Juliana

About Me

I have a Bachelor Degree in Language and Literature (English and Portuguese) and another Bachelor Degree in Education and Pedagogy, respectively in 2009 and 2016 - which are equivalent to NVQ Level 6 in the UK, verified by NARIC. I am also a qualified Level 2 Early Years Nursery Practitioner. I have my DBS checked and took a Safeguarding Level 1 & 2 Child Protection in Southwark (February 2019). I am a native Portuguese speaker, fluent in English and with a solid experience in Spanish.

As I have been always looking to expand my knowledge, in September 2020 I have started a Master’s degree in Education, Health Promotion & International Development at UCL University, which will bring everything I have been studying together in order to better understand people and offer my best to help them thrive in life and to be happier. Also it will sharpen my professional performance, which I intend to work in partnership with NGOs, schools and families.

I moved to London three years ago, heretofore I taught Portuguese and English in public schools of Sao Paulo (Brazil) for seven years. As soon as I began teaching, I perceived that it was more important to build a solid bond with my students than anything else; this bond led me to develop Inclusion Programmes where I could help others to overcome sufferings through Art, Music & Literature as part of local and national projects that involved recognising and developing proposals on how to disrupt indisputable social inequalities, especially in such conditions of poverty and government absence. By working in a public environment I learnt how to implement creative strategies to inspire the consensus between the school and the local communities, to create a safe learning space for the students.

The first relevant example of an inclusion programme I managed was the Girls Meetings (2011-2013). The goal was to create a safe environment to talk about domestic violence, psychological aggression and abuse, but also how to find ways of healing and overcoming traumas. The project provided weekly meetings to discuss these matters as a group and also individually and to provide the psychological support needed to fight and overcome fears and insecurities through Art, Music and Dance. My role was to coordinate the programme, to meet the children’s families and homes, to manage the support team and also to liaise with other teachers, parents/carers and administrators of the public sector.

The second example is the inclusion programme of Community Storytelling (2013-2015). This programme focused on weekly meetings, where we would explore the surrounding community, located in the midst of one of Sao Paulo’s largest slums, by uncovering residents’ personal stories and relating each of them with the community narrative. The students were encouraged to speak with the relatives and neighbours, listening and writing their stories. They were also able to meet local artists and to be part of community events. The programme’s goal was to build up the slum’s tale, connecting it to both the artistic and the social contexts. My role was to coordinate the programme, to manage visits, liaising with other teachers, parents/carers and administrators of local non-governmental organisations.

These projects have gratefully granted me the national prize ‘Award Building Gender Equality’ (Brazil, 2011) and a ‘City Award of Human Rights Education’ (São Paulo, 2013) by the Ministry of Education.

Currently I work as an Art, Portuguese & English Tutor for children and teenagers. It has been a fascinating adventure to work with children at my home-studio and online, which enriches my understanding about how planning, performance and assessment can be adapted accordingly with the children’s unique interests and also taking into account friendly and enthusiastic approaches.

I have dedicated myself to the study of Arts for the past four years, in particular Woodcut and Linocut. I have been seeking to amplify my understanding of the individual and collective welfare through holistic and healthy practices, including undertaking a Psychoanalysis Course at the Institute of Psychoanalysis of London. During my second degree I studied Psychology of Education and the Psychoanalysis Course brought me a wider understanding about subtle mechanisms of human mind and how to use these tools to achieve sublimation; in other words, how apparently simple activities and practices can help people to better understand themselves, to release stress and to find mindfulness to reshape hurtful patterns into transformative and active energy. I also have a Thai Yoga Massage diploma and I practise Yoga regularly, which I believe can help me to offer suitable support, a coherent help and straighten my approach about how to cope with conflicts and traumatic experiences in a positive and constructive way, contemplating both body and mind.

I have gained a varied experience working with children from birth to 17 years old with a wide range of cultures and backgrounds, which I believe involves encouraging and supporting the children to develop their creativity and intellect at a pace suited to their personalities and abilities; working hard to build strong partnerships, team building, trust and communication skills between pupils, and also staff, parents and the wider community; assessing and planning next steps to each child’s work and giving them a written and verbal feedback; and using creative, holistic and interactive instruments to achieve resilience and healing, such as Poetry, Art, Music and Yoga, which stimulate the children with curiosity and joy.

Through my professional experience, I learnt how to implement ideas in real life, focusing on the process and understanding the importance of building together a strong network, creating possibilities to connect people. I am hardworking with good communication skills, open-minded, with a high capacity to listen. I am very passionate about providing meaningful and remarkable experiences to children and I take pride in being able to handle difficult situations sympathetically and with professionalism.