Chantelle Eastman

I am a qualified social worker with over 10 years of experience working with children and young people aged 4–18 across both educational and therapeutic settings. Throughout my career, I have supported children with diverse social, emotional, behavioural, and learning needs, including those experiencing trauma, family instability, additional learning needs, and mental health challenges. My work has involved close collaboration with families, schools, multidisciplinary teams, and external agencies to create holistic, child-centred support plans that promote wellbeing, resilience, and positive outcomes.

A significant portion of my experience has been based within school environments, where I provided targeted interventions, behavioural support, and emotional regulation strategies to help children engage meaningfully with learning. Alongside this, my therapeutic work strengthened my ability to build trusting relationships, assess individual needs, and adapt approaches to suit each child's developmental stage and learning style. Over time, I identified a clear passion and niche in working directly with children within educational settings, particularly in supporting their academic, social, and emotional development.

This led me to pursue further studies in education and make a purposeful career transition into teaching. My background in social work equips me with strong safeguarding knowledge, trauma-informed practice, and inclusive strategies that enhance my effectiveness as an educator and enable me to support children both inside and beyond the classroom.

Educator at Anima (2025-01 – Present)

• Plan and deliver lessons that are inclusive, structured, and accessible.
• Differentiate instruction, pace, and assessment to meet individual learning needs.
• Use multimodal teaching strategies
• Implement Individual Support Plans (ISPs), IEPs, or accommodation plans.
• Provide scaffolding, clear instructions, and predictable routines.
• Adapt tasks without lowering academic expectations.
• Support learners with self-regulation, attention, and emotional control.
• Use positive behaviour support and restorative approaches.
• Teach and reinforce organisation, time management, planning, and task initiation.
• Break tasks into manageable steps and provide visual schedules or checklists.
• Support learners with transitions and changes in routine.
• Facilitate positive peer interactions and social inclusion.
• Teach social problem-solving, communication skills, and perspective-taking.
• Monitor and address bullying, social isolation, or peer conflict
• Recognize triggers and apply de-escalation strategies calmly and consistently.
• Work closely with therapists (OTs, psychologists, speech therapists), support staff, and learning support teams.
• Communicate regularly with parents and caregivers.
• Participate in multidisciplinary meetings and case reviews
• Create a calm, predictable, and sensory-considerate learning environment.
• Use clear expectations, visual cues, and consistent routines.
• Allow reasonable accommodations (movement breaks, quiet spaces, assistive tools
• Reflect on teaching strategies and adapt based on learner response.
• Maintain accurate records and documentation.

Social Worker At Child Youth Care Centre at Child Welfare Kleinmond (2021-03 – 2021-08)

• Ensure the safety, rights, and best interests of children and youth in care, in line with the Children's Act.
• Identify, assess, and respond to cases of abuse, neglect, exploitation, or abandonment.
• Report statutory cases and liaise with the Department of Social Development, SAPS, and the Children's Court where required.
• Provide individual and group counselling to address trauma, behavioural challenges, emotional regulation, and mental health needs.
• Support children with adjustment to residential care, separation, loss, or placement changes.
• Apply trauma-informed and child-centred interventions appropriate to developmental stages

Care Coordinator at Spescare (2021-01 – 2021-02)

Life Orientation Student Educator at Hoerskool Garsfontein (2019-01 – 2020-12)

• Planning, preparing, and delivering lessons to all learners in the class. (CAPS)
• Teaching according to the educational needs, abilities and achievement of the individual learners and groups of students.
• Adopting and working towards the implementation of the school development plan
• Assessing, recording, and reporting on the development, progress, attainment, and behaviour of learners
• Providing or contributing to oral and written assessments, reports and references relating to individual learners or groups of learners in class
• Promoting the general progress and well-being of individual learners
• Providing guidance and advice to learners on educational and social matters and on their further education and future careers; providing information on sources of more expert advice
• Attending school meetings, parent meetings and assisting with extra mural activities
• Communicating regularly on 'd6Kommunikeerder' and assist with marketing on social media

Health Care Social Worker at Intercare Hazeldean (2018-06 – 2020-05)

