheme, I assisted the play leader in running a variety of play-based activities such as a trip to a local outdoor play area, swimming and a local farm. Through this experience, I have gained more confidence when talking to new people and trying out new activities.

Additional information
• Current DBS check for both children and vulnerable adults.
• Interests: Dancing, singing, and cooking.