Emily Wallis Mandache

I consider myself as one of the lucky few who, early on in my career, was able to identify my innate strength and affinity with my chosen path through employment. I have a natural capacity to work with children and young people, and I am deeply passionate about supporting and encouraging every child and young person to be the best that they can be through a positive life and learning experience. This is what I have striven for throughout my career in both Care and Education. My resourceful, resilient and ‘ready-to-approach-a-challenge’ attitude has reflected my commitment to developing my knowledge, skills and understanding throughout my whole career, whether the focus be Child Welfare, Wellbeing, Education or all three. Working with children and young people to achieve the best outcomes in their lives, irrespective of the challenges they face, is something I believe in wholeheartedly. It is down to us as adults to ensure that children and young people are supported and encouraged to strive & thrive; and there are so many ways to do this by exploring an holistic, therapeutic and alternative path to care and education. I honestly couldn’t do this if I didn’t have a good sense of humour, drive and the energy to prioritise a work life balance that includes family, music and sport. The decision to travel and use my skills in South East Asia challenged me physically, intellectually and emotionally. This profound experience increased my passion to give all children the best opportunities in life, and to value the importance of what I have achieved in my life; to prioritise the balance through which I can give my utmost within the work place and appreciate the very best of the things that I enjoy and make me a better person outside of work. My natural abilities and the skills I have acquired during my working life, have allowed me to impact on every team I’ve been a part of in a positive way. Early on, my enthusiasm, understanding, patience and empathy allowed me to work closely with children who found it very difficult to socialise or interact with people, particularly females, and those who had suffered trauma in one form or another, alongside a deluge of emotional, behavioural and learning difficulties. As I gained experience, I put what I’d learnt into practice; completing my Level 4 Diploma as Registered Residential Manager in Childcare (RMCC), and becoming a Registered Residential Manager of a Specialist Children’s Home, achieving a Good with Outstanding Features in our Ofsted report. I am a great advocate of innovation and imaginative practice whilst working in a structured and consistent environment. I wholly support the further development of a person’s education, both for children and young people, as well as for the staff and leadership team. I believe that an holistic approach, with positive teamwork and an open, supportive setting can create the most productive and beneficial environment in which all people have the opportunities to excel and achieve their full potential. Throughout my working career, I have developed a positive hard work ethic enhanced by punctuality and a personable attitude. This is complimented by experience of teaching in China, Cambodia and Vietnam as an English teacher, volunteer, an Academic Manager and School Director.

Leadership Competence: As the Director of Smile International English School, part of the Guanya Group in Shenyang; the Academic Manager at RISE, Bei Hang; and the Residential Children’s Manager at New Options, Higford, I had several years of management and leadership experience which I have now added to as the Registered Manager of Wellfield Cottage since 2020 and Dual Registered Manager of Wellfield Cottage and Witsend ( a home located close by) since May 2023. I have the ability to: promote the philosophy of my employers ethos and vision to their high standards and the high standards to which I hold myself; provide team building and empowering leadership in an open, supportive culture, leading by example. Take overall responsibility for the staff team, delegate effectively and appropriately, empower all staff and lead by example; promote and celebrate diversity through anti-discriminatory practice and multicultural awareness, gender sensitivity and racial, religious and ethnic appreciation; make informed objective judgments; create effective student, staff, and Centre development plans; and engage in a continuing professional development; hold timely meetings and reviews for both children and young people and the staff team; recruit and maintain student & staff levels; support, create and monitor policies, procedures, curriculum, structures and practices that promote a safe, supportive and nurturing environment; ensure a culture that encourages continuous improvements for staff and students, children and young people; establish, develop and maintain an environment that encourages multi-disciplinary and multi-agency working, promoting open communication with colleagues, students, the community and external professionals; support and develop those relationships in the best interest of the children and young people, including those with parents, guardians and/or significant others; continually develop my personal knowledge and understanding of company and government policy, procedure and legislation to uphold and maintain my position and strive for betterment, and to share and support with colleagues.

Administrative Competence: I have the ability to develop, implement and maintain a safe, respectful, positive and effective care and learning environment that is compliant with confidentiality, good childcare practice and high service standards, through: performance evaluation, supervision, PDP’s and recording; timely reports for both children and young people, staff and the Residential Care Home as required; utilising all of the Organisations policies, procedures and practices as the core underpinning structure to the ethos and execution of the Residential Care Home, its residents and staff team. Meeting the needs of the clients through staffing structures and rotas in line within allocated budgets and associated costs; monitoring financial procedures and record retention; representation and promotion through marketing; working closely with the senior management team to promote continual development, positive business alignment and achieve best outcomes; utilising all available systems to hand including social media and IT; risk assessment and regulatory adherence. Key also to being a good leader and using effective administration skills are the systems of quality monitoring and auditing within each home and in a wider sense of other homes and the workforce.

