Hi everyone 😊,

My name is Cheryl Smyth and I am an Early Years Peripatetic Teacher within the Early Years Central Team.  I joined Falkirk Council in August 2018 and have worked with many settings and practitioners across the authority in this time.  This year I have the pleasure of being the link teacher for the Denny and Larbert clusters and I love nothing more than getting to spend time visiting and meeting all their fabulous children and wonderful practitioners.  Before joining Falkirk Council,  I worked in North Lanarkshire Council as an Early Years officer, Nursery Teacher and Primary teacher in Primary 1-4 classes.  I have always wanted to be a teacher and when I initially completed my HNC in Early Education and Childcare and then my BA in Childhood Studies I truly developed my love of the early years which has continued throughout my career.  Completing my PGDE in Primary teaching then allowed me to further develop my knowledge and skills in the primary sector and work with a range of fabulous children, families and professionals.

I am always keen to learn more and since starting this job I have also studied the PGCE in Early Years and am currently completing the Froebel in Childhood Practice course with a wonderful group of colleagues.

I often work with settings to help them develop their systems, including planning, self-evaluation and quality assurance.  We aim to ensure the systems created are manageable, easy to understand and meet the needs of children, families and the team. I particularly enjoy networking with my SEYOs every month, it is truly wonderful to see everyone chatting, sharing ideas, and supporting one another 😊.

I am the Play on Pedals coordinator for the authority, and I often network with other coordinators across the country. I am sure many of you will know me from my emails gathering and spreading information about this initiative.  I am keen to continue to develop this throughout our authority so watch this space!

In the past year I have had the pleasure of mentoring students from one of our local high schools through the Career Ready programme.  It was wonderful to develop my mentoring skills and work with fantastic young people ready to embark on further studies. This role allowed me to network with other professionals across the country and support young people to create CV’s, develop interview skills and learn more about themselves and their skills.

I am sure if you have worked with me you are aware of my love of positivity, often sharing a quote or 2 to provide encouragement or motivation to teams.  I am passionate about staff wellbeing and I always encourage practitioners to look after themselves which will ultimately help them to support their children and families.  Furthermore, I am passionate about children’s mental health and wellbeing and learning about the impact this can have on their learning and development.

 

If there is anything I can help you with please get in touch and I will support you as best I can!

Cheryl