• Collaborate with professionals to make a holistic Assessment of patient's social circumstances and socio emotional needs, medical and physical conditions to establish patient's needs.
• Networking with and referring patients / families to community resources and services to assist (Strand, Somerset Wes, Gordon Bay, Kleinmond, Pringle Bay, Betty Bay)
• Report writing on patient's home circumstances, support-systems, socio-emotional functioning, discharge plan etc.
• Investigate abuse or neglect cases and take authorized protective action when necessary.
• Continuously evaluate and modify treatment plans, in conjunction with multi discipline team, families and the surrounding community organizations
• Ensure adequate paperwork and record keeping of own interventions.
• Network and keep adequate data base of services available for referral purposes.
• Develop or advise on social policy and assist in protocol development.
• Counselling, education to patients and their families to help them understand their medical condition and the effects thereof, helping them to adjust and cope with changes, challenges, and emotions.
• Emotional and supportive counselling to the patient and their family and education on the injury or illness
• Financial and social assistance and employer liaison
• Discharge planning, referral to community resources and follow up post discharge
• Conducting ward rounds, home visits, weekly meetings with multidisciplinary team members to ensure accurate complete collection of clinical data from patient files
• Updating, motivating and investigating clinical information to justify length of stay, level of care, discharge planning to medical funds.
• Updating and providing the necessary information to funders regarding risk cases to reduce possibility of readmission.

Special Needs Assistant: Down Syndrome Primary School at Du Plessis Family (Laerskool Lynnwood) (2016-02 – 2018-08)

• Support child on specific activities set by the teacher, such as reading, writing, practical, creative, physical, recreational activities and environmental studies.
• Assist child with basic hygiene tasks and responsibilities
• To constructively help child to participate in activities and learning tasks by adapting and/or interpreting lessons and instructions accordingly and differentiating for child as required.
• Guide and assist the development of child's social behaviour, attitudes, and skills as appropriate.
• To assist, as directed, with the implementation of/implement specific learning and therapy programmes, e.g. speech and language, extra mural activities (ballet, swimming, horse riding)
• Assess general observation and questioning of child giving feedback to appropriate staff, parents and multidisciplinary therapy team
• Administer support care/first aid, report injuries to appropriate authorities within the School, enter details in accident book.
• Issue prescribed medication (Following prior agreement with parents and the School's policy).

Community Developer at Huntingtons Association of South Africa (2017-01 – 2018-02)

• Setting up and running awareness projects
• Mentoring or counselling individual young people
• Managing budgets
• Applying for project funding
• Facilitating workshops in schools and community settings
• Working with other organisations, such as schools, community groups and NGO's

Psychiatric Social Worker at Denmar Psychiatric Hospital (2015-11 – 2017-12)

• Offering supportive services to children, adults and elderly psychiatric patients making use of individual and group work interventions
• Development, implementation and evaluation of self-empowerment individual plans to ensure full re-integration of patients back in their communities.
• Educate myself on psychiatric disorders and DSM 5
• Building and maintaining relationships with medical aids and the hospital environment

Employee Wellness Consultant at ICAS (2013-02 – 2015-11)

• Provides employee consultation related to specific personal problems and concerns.
• Provides information and referral to community resources as appropriate.
• Provides crisis assessment and intervention as needed.
• Completes clinical and administrative recordkeeping according to established procedures.
• Provides behavioural health assessments, accurate clinical diagnoses, and referral to appropriate level of care.

School Social Worker at METT Centre- Play Therapy / NGO Christian Social Council (2010-01 – 2012-11)

• Determined services required by individual clients, groups of clients, or families by conducting interviews to assess problems and issues they were experiencing and providing appropriate resources.
• Implemented workshops and classes for parents to teach ways to help their children achieve academic success.
• Promoted company's community service programs by collaborating and accommodating community leaders, organizations and public agencies.

PGCE in Specialization in Life Orientation in Senior and FET phase with Sign Language as additional subject – Stadio Higher Education (2021-01)

MASTERS DEGREE in HEALTH CARE SOCIAL WORK – University of Pretoria (2017-01)

HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA – Hoerskool Lichtenburg (2007-01)

BACHELOR OF SOCIAL WORK – University of Pretoria (2012-01)

EAP SHORT COURSE – University of Pretoria (2013-08)