Sophie Buchan

• Paediatric First Aid - Red Cross – May 2022
• Emergency First Aid at Work - including Paediatric First Aid October 2019
• Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene - 2021
• Child protection training – Highland Council
• Safeguarding Training - Le Ski December 2021
• Emotional Literacy 8 day course - Highland Council - included exploring attachment theories, child development and brain development in the early years and teenage years, restorative practice, resilience and emotional strokes, active listening skills, building self esteem, strength based approaches and professional and personal self reflection.
• Seasons for Growth - training as a companion to facilitate change, loss and bereavement programme for primary aged children
• Roots of Empathy - trained as instructor to deliver programme developing emotional literacy, empathy and prosocial behaviours with primary aged children, using baby and parent visits to school class as lever to learning.
• Bereavement Awareness for schools and community CBUK
• Bereavement the Early Years CBUK
• Mental Health First Aid - Young People
• Understanding Gender Inequality and Violence against Women
• Children's Experiences of Domestic Abuse
• Working with the Perpetrators of Domestic Abuse
• Child Sexual Exploitation Training – Highland Council and Barnardos training courses
• Discussing Drugs and Alcohol with Young People
• Understanding Autism – The Pines Autism Centre
• Therapeutic Play - CAMHS training
• Homunculi Approach to Social and Emotional Wellbeing - flexible CBT programme for children and young people
• Decider Skills 2 day training
• Start AV risk assessment training
• Developmental Trauma – Beacon House

Maternity Nursing Qualification

Vocational qualification in working with children and young people in social care. Reflective accounts and theory/policies/procedures/legislation.

Qualification in Early Education and childcare, working with children in the early years from newborn - 7 years old.
Theory, Practice, Policies/Procedures/Legislation.

Sole Charge and Shared Care of 2 year old girl
Travel with family on holiday from London to Cannes and Northern Italy
All nursery duties whilst on holiday
Supporting family to travel to and from their home and during holiday
Responsibility for packing and unpacking child’s belongings
Organizing child’s bag with necessities, e.g snacks, milk/water, nappies, toys, change of clothes, suncream etc
Supporting and caring for child during journey times, being creative in activities during these times.
Ensuring child’s welfare and health, alongside parents, throughout trip.
Supporting family to have unforgettable memories and experiences on their holiday.
Swimming with child in sea and pool
Facilitating activities for the child throughout the trip.
Maintaining consistency in routines from home e.g. bathtime/bedtime
Preparing by building knowledge of area traveling to and what is on offer for children.
Babysitting in evenings and night times.
Light cooking duties for child.
Organizing belongings and preparing child for travelling.

Caring for children between the ages of 6 months and 12 years old during the day time whilst they are on holiday based from the chalet they are staying.
Planning age appropriate, fun activities outdoors and indoors, arts and crafts, baking, snow play, sledging, trips within Courchevel resorts, cooking healthy, nutritious lunches and purees for babies and appropriate snacks.
Working in partnership with parents, being flexible and ensuring the parents and children have a fantastic holiday. Communicating regularly with parents.
Gaining a thorough knowledge of area, seeking out and keeping up to date with events engaging for children and becoming familiar quickly.
Ensuring babies care and routines are consistent with feeding and sleeps, and facilitating stimulating activities. Nappy changes and preparing milk bottles for babies, feeding babies milk as well as weaning.
Baby-sitting in the evenings, supporting bedtime routines in holiday chalets. Reading stories, bath times, tooth brushing etc.
Working as part of a childcare team, working solely with children or alongside other nannies as well as wider chalet team, chalet hosts and resort support.
Ensuring cleanliness and hygiene standards by deep cleaning weekly and daily cleaning tasks.
Following company Covid policies are followed ensuring health and wellbeing of children and their families.

