I started life as
a primary school teacher, and in the latter years was on the senior leadership team. My role included heading up curriculum and assessment and I
implemented a new creative curriculum through the school.
My last post was as Acting Director of Prep School.
I have three degrees from Durham University; a first class Education degree, a Masters
degree (with distinction) in Educational Policy, and a Doctorate in Music
Education. I have lectured at Durham University on their PGCE and QTS programmes, and in the Music
Department at Newcastle University.
Once I gained my Doctorate, and had reached Acting Headship, I left the school
system in 2013 to set up a day nursery outside Durham. The business was started with a 10k
loan and a lot of blood, sweat and tears! By 2017 I had
reached maximum capacity, had been awarded ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted, was
able to buy my building and double in size. In 2022, due to demand, I expanded again, and sold the Nursery in 2023.
During that time I had also taken on an existing nursery in another city
and turned that round.
I am now in the position that I can share my knowledge and experiences to support other Nursery
Owners and Managers. I have been working with the
LEA, individual nurseries and small nursery chains to provide mentoring, coaching, training and
one-to-one business analysis, to enable managers
and owners to run efficient and
effective nursery businesses.
I am also an Early Years Music
Specialist and taught early years music
classes and ran music training for Nursery Practitioners alongside
operating my setting. Early Years Music Training is still a service I offer, see here
Most of my support work is carried out remotely, but depending on your
location, I can come to your nursery for an on-site day’s consultancy. Remote support takes place through online meetings, where we can
talk, I can get a flavour of your business, and the areas that you would like
support with. There are certain set packages I offer as well as ad-hoc support in the form of 'power hours'.
As I approach the
‘business side’, this is informed by my knowledge and experience of education,
early years, people management, meaning that my approach is holistic.
I can work
one-to-one with owners and/or Managers, or with whole management teams. I can lead on-site training or staff
meetings, and support in settings too.
Dependent on the
area of support, and the level needed, I can tailor an individual support package to
what is right for your staff and setting. See details of my services here
I can help you in many ways! (see list here) Importantly though, I have ‘walked the
walk’; I am not just a ‘business person’ trying to apply ‘off the shelf’ formula
and spreadsheets. First and foremost, I
am a passionate Educator who has a heart for enabling people to learn,
whether I am working with children, university students, nursery owners or
teachers! I do not lose focus of the
children, families and staff at the heart of nurseries, and how they
impact on business decisions. I
acknowledge that not all nurseries are the same, and different people have
different skill sets. I work
alongside you in a personal and holistic way, taking the time to understand
your business.
My aim is to help you with any
aspect of running a nursery where you feel you may need a little more
knowledge or confidence. You may have a
specific situation in mind that you would like support with. Or you may wish me to work with you to carry
out a financial analysis of your business. What areas you are performing well in? What areas need support to get right? Are you
bamboozled by numbers? Do you need to be
more profitable? Is it that your funding
model is losing you money?
You may be exploring taking on
another setting, or setting up a nursery for the first time. I can help you work through the aspects you
need to consider to decide whether it is a viable option, or practical advice
for each step of the way. .
You may be a nursery that is not
making much money. I can help you look
at your outgoings – are there areas that savings can be made? Are your staff deployed effectively? I can also help you look at your occupancy –
what are your numbers like? How are you
marketing? Do you have a good online
presence?
You may have a new Manager who has
fantastic knowledge of the EYFS but might need some support with the ‘numbers’
or business side of their new role….
Basically I can support you or your
Manger in any aspect from setting up a nursery, growing a nursery, marketing a
nursery, running an efficient nursery, ‘knowing your numbers’, and the balance
of being a ‘business’ and not losing sight of quality early years education. In short though, I will be what you
need me to be: Mentor, Teacher, Advisor, Coach, Trainer, Consultant,
Sounding Board… see my current services or get in touch and I will work in the best way for you.
