My name is Anne-Marie Bourquin and I am a qualified Primary Teacher, fully registered with the General Teaching Council of Scotland. I have an Advanced Diploma in Education and Psychology for Special Needs, and a Royal Society of Arts Certificate for Teachers of Learners with Specific Learning Difficulties.
Born in Papua New Guinea, I then moved to New Zealand where I spent most of my formative years, including qualifying and working as a Primary Teacher. Subsequently I worked in England and Ireland. I have since relocated to Edinburgh, Scotland, where I am now based.
My interest in children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties began very early in my career while first teaching in New Zealand. In my first two years I encountered some of the most extreme cases of my career. I found myself increasingly interested in the difficulties of those children who could not learn and the challenges that their behaviour presented. This interest continued when I moved to the UK and taught in London. It led me to work as a Dyslexia Therapist; this was later developed further when I worked for a time, in Ireland, with adults with Acquired Brain Injury.
Since moving to Edinburgh I have worked with the CHILDREN 1st Family Support Team in South Edinburgh. This is a multi-disciplinary team which works with children at risk of exclusion from home, school or their community, and their families.
I have a particular interest in the effects of children's early emotional experience on their capacity to learn, in particular the effects of attachment patterns, developmental trauma, emotional literacy and resilience. My experience of living and working in different countries has taught me that these critical factors impact on all children regardless of their cultural setting and background.
I also work part time on the Rowanfield Inclusion Team, working with children at risk of exclusion in Primary Schools across the City of Edinburgh.