Supporting a 12 year old young person 1-1, with additional support needs, transitioning into staying longterm at Plockton Residence during the school week. Develop a specific transition support plan to suit the YP’s needs and ensure as smooth a transition as possible. Achieving the aim of the YP being settled within the residence within the time I was working there.
Building a positive relationship with the YP, staff team and other YP in the residence.
Ensured supportive resources were available and/or worked in collaboration with the YP and parent to develop this.
Close support in daily routines, morning - getting ready for school and attending school, evenings planned and encourage the YP to engage in activities and interests such as shinty, table tennis, football, games and relaxing activities. Support in bedtime routine, ensure routines, boundaries and behavioural expectations were clear for the YP and support him in maintaining these. Support Yp to be responsible for a positive personal hygiene routine. Ensuring health and safety policies were followed and inducting the YP to the residencies policies in a developmentally appropriate way, such as positive behaviour, health and safety e.g fire safety. adapting these to be engaging.
Develop a specific bedtime routine specific to the YP’s needs.
Maintained consistent records of work carried out, responsible for care plan for YP and contribute to any professional meetings.
Undertook catering and domestic duties
Provided support and guidance to the young person and promote their educational achievement, emotional and social development, health and encourage them to reach their potential through the provision of a caring environment, ensuring a holistic approach

Working within a corporate parenting role in a multi-disciplinary network supporting children and their families within a crisis and emergency residential placement with children and young people from the age of 18 months to 16 years old. Developing positive relationships and engaging with children and young people playfully, supportively and caring. Supporting children and young people to transition home or to transition onto long term care placement. Contributing and supporting young people to engage in social work assessment and planning.
Ensuring that young people in residential care are cared for holistically, taking into account the physical, emotional, social, intellectual and spiritual needs of the individual.
Supporting young people in daily routines, developing these with them to suit the needs of the YP as well as living alongside them in daily life, ensuring the days are balanced in meeting their needs holistically. Recognising what the priorities of the day are for the YP, in their perspective as well as in the perspective of the adults caring for them.
Creating alternative educational plans, opportunities and supporting engagement in these, encouraging and enabling success and achievement. Developing positive relationships with YP, families and multi agency professionals. Supporting and young people to engage in and facilitating activities which support their interests and meets their needs and organising opportunities for these outdoors, within the residential home or in clubs.
Promoting developing positive coping strategies, positive behaviour choices and developing resilience with children and young people within residential setting, at home and in the community. Demonstrating and maintaining at all times a high standard of professional skill and excellent child care practice based on National Care Standards, SSSC Codes of Practice
as well as Highland Council Policy. Knowledge of the UNCRC and actively advocating these as well as sharing this knowledge with young people. Record objective accurate daily notes, handovers, risk assessments, write care plans identifying needs of YP in our care and supporting YP person to be involved, support young people to attend relevant meetings and voice their thoughts, views, opinions and feelings. Encompass a role of key worker for YP ensuring all paperwork is relevant and communication is clear between YP, staff team and other agencies. Contribute to multi agency planning for young person. Maintaining an ethos of mutual support, care and respect with YP, their families and colleagues.

Developing positive relationships with young people and create opportunities which enable young people to take responsibility, make decisions and explore the outcomes of these decisions. Create opportunities, such as young person led discussion, and a safe environment for young people to explore issues that are important to them and enabling them to make informed choices about their actions and their lives. Supporting Young People to engage in youth forums.
Enabling and encouraging young people to adopt positive relationships with their peers and adults. Create opportunities for young people to participate in wider community activities/issues and to have fun, have new experiences and gain new skills such as promoting attendance at Youth Hub in which there are opportunities to do so.
Support and facilitate young people to be a part of planning, creating and implementing the programme of activities e.g crafts, sports, cooking etc, trips in the local community and further afield and events. Listening and respecting their views and ideas and supporting them practically with delivery without taking over. Being there if they need help. Being part of the team planning and delivering quality learning opportunities and activities, including risk assessment.
Facilitating a weekly Youth Club with engaging activities.
Ensure that young people have access to relevant information, advice and support as necessary, being proactive in knowing services available within the community for young people to access and having this information openly available to the young people

