I'm Alex. I have recently relocated to Ottawa from my native U.K., and am seeking work in childcare. I am a dependable, warm, and outgoing individual with demonstrable childcare experience having previously worked as an au pair, secondary school teacher, and summer school coordinator. I have experience working with children of all ages, many of whom with a range of special needs that required attention to detail, empathy, and patience, to provide for effectively. Differentiating my approach with a variety of children to maximise their learning outcomes was a core part of my teaching experience, and I hope to be able to lend some of that expertise to a family looking for childcare. A bit about me: as hinted above, my wife and I were living in Oxford in the U.K. and, in a bid to escape the grey skies and the rain, we took the leap and moved to Canada (although I'm yet to experience a winter here, that may teach me a lesson!). I am a very active and outdoorsy person who loves exploring the world, be it on my bike or my feet. I am a keen musician and play the piano and guitar, and am also into film photography. My wife and I try to live our lives as technology-free as possible so, in lieu of watching TV, you can find me winding down with a book of crosswords.

I have previously au paired for two boys in Chieti, Italy. They were both 7 at the time (twins) and I cared for them over a summer, being responsible for them in both a care sense and also as an English tutor. I spent a lot of time with the boys over a 3 month period whilst they were off school for the summer, and I enjoyed caring for them and seeing our bond grow. I visited the family a year later during some travels. Shortly after this position, I was an activity leader at a local summer school in Winchester, U.K. One half of this role was organising and leading activities for children visiting the U.K. in order to improve their English, and the other half was teaching these children in either a traditional classroom setting or during one-on-one home visits. I have also worked as a secondary school teacher of Modern Foreign Languages in the UK working with children, many of whom required special educational provisions due to a range of special needs, aged five to eighteen. Alongside my classroom teaching duties I had many pastoral roles with the kids, being both a form tutor (homeroom) and participating in a mentorship programme for older students struggling with exams.

Qualified teacher in the U.K.