Senior Lead Practitioner, SENDCo & Forest School Leader
Designated Safeguarding Lead
Level 6 (Early Years First Aid & First Aid at Work trained)
My childcare career began many years ago. I worked here as a level 3 Nursery Nurse in 2004 after achieving a CACHE Diploma in Early Years and Childcare.
I began working in the 3-5’s room in 2004 before progressing into the Lead Practitioner role and managing the room and team. Alongside this, I supported the running of the 2-3’s age group and mentored the staff for a number of years before successfully taking on the role of Assistant Manager. Whilst gaining the hands-on experience full time in this role, I completed my Foundation Degree in Early Years at Amersham and Wycombe College one day a week, before going on to complete my Bachelor of Arts in Early Years and the Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) at Northampton University in 2012.
Prior to the previous take-over of the nursery in 2010, I was promoted to Nursery Manager. I have been responsible for leading two successful Ofsted inspections where we received ‘Good’ overall with ‘Outstanding’ aspects. In 2014, alongside the Manager position, I took on a role one day a week as an NVQ teacher for students studying Childcare at Banbury College. This was an amazing opportunity to share my personal knowledge and experiences to support future outstanding practice for new childcare workers.
During my years as Manager here, I have taken part in many environmental changes including overseeing the building of our extension due to an increase in demand for places.
In 2016, on return from my Maternity Leave, my fantastic colleague Katarina took on the permanent role of Manager and I was promoted to ‘Senior Advisor’. My role involved overseeing this nursery and the previous owners secondary setting. I have continually suggested ideas for improvement to ensure we are offering the best service for all our children and families.
Since the exciting new change of ownership at ‘Sparkling Minds Preschool and Day Nursery’ in 2021, my role changed slightly to adapt shared responsibilities across our new ‘Management and Leadership Team’ structure. As Senior Lead Practitioner, I continue to share my passion in promoting staff development through working with the manager and owners to help mentor staff and support their personal, continued professional development. I will also model and share best practice across the nursery age phases in our three base rooms.
A passion of mine is outdoor learning for children; investigating ways to further develop the use of our amazing location and outdoor spaces such as forest schooling opportunities in our outdoor nature and wildlife area. I have now completed Forest School Leader training and have initiated use of our new Forest School Area.
I enjoy spending time together with my husband and two beautiful girls Esme and Gracie. I love walking and cycling and spending time with friends and extended family. I am also a keen jogger and enjoy taking part in virtual and physical running challenges.