Natalie Mckie

I currently work in Busy Bees Nursery/afterschool, where I spend half my week working as a 1 to 1, and the rest of the time I am on the floor with the rest of the children.

I get the enjoyable and rewarding part of the job of meeting amazing children, caring for them, and watching them develop and thrive. I love my role and the families I support along the way. For the last year I have spent half my working week supporting 3 children with additional support needs, I like to get these children out and about in the community and include them in as much as possible.

Every child I have worked with is completely different, however, all these children have the same right to an Education, meaning how I support them is tailored to that individual child. I need to work well as part of a team and communicate with outside agencies as I work closely with children's Health Visitors and Educational visitors.

I have learned the importance of patience, kindness, and communication and these are values I find most important when working with young and vulnerable children. Every day is a learning day and I love to study especially Autism, and ADHD, as I find having knowledge and some understanding helps me become a better practitioner when working with ASN children.

Some of my roles and responsibilities include;

• Designed lesson plans and resources for learners receiving learning support.
• Utilised visual aids, equipment, and classroom displays to support mentor teachers' lesson delivery.
• Worked with individual students, providing personalised educational, behavioral, and emotional support.
• Safeguarded and protected the welfare of young children.
• Promoted internal policies, external legislation and regulatory guidelines.
• Prepared nutritional snacks to cater to individual dietary needs.
• Maintained awelcoming, age-appropriate classroom environment.

• Provided kind, encouraging environments for children to learn and explore, aiding educational and social development.
• Established and maintained positive relationships with parents, carers, and nursery staff.
• Worked with a large team to complete daily tasks to schedule.
• Encouraged children to share and communicate with peers to boost social development.
• Regularly utilised multi-tasking expertise to ensure multiple children's needs were effectively met.
• Supervised indoor and outdoor play, providing first aid as necessary.
• Passionately promoted learning through play for optimum child development.