After a ten year absence from Residential Childcare I was given the opportunity to join Unity Residential (now Edison Young People) as a Trainee Residential Manager at Wellfield Cottage, September 2019. Having the opportunity to establish my role and experience within this home; form positive and meaningful relationships with the young people and core staff team, meant the transition from TRM to Interim Registered Manager in March 2020, with the wrap around support from the Senior Management Team, allowed me to take on this role smoothly and successfully. Alongside the depth and breadth of my previous experiences as detailed above, the fact that I have a strong support network, a cohesive and experienced staff team and established, positive relationships with multiple agencies and social workers, means that with the positive and enduring relationships I have built with the young people at Wellfield Cottage and more recently Witsend, has put me in good sted to embrace the next challenge as I relocate from Shropshire to Oxfordshire to be closer to my family.

• Supervised and developed high-achieving staff, providing orientation, training, support and direction.
• Incorporated content from popular music and films to motivate and engage students.
• Registered student information in school database to maintain accurate records.
• Planned and delivered specific lessons to designated classes and age groups.
• Targeted practice and revision to develop students' abilities in speaking and writing.
• Assessed students' progress to create and implement action plans.
• Developed tests, examination papers and exercises to gauge student performance.
• Set-up equipment and gathered teaching materials to prepare for lessons.
• Provided tailored feedback to students and parents, identifying constructive areas for improvement.
• Applied various instructional approaches, experiential learning and self-assessment to increase retention and understanding.
• Monitored difficulties in students to provide extra coaching and assistance.
• Reason for gap in employment history: I was pregnant with my first daughter, and my partner and I decided to return from China to the UK to be closer with family and due to health concerns during pregnancy we then settled in the UK and I became a full time mother giving birth to my second daughter in 2017, choosing to return to work in 2019.
• Reason for leaving: I was pregnant with my first daughter, and my partner and I decided to return from China to the UK to be closer with family and due to health concerns during pregnancy

• Modernised instructional plans and educational approaches to enhance student learning.
• Optimised student educational strategies with clear advice on course choices, progression and career options.
• Conferred with educators to identify current classroom concerns and diversify instructional strategies.
• Hired and mentored well-qualified job applicants for teaching and support staff roles, boosting programme success.
• Recruited and hired qualified staff to build successful education team.
• Developed programme structures and courses complying with requirements.
• Led and motivated teaching and support staff to continuously improve knowledge and abilities for optimum student education and support.
• Established and optimised programme schedules to cover planned needs.
• Incorporated content from popular music and films to motivate and engage students.
• Planned and delivered specific lessons to designated classes and age groups.
• Organised extra-curricular activities and field trips to supplement and enhance learning experience.
• Targeted practice and revision to develop students' abilities in speaking and writing.
• Assessed students' progress to create and implement action plans.
• Charted student progress with comprehensive observations and reports.
• Developed tests, examination papers and exercises to gauge student performance.
• Set-up equipment and gathered teaching materials to prepare for lessons.
• Provided tailored feedback to students and parents, identifying constructive areas for improvement.
• Applied various instructional approaches, experiential learning and self-assessment to increase retention and understanding.
• Monitored difficulties in students to provide extra coaching and assistance.
• Reason for leaving: To further my career and professional experience in China

Temporary employment before returning to China. I had previously visited China as a volunteer TEFL teacher on a teach and travel package, also visiting Cambodia and Vietnam as a volunteer in this capacity. Once this experience came to an end, I returned to the UK and whilst back in the UK was offered a teaching position at RISE Immersion English School. I had to work to raise funds for my flight so worked at Nightingale, where my mother was headteacher at the time, as a behaviour support assistant, coaching children with reading, writing and supporting with challenging behaviour.

Volunteer Placement during South East Asia Travel Experience supporting children and young people with Autism.

Volunteer on a South East Asia volunteer and travel experience teaching immersion English and supporting both schools establish a new English curriculum.

Positive customer service, stock control and rotation.

Temporary employment whilst planning a trip to South East Asia.

Registered Manager of a 14 bed residential special school.

Children's residential childcare and specialist school support.