Rachel, foreign au pair in Spondon

Hi :)

My name is Rachel . I am 29 years old and do not yet have children of my own. I am looking for babysitting opporunities and also possibly nanny/childcare opportunities.

I currently work for a charity who provide numerous services for Looked After Children (children in care). I manage the Independent Visitor service in Nottingham, which involves me recruiting, screening & training volunteers to become Independent Visitors - this is a befriender role where the volunteer befriends a child in care. I also take part in fundraising & promotion of the service.

My experience of working with children of all ages is extensive. I attended University and gained a 2:1 degree in Early Childhood Studies with Practitioner Option. Within my degree I explored all aspects of working with children - teaching, health visiting, social work, play therapy etc. I also took part in a variety of placements in schools and nurseries during this course. I have also been fortunate in working in all aspects of childcare, since finishing my degree, in the following positions:

- Senior Nursery Nurse where I worked with 6 months old-5 years. I provided high quality care & stimulating activities to help the young children to develop and hit their developmental milestones whilst also enjoying their time in the nursery environment.

- Children's Representative. I worked in a kids club in Mallorca where the work was all aboit allowing the children to have fun! We provided a variety of activities from Army cadets to Mad Hat parties to keep the children entertained and laughing away. This service was provided for 4 years - 14 years.

- Senior Care Practitioner. I have worked with Children in Care in a residential unit (care home) with ages 7-17 years. This involved dealing with extremely challenging behaviours. These children had suffered trauma in their past and therefore suffered with attachment disorders - they struggled to form healthy relationships. I found this work extremely rewarding, as when you put in lots of hard work to create those relationships and they eventually put their trust in you it is so special and it humbles you.

I am a very caring, reliable, and friendly person. I have a love for working with children and wish to take on opportunities in which I work directly with children again as my current work does not allow this.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope to hear from you soon.

Kind regards,
Rachel