Developing positive working relationships with identified children and their families, promoting and encouraging a positive relationship between children/young people, their families and their school and community. Basing my work on fun, engaging and explorative creative activities encouraging engagement. Working directly with children and young people of primary and early secondary age within their home, school and community. Planning, developing and implementing specific individual and group work interventions to support children and their families with additional support needs, social, emotional and behavioural needs. Include working with children/young people who are experiencing low self confidence or low self esteem, behavioural difficulties, anxieties, social and emotional difficulties as well as young carers, children experiencing bereavement, loss and change and looked after children. Group works that I have facilitated include programmes such as Seasons for Growth, Roots of Empathy and Resilient Kids as well as transition support groups focusing on the transition from P7 to S1. Gaining skills to nurture resilience, emotional literacy, self awareness and self worth, social skills, empathy and understanding and positive coping skills and strategies. Lunchtime and after school groups and clubs such as art groups and Rock Challenge. Participating in reviews of Child’s Plans and promoting engagement in these of children, YP and parents/carers, such as exploring and reflecting on SHANARI and/or My World Triangle with children in an engaging, developmentally appropriate way. Recording accurate and objective observations and reports of sessions input and reporting to line manager and head teachers. Actively promoting the safety and rights of all children and young people, developing an awareness and understanding of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child means to each individual. Understanding and awareness of statutory requirements supporting children, young people and their families of the local authority underpinned by the Children’s Scotland Act where there is an assessed need. Links and knowledge of agencies and services available to support families, children and YP.
Risk Assessment for all activities planned.

Within this role I provided practical assistance to children, young people and their families within their home and community, working with children and young people from new born babies to the age of 18 years old, supervised contact between children/young people and their families and facilitated positive experiences, opportunities and activities for children deriving from the social work care plan and as directed by either my manager, social worker or team manager. I based my job role on building positive relationships with the children and the families that I work with. I assisted families in day to day tasks and supported them in care for their children such as morning routines, getting to school and attending appointments. Engaged with children in wide range of outdoor/indoor activities such as arts/sports/cooking/games to promote self confidence and provide opportunity for them to express themselves in a trusted environment. Planned opportunities for children to have new experiences, enjoy themselves, have fun and play. I assisted with a Parents as Early Educators Partnership group which was also targeted early intervention supporting and encouraging building parents confidence and understanding of child development. The group facilitates a safe environment for parents to explore their influential role with their child. Throughout this role as a Family Support Worker I communicated and worked with multiple agencies including Social Work, Health- Early Years, Family Nurse Partnership and Education. Health and Safety and Risk assessment was an integral part of the role and as well as being familiar with Highland Council policy and procedures such as Violent Incident and Accident reporting and Child protection, I had to assess situations in a moment to ensure the welfare of the child was central drawing on my knowledge of legislations such as Children’s Scotland Act and SSSC codes of practice.

Caring for 4 children aged 6-12 full time during holidays and part time after school in term time.
Planning trips out and fun indoor activities to promote physical, social and emotional wellbeing. Taking children to holiday clubs and arranging social dates with the children's friends.
Maintaining routine during holidays and after school. Supporting children in homework.
Communicating with parents on a daily basis and being flexible in the needs of the family.
Making healthy and nutritious meals and snacks, engaging the children in cooking too.
Ensuring family home was tidy and clean, light housework duties such as cooking, cleaning kitchen, tidying bedrooms with children,

As a student observe, plan and facilitate learning experiences for individual and group learning needs, for children between the ages of 2-5 years old, using a balance of curricular aims. Maintaining a high standard of care within team environment. Providing an innovative and stimulating learning environment in many areas to promote development in children's skills Facilitating a child led learning environment.
Develop and implement outdoor learning graded unit whilst risk assessing and following practice and policies in each early years setting

Live Out with overnight stays
Caring for two children, aged between 8 and 13, before and after school hours and overnight as parents would work away regularly.
Supporting the children in their daily morning routine preparing for school and after school which included homework, extra curricular activities, nurturing their interests, meal times and bedtime routines.
During holidays planning and creating fun activities and play spaces.
Planning and cooking healthy nutritious meals.
Providing a consistent routine and working in partnership with parents.
Contributing to and fostering a positive, nurturing and loving home environment in partnership with parents and whilst they were working away.