Sophie Pugh

I worked at Curious Caterpillars for 5 and a half years. When I joined, my entry level was deputy room leader in the Toddler room. I then gained promotion to being the room leader and assistant deputy manager.

Here are a few examples of the experience I have gained whilst working for this company:

• Monitored children's interactions with others, ensuring safety and encouraging sharing and cooperation.
• Maintained detailed individual learning and development records, liaising with guardians to maintain cohesive care.
• Maintained accurate daily records of children's individual activities, behaviours, meals and naps.
• Administered medication and minor first aid to sick and injured children.
• Affectionately cared for numerous children, ages 2 to 3 for 5 and a half years.
• Encouraged positive behaviours, including patience with teachers and fellow children.
• Communicated with parents or guardians about daily activities, behaviours and upcoming events.
• Established and maintained safe, supportive and welcoming environments for children of all backgrounds.
• Read stories to children, facilitated discussions and tied books into learning opportunities.
• Cleaned up spills promptly and conducted thorough sanitising daily to control infections.
• Provided children with nurturing, safe environments to promote emotional, social and intellectual growth.
• Supported colleagues in creating stimulating environment, including layout and display of resources.
• Provided advice, support and interventions to children and families, maintaining positive and professional relationships.

When I started at Polly’s I was positioned in the pre-school room where I worked alongside two other members of staff. I was then moved down to the 2-3‘s room where I shared my working days in between the two age ranges. I also helped out in the baby room when I was needed too. At Polly‘s they didn’t have a nursery chef, it was also included in the staff’s day to day job. We did all of the cooking and preparation for meal times and snack times. The staff were all put on a roll ratio to do their fair share and make the main meals for the whole nursery, so as a staff member, I was also involved in the cooking.

Some of the skills I learnt and used at Polly’s were:

• Maintained detailed records of each child's progress, facilitating personalised care and learning plans.
• Assessed individual learning needs of each child; tailored teaching methods accordingly.
• Developed stronger language skills in children by implementing creative storytelling sessions.
• Provided support during meal times, encouraging balanced diets for better health.
• Cultivated positive relationships with parents and carers; kept them informed about their child's achievements and areas for improvement.
• Ensured a safe, nurturing environment for children through consistent supervision and careful monitoring of play areas.
• Adhered strictly to hygiene standards whilst preparing meals and snacks; ensured overall well-being of children.
• Promoted emotional and social development of children, encouraging learning through play and sensory activities.
• Applied paediatric first aid and managed incidents with calm and composure.
• Designed educational activities for young children in line with Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum.

I started at Cotswold Bunnies as a practitioner who helped out in both the baby room and the 2-5’s room. But was soon positioned more securely in the baby room, I was quite new to working with babies as I had always seemed to find myself working well with the toddler age but I was very open to expand my knowledge on all age groups and grew to love my new position, so much so that I went for a promotion to be the baby room leader, which was accepted. I have been the baby room leader there for 4 years and in that time I was promoted to deputy manager where I held that position for a year and a half and I also completed my level 3 in SENCO and became the SENCO lead for the whole nursery.

Cotswold Bunnies is a very small nursery with only having space for 18 children a day so it was very easy in being able to get to know each child in the baby room and the older room on a very deep level, which has honestly been one of the highlights of this job, knowing so many personalities and having close relationships with all of the children’s parents has been an absolute delight, making it very easy to communicate about each child’s day and speaking about their development.

Many other skills I have gained along the way are:

• Conducted regular parent-teacher meetings, fostering strong communication channels between nursery and home environments.
• Managed child behaviour effectively resulting in harmonious learning environments.
• Cultivated positive relationships with parents and carers; kept them informed about their child's achievements and areas for improvement.
• Promoted inclusivity within the classroom using diverse teaching materials and practices.
• Assisted with nap times which contributed to improved energy levels among children throughout the day.
• Developed trusting relationships with children, parents and staff.
• Handled nappy changes and baby feeding while keeping detailed log sheets.
• Attended regular training opportunities to expand professional knowledge and further career progression.
• Oversaw key group of children and kept detailed progress observations.
• Tailored activities to make use of resources and engage all children based on their age, interests and abilities.
• Submitted written reports to parents detailing progress and development of children.
• Delivered rich learning opportunities for children with diverse abilities.
• Set up equipment and materials ahead of recreational activities.
• Role-modelled desired behaviours, habits and actions.
• Trained new staff members ensuring high standards of care maintained.
• Assisted babies during meal times, encouraging good eating habits.
• Adapted quickly to babies' changing needs, ensuring comfort at all times.
• Communicated effectively with parents to ensure transparency about child's progress.