Leann Campbell

My name is Leann, I am 34 years old and currently work as a Child Development Officer. I have two children of my own, alongside many years of professional experience working within childcare and early years settings. I have recently achieved my Bachelor of Arts in Childhood Practice, which has deepened my knowledge, skills and professional understanding.

I am now fully committed to progressing my career further, seeking new opportunities where I can apply my experience, qualifications and passion to support high‑quality practice and development across the sector. At start of my Bachelor of Arts in Childhood Practice degree, I gained many new skills and knowledge. I became more confident in ICT, especially in designing eye-catching posters that convey information clearly.

I learned how to create e-portfolios that show children's progress and achievements. In my job, I use an early-year tracking tool to monitor children’s development and Seesaw journals on an iPad to document and share their learning experiences and milestones. I prepare detailed reports for children transitioning to school, highlighting their strengths and needs.

Mentoring a new staff member has been rewarding. Over three years, I have grown significantly, especially in confidence handling challenging situations. My degree has given me important knowledge and practical experience, boosting my self-confidence.

I now share ideas clearly in discussions and group projects. Active listening is a key skill I’ve gained, helping me understand and empathise with others, making me more thoughtful and caring. I value collaboration and welcome new responsibilities, especially those involving different perspectives.

I believe teamwork is essential for success, as it leverages each other’s strengths. I am committed to supporting staff and families, aiming to be a reliable guide. I handle tough conversations with parents by listening to their concerns and responding to their needs.

When issues arise, I seek solutions that support children and reassure families. My goal is a caring, trusting environment where everyone feels valued and supported, encouraging growth and collective success. To succeed as a senior development officer, strong leadership, planning, and management skills are vital, along with experience in early childhood education.

The role involves developing nursery programs that support child development, following regulations and best practices to ensure a safe, high-quality environment. It also includes supervising staff and supporting their training. Good communication skills are essential for working effectively with managers, practitioners, parents, and agencies.

This role is more than management; it’s about building relationships and creating a supportive community focused on early childhood.

Child Development Officer at East Renfrewshire Council (2019-08 – Present)

As a child development officer, I work with children aged 3-5. I ensure they are in a happy, safe, and secure environment and show a nurturing approach that supports their health and wellbeing. I maintain adequate standards of cleanliness and hygiene for children attending nursery, including changing nappies and helping children with toilet training.

I attend planning meetings once a week to discuss what we will plan for the week ahead. I plan play experiences that support the children's language, literacy, numeracy, health and well-being. I observe the children and use an app called Seesaw, which serves as their learning journal.

Parents can get involved and see that the children are learning, developing, and working on their next steps. I observe children to support their developmental milestones and ensure they reach their full potential. Since working at Carlibar Nursery, I have worked with children with complex needs and encountered challenging behaviours.

I have implemented strategies that work best for individual children. I have worked alongside the parents, ensuring they are supported and feel they can come to me in any situation. I have taken the lead in working alongside an oral health worker.

I attend the forum meetings and ensure that all staff are fully trained to teach children how to brush their teeth. I order resources, ensure all staff have the resources they need to deliver this experience for the children, and work alongside parents to explain the benefits of brushing their children's teeth. I am currently mentoring a new colleague at work, guiding them as they acclimate to their role and immerse themselves in our company culture.

Through regular meetings and hands-on guidance, I strive to create a supportive environment where they feel comfortable asking questions and seeking advice. By sharing my insights and experiences, I aim to equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary for success in their position, fostering their growth and confidence within our team. I actively participated in Joint Support Team meetings, collaborating closely with psychologist Chris Atherton and my principal teacher.

Throughout these meetings, we engaged in nuanced, critical discussions with parents about their children's well-being and individual support needs. The atmosphere in the room was filled with a warm blend of nervousness and hope as we gently explored sensitive topics that called for thoughtful consideration. We approached each conversation with care, striving to understand and address parental concerns with kindness and clarity.

