our team

 

Sue Smith, Manager

Sue has been one of the managers of the Nursery for 11 years.

She is a mum herself and her little boy, George, progressed all the way through the nursery from Caterpillars to Big Butterflies. Of course this experience has been of tremendous help to Sue in understanding the needs and concerns of parents as their children are placed in our care.

Sue is an efficient Manager - she always has her finger on the pulse and she generally has the answer to a problem - before you even thought of the question!

Sue adores and spoils all the children in her care. She is a good leader and gets a lot of satisfaction out of training and organising new staff.

 

Sue Bines, Manager

Sue has worked at this Nursery for more than 20 years and has seen it go through all sorts of changes. She has been Manager or Officer-in-Charge for most of that time and so has an uncanny knowledge of the intricate workings of the Nursery - if you need anything Sue knows where it is!

Sue thoroughly enjoys her job and loves working with her children. She forms very strong relationships with them all and knows just how to get the best out of them. On a management level, she is extremely capable, very reliable, enjoys making the Nursery run efficiently and supports all the staff in creating a happy, working atmosphere.

Sue is very creative and imaginative. She likes the fact that each day is different at Chrysalis!

 

Yvonne Hardcastle, Manager

Yvonne works along with Sue, Sue, Kathy and all the other staff to maintain an extremely high level of educational stimulus throughout the nursery. Yvonne has a great deal of management experience which she uses to promote, train and develop staff throughout the nursery. Yvonne is the person who ensures that Chrysalis gives that little bit extra.

Yvonne may be behind the planning of activities that you see such as "Grandparents Day", or the developing and establishing planning and assessment systems. She works hard to generate and utilise resources to the full, and most important of all, she leads by example when she works with the children as she is an excellent practitioner.

 

Denise Kilty, Big Butterflies Area Co-ordinator

Denise is the Area Co-Ordinator for the Big Butterflies (children aged 3-5 years). She sees the safety and the happiness of the children to be of paramount importance to her job. Denise has worked at this day nursery for more than 17 years. She gained her nursery nursing qualifications as a mature student in 2002. Denise says that she loves her job because she is lucky enough to work in such a lovely nursery with lovely children and lovely colleagues! She says that each day is totally different, each child is different, bringing different delights all the time! Denise is enjoying her leadership role because she likes being in control of the organisation and the preparation of her area.

Denise has two grown up children of her own. She enjoys caravanning with her friends and family and travels all over the country. Denise also involves herself in charity work. She particularly likes helping to raise funds for the Edwards Trust which is a charity that provides accomodation for families of very sick children.

 

Karen Holland, Little Butterflies Area Co-ordinator

Karen is Area Co-ordinator for Little Butterflies. She is supported by Shereena Powell and together they organise a whole variety of activities and experiences for the 2-3 year old children. Karen has more than 14 year's childcare experience. She is qualified to NVQ Level 3 and has completed further study to enhance this qualification with the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage)

 

Julie Greaves, Cocoons Area Co-ordinator

Julie is the Area Co-ordinator in Cocoons. Julie is a superb early years practitioner. She motivates her team by leading through example. Julie is a mother of two and she has many years experience in Play Schools. Julie is qualified to NVQ Level 3 and is also studied the EYFS along with Karen to further improve her knowledge and skills. Julie works closely with Hayley Hughes, her deputy. Together they run a tight ship in Cocoons.

Julie is an excellent communicator. She has a good understanding of parents' needs and believes that the exchange of information about the children is of vital importance.

The children in Julie's area do become rather attached to her - and she to them!. She has been likened to 'mother duck' as she walks through the Nursery with her little followers behind her!

 

Kate Williamson, Caterpillars Area Co-Ordinator

Kate is the Area Co-Ordinator for Caterpillars. She is a very experienced NNEB and has worked with children of all age groups but has found her special niche to be with the babies. Kate has a particular talent for helping children to develop. She knows the best activities to help them with their talking, walking and growing interest in the world about them. Kate's calm, reassuring approach makes parents feel confident when leaving their babies and even more importantly, it makes the babies themselves feel safe and secure in her care.

Claire Tompkinson is Kate's deputy. She also has many years experience and has an excellent understanding of the children's needs and works closely with Kate and the other members of the team to create a supportive, safe and stimulating atmosphere.

 

Julie Ford

Julie is our nursery administrator. It will probably be her musical scottish accent that you hear if you need to call the nursery for anything! Julie deals with all manner of things to assist with the smooth running of the nursery. She sorts staff rotas, holidays, bookings, newsletters, accounts and much much more. She has recently under-gone training to increase her already high level of skill on the computer. Julie's own little girl Holly came to Chrysalis before going to school and so has a deep understanding of concerns parents may feel about leaving their child in day-care. this is one of the reasons why she really really doesn't mind going to check on children

 

Carol Borley

Carol Borley is our cook. She joined us in August 2006 and is proving to be an asset to the nursery. She is highly qualified and experienced in catering and pastry cooking. Carol has a great deal of experience in providing healthy and nutritious food for children aged 0-4 years. In fact she has just successfully achieved an extra qualification in Healthy Eating and Special Dietary Needs. She is continually revising the menus and has introduced some exciting new dishes for the children. The weekly menus are displayed in the nursery and Carol is willing to share her secret recipes with parents and staff!

Jackie Short

Jackie Short is our happy housekeeper. She works from early in the morning keeping everywhere clean and tidy. Jackie can turn her hand to anything. She can cook, do laundry, entertain children, clean windows and carry out risk assessments - all at once!! Jackie is also responsible for the beautiful planters and window boxes that you see around the nursery - of course she does have lots of willing helpers!

 

The Team

We are very lucky to have a well balanced and experienced team of staff at Chrysalis. They bring to our nursery a wide range of experiences and skills. They are selected to work for us on the basis of their genuine desire to care for children and on their commitment to providing a very high standard of care and education.

Our girls have that little something extra - they throw themselves into everything that we do at nursery! Whether it is a fun fundraising activity that we may be carrying out for charity; or a backpack walk with the babies; or a sports afternoon in the summer - they always fully participate and make the nursery special for the children!

We carry out frequent in-house training. Many of the ladies are on courses to increase their qualification levels. They are all willing and able to attend regular refresher courses in order to keep them abreast of current trends. This all helps towards our efforts to maintain high standards.

All our staff are either qualified or training to at least NNEB, National BTech Diploma, or NVQ Level 2 or 3 in Child-Care and Education. All these qualifications are hard earned and respected by OFSTED. The authorities stipulate that at least half the staff should be qualified. We pride oursleves in aiming for 100% qualified staff. With this in mind we expect our staff to achieve the high standards that we set.

See the rest of our team. Click here