All About MayFlowers Childminders

Lara and Gabriel My name is Becky and I am a mum of 3 children living in Dunstable. I have been working with children and young people for over 17 years in a variety of roles from provisions attached to primary schools to nursery's and schools for students with additional needs. I feel that having 3 children of my own and having previously used childminders myself I understand how it feels to have to trust someone to care for the most precious things in your life and what a difficult decision that can be.

We are a relaxed and friendly family who share our house/garden with a lovely friendly pet cat called Smokey, a young friendly energetic labrador who we have had from 8 weeks old and is very used to meeting new children, and pet chickens which my son loves to help collect the eggs from. I am very interested in the natural world and often grow vegetables in the garden (if the chickens don't eat them) and enjoy taking part in outdoor activities with my son and daughters.

Qualifications

Chickens I have gained a range of qualifications over the years relating to children including an NVQ 4 in health and social care and an honours degree in early childhood studies. I have also completed level 1 British sign language, PEC's training, Makaton training, understanding autism, understanding Downs syndrome and a host of other courses that have helped me to work more effectively with children that may have an additional need; but this has also provided me with transferable skills that will benefit mainstream children too.

Experience

I have always worked very closely with the families of the young people in my care and believe that by working together we can ensure that we can bring the best out of young people and help them to develop into polite, happy successful young adults. I have many years of experience of working in a range of settings.

I have worked with young people with a range of additional needs and feel passionate about promoting inclusion, acceptance and tolerance from all the young people that I work with. I have worked in mainstream education settings with time spent in nursery's and primary schools as well as working in provisions for primary aged children on the autistic spectrum. I worked for many years in a special needs secondary school for children with moderate to severe learning difficulties as well as spending summers helping at play schemes both mainstream and special needs. My last role before becoming a childminder was working as a careers advisor (personal advisor) for 14-25 year olds for the local authority.

I feel that my wide range of experiences have given me many transferable skills that can help me to ensure that I offer a wide range of experiences to the young people in my care and have got the knowledge to work with children that may be harder to place.

Registration

I am a fully qualified OFSTED registered childminder with over 18 years experience in child care, education and welfare. I am also a member of PACEY (formally the NCMA)