These discussions, while often challenging, were crucial for fostering a collaborative framework to effectively support children and families. Moreover, I collaborated with a range of multi-agency professionals, including health visitors, community nursery nurses, and members of the Carlibar Communication Centre. This multidisciplinary partnership not only enhanced our understanding of the children's diverse needs but also enabled us to develop comprehensive intervention strategies, ensuring we could provide the highest level of support tailored to each child's circumstances.

The integration of various expert insights significantly enriched our approach, ultimately benefiting the students and their families in meaningful ways.

Residential Child Care Worker at Curo Salus Ltd (2018-10 – Present)

Within this role, I have gained experience to provide care and education for young people aged 5-18 who present challenging and inappropriate behaviours. My role is supporting young people helping them form appropriate relationships, ensuring they are safe, nurtured, and live in a healthy and therapeutic environment. The young people I work with may have attachment difficulties, childhood experiences and traumatic backgrounds, attention deficit hyperactive disorders, they may have suffered abuse, violence, neglect and post trauma stress disorders and may have mental health issues.

I have experience of administrating prescribed medication to a young person, I have been trained to write up the paper work for the medication. Our young people need support in the classroom setting if they have an additional support need or if they aren't managing my role is to deescalate the situation and try to stop the young person going into crisis. As a team we provide consistency and collaborative working this helps support young people, we have a daily change over discussing every individual child about their day and behaviour and if they have had meetings with social workers, contact with parents or family members and care plan meetings.

I have been involved with young people having contact and supporting social work meetings. At the end of my shift I write up a daily log about how the young person has been managing, what activities they participated in. Through this job, I have learned allot about the young people's routines and ensuring they have one on one support, I am allocated a child each shift I make a plan with the young person and organise them for their day.

I get them up, make sure they have clean hygiene, their rooms are clean and tidy. I escort the children in the car to school, swimming, cheerleading, dancing, trampolining and other activities. I have experience with care plans, I am in a care team for a young person I am their keyworker my duties are typing up their monthly summaries, we have care team meetings with the young person and discuss the child's clothing, activities, bed time routines.

Childcare Practitioner at Hummingbird out of school Care (2018-07 – Present)

Within this role i am employed to provide a high standard of childcare to children after school. This opportunity has given me the experience to work with a variety of different age ranges of children. As a team we provided stimulating play opportunities/activities for the children in our care through daily conversations and preparation we ensured children choice was at the forefront of our delivery.

I support fellow staff in a walking bus to and from school as well as supervising children during outings. Also as part of our role we delivered healthy nutritious snacks for children taking into consideration allergies, likes and dislikes, children were encouraged to plan and prepare snacks during the session.

Support Worker (Part-time) at Primary Out Of School Care (2016-04 – 2016-09)

As part of a team we deliver quality out of school care for children aged 4 to 16 years of age. This position has enabled me to gain insight into the wide range of transferable skills. This is a stimulating and diverse role that i found most rewarding yet challenging and as a close team we ensure the children received excellent care and support.

Play Worker at Paisley Out Of School Care (2011-09 – 2016-02)

This role was an exciting challenge as it involved me establishing strong relationships with children of different ages, staff an parents. As a team we collaborated together to ensure we put children first in all that we delivered. We ensured we gave children a voice through meaningful discussions in regards to resources, interests and tasks they would like within the service.

As a team we delivered and implemented exciting, stimulating, flexible learning experiences in a positive environment with variety and children's choice. We also supported children academically through homework group time and ensured we had healthy nutritious snacks on offer throughout their session. I was able to gain experience and curricular knowledge as well as take part in risk assessments and have opportunities to work with parents, carers and colleagues alike. this enabled me to grow as a practitioner and gain vita skills in not only childcare but the importance of working as a team member through good communication and supporting fellow collegues.

BA Childhood Practice in Childhood Practice – University of Glasgow (2023-08 – 2026-06)

HNC Childhood Practice in Childcare – West College Scotland (2017-08 – 2018-06)

NC Educational Support Assistant in Education – West College Scotland (2016-08 – 2017-06)