Melissa McMurray

My priority in my role as Housemistress is to be an integral member of the care team and ensure a homely, caring and safe environment for the children in our care. I have responsibility for up to 50 children and young people and overall running of the Boarding House, for the children's wellbeing and the wellbeing of the team who I work alongside.

I am also the named Young Carers coordinator for the whole school.

My duties include-

- Support the Deputy Head ( Head of Boarding) with the implementation of management decisions.

- Work in partnership with parents, guardians and host families to ensure the needs of the children are met at all times.

- Report any safeguarding or health and safety issues and be the point of contact for child protection concerns.

- Keep up to date with and adhere to the requirements of SSSC codes of practice.

- Mentor staff, providing supervision sessions, support and advice, role model good practice.

- Assist with staff selection, recruitment and retention.

- Work on a Rota basis and provide leadership to the team.

- Manage staff absence.

- Follow, and when required, update policies and procedures.

- Complete reports including Annual Return & GIRFEC Young Person's Planning Meetings.

- Attend meetings and liaise with external agencies e.g. CAMHS and Charitable sponsors.

- Live on site 24/7 ensuring the security of the building and grounds.

- Manage the boarding house annual budget in partnership with the finance department.

- Manage the maintenance and allocation of spaces/ rooms. Communicating with the Houseparent, Facilities and Housekeeping teams.

- Act as Fire Warden, provide first aid and contact emergency services when required.

- Ensure that appropriate evening and weekend activities are offered to students and participate in trips when required.

- Carry out risk assessments.

- Undertake Care Plans with students.

- Manage and coordinate international travel ensuring the child feels safe and supported.

- Oversee the recording and storage of medication including controlled mediations.

- Ensure that all children's case notes are kept up to date and are recorded professionally on CPOMS system.

- Although the vast majority of children in our care are not care experienced, I ensure The Promise is at the centre of all we do as a team to ensure the children and young people in our care grow up loved, safe and respected and reaching their full potential.

- In my role as Young Carer Coordinator I identify young carers, provide support to the children and their families, and liaise with other agencies, such as Edinburgh Young Carers. I also liaise with teaching staff to ensure the children receive appropriate support and dispensation and their home situation is recognised.

My role within the Permanence Mentoring Service was part of a team ensuring permanence decisions were made timeously for looked after children to prevent drift and delay.

I also mentored newly qualified social workers to complete permanence medical paper work and delivered life story training, sharing my knowledge of 1-1 work with children and creating books to support their understanding.

My main duties included-

- To work closely with children, parents, foster carers, adopters and multi-agency professionals.

- Carry out Risk Assessments.

- Direct work with children, building trusting relationships to monitor their wellbeing, gather their views and ensure their voices are heard.

- Create bespoke life story books to help children understand their journey.

- Deliver training to foster carers and newly qualified Social Workers.

- Provide a Permanence Mentoring service to inexperienced or newly qualified Social Workers.

- Carry out home visits and complete Child's Plans following SHANARRI indicators.

- Attend and contribute to Children's Hearings, LAC reviews, CAMHS meetings, Child Planning Meetings, Permanence Panels and court proceedings.

- Supervise family contacts and contribute to Parenting Capacity Assessments.

- Respond to crisis and be available at short notice.

- Organise travel for birth parents or prospective adopters.

- Arrange venues or accommodation.

- Accurate recording which could be used as evidence in court.

- Arrange and attend medical appointments and complete Permanence Health medical paperwork.

- Compile children's profiles.

- Meet with potential adopters and advocate for the children when considering a suitable match.

These duties are not exhaustive, my post is incredibly varied and unique requiring flexibility depending on the individual needs of the children and their families.

In this role I was the allocated keyworker to children and their families. I developed good working relationships with clients and colleagues and worked in partnership with the team around the child to promote the child's health, well-being and development, aiming to improve future outcomes.

I had a culturally sensitive approach and had success in engaging with some of the hardest to reach parents. I was required to play an active role in all meetings relating to my key children including IEP/ISPs, Child Planning Meetings, Child Protection Case Conferences, Core Group- Meetings and Children's Hearings. I provided detailed written reports for all of the above.

During my time in an Early Years Centre I had the flexibility of carrying out roles out with the centre. I undertook outreach work supporting families at home, facilitated a Nurture Group in a local primary school, delivered an Incredible Years group in the community and set up and facilitated a parent and child group in a local church hall. These groups provided early intervention and tackled social isolation. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have had all these opportunities where I have been able to develop a nurturing and inclusive approach enriching the lives of both children and adults alike.

During my time within the Early Years Setting I also enjoyed two secondment opportunities. The first was to the Prepare Team, a multi-disciplinary team supporting pregnant women struggling with substance misuse. I adapted my communication skills and used a flexible approach to encourage maximum engagement with hard to reach clients. I worked in the community with clients experiencing poverty and discrimination.

The second secondment opportunity was as a Senior Early Years Officer to cover a maternity leave vacancy. In this role I managed a 2-3yr play room following the Pre-birth to Three Curriculum. I chaired meetings, supervised and coached staff and modelled good practice. I supported and motivated staff to develop high quality relationships with the children and their families. I was a very “hands on” senior as I felt this was the most effective way to develop new ideas and approaches while supporting staff.

During this secondment I also participated in a Quality Assurance Group established by the central Early Years Team. I visited several centres observing and evaluating numeracy and literacy in their setting. The findings of this group were used to create a Self-evaluation Tool Kit in these curriculum areas. I found this to be an interesting piece of work across a range of setting.

Following this secondment I was looking for different experiences and took a unique new post within a Permanence Team at Fife Council. Although it was demoted role as a Social Work Assistant it allowed me the opportunity to be imaginative and develop tailored packages of care to meet the needs of the individual children

This was a part-time weekend post while my children were small. This involved lone working, caring for elderly or vulnerable adults in their own homes.

I was required to work autonomously, I had the support of the Emergency Social Work Team over the phone but was required to use my judgement and make responsive decisions based on my findings in the individual homes I visited.

Patience, tact, resourcefulness and initiative were all required when supporting people who may be experiencing frustration and confusion. I followed the department's lone working policy and was aware of my personal safety.

I left to return to a child care setting when my daughter started nursery.

This post required me to screen donors on arrival and assess their suitability to donate blood.

I also provided physical care at the bedside during and after donation.

I followed safety procedures with regards to the safe collection and storage of blood.

Following donation, I was responsible for the accurate recording of donor details.

I did not return to the post after maternity leave as the hours did not suit my family.

I took up this evening position in a call centre to fit in with family life.

I answered calls and responded to customer enquiries including cash transfers.

I was aware of security, confidentiality and the importance of accuracy.

The best part of this post was the training I received where I learned useful skills in delivering excellent customer service.

I left is post as I missed face to face human interaction and did not enjoy the call centre environment.

Following leaving college, I had a total of 3 full time nanny positions.

I had sole charge of the children, taking care of all their needs while caring for them in their own homes.

I worked in partnership with the parents to provide stability and routine in the parents' absence. I accessed groups in the local community and provided the children with varied experiences promoting their self-confidence, self-esteem and overall development.

I respected the views and wishes of the parents and communicated effectively to ensure smooth transitions.

I stopped nanny duties due to having a family of my own.