Woodlands Nursery at Beechwood Park School

During my career I have enjoyed teaching children from Nursery upwards in the United Kingdom, the Middle East, Taiwan and the Netherlands. Nursery is by far my favourite year group and working with the children at Woodlands is especially joyful. I find my job energising and thoroughly enjoy learning from the children in my care and, in turn, furthering their achievements.

My experiences have opened my eyes to the different ways children learn, their differing languages and their cultural backgrounds. Our role as educators, is to support not only the children but also their families and at Woodlands, we pride ourselves on our mission to Nurture, Engage, Inspire and Enable children in their learning.

I have always counted myself to be exceptionally lucky as educating young children is rewarding, exciting and full of adventure. There is never a dull day here at Beechwood Park School and Woodlanders are encouraged to be inquisitive, daring and proud learners.

I have worked in Early years setting for over 20+ years and have many years of experience in educating children aged 2-5 years. I currently hold a Level 4 qualification and I'm working towards my Early Years degree after returning to studying.

I enjoy seeing how children progress through their education and how they develop in all areas of our Early Years curriculum.

I completed my teacher training at ‘The London Institute of Education’ and chose to focus on Early Years Education. I then proceeded to teach in London as a Reception teacher before choosing to develop my teaching career internationally. My passion for Early Years continued as I worked as a Nursery or a Reception teacher in Indonesia, Vietnam and The Hague. On returning to England, I trained as a ‘Reading Recovery’ teacher and worked within Key Stage One at a school in Hemel Hempstead, helping children who found learning to read more challenging. I also delivered training and workshops to parents and teachers, helping them understand the development of early reading skills and provided ideas to help children develop a true love of reading. When I began work at Woodlands Nursery in April 2015, I was excited to be working within Early Years again. I have also enjoyed leading the development of phonics and have created a bespoke phonics curriculum for the Woodlands children. The phonics teaching is woven around high-quality texts, as well as singing, music and movement. The curriculum is designed to entwine with the children’s interests and allows them to develop their skills whilst they are engaged with the very important business of play.

I hold an NVQ Level 3 (Children and Young Peoples' Workforce).

My current role is Nursery Teacher and Assistant Lead for our Nursery 1 pupils.

I have worked in Early Years for 9 years, and have been at Woodlands Nursery since September 2017

I have worked in Early Years for 8 years and hold an NVQ Level 3 in Child Care. I have worked at Woodlands since its opening in 2015.

I have been teaching for a number of years and I was drawn to work at Woodlands because of the clear love and excitement that the staff have for the children. There never seems to be a ‘typical’ day here… one day we are making up dances to pop songs, the next day we are rolling down the hill with pure joy and the following day we are creating bicycles from biscuits!

There are endless experiences and opportunities for the children in all areas of the Early Years Curriculum. The care shown by the staff to the children is tangible and as a staff team, we also care in the same way about each other. In my ‘spare’ time I am a mummy to my gorgeous son. We love playing board games, eating chocolate and meeting up with friends for adventures.

I have worked in Early Years for over twenty years and, after a short break, I’m delighted to have returned to Woodlands, to the pleasure of working with a team of gifted and dedicated adults and to the joy of being able to support the youngest members of the Beechwood community as they start out on their learning journey. I firmly believe that support is most effective when delivered in partnership with parents and I look forward to forming a strong relationship with the families of my key children. My favourite quality is enthusiasm and Woodlanders, children and adults alike, have that by the bucket load. Being part of the Woodlands environment is, for me, a privilege.

I have lived close to Beechwood Park for most of my adult life and both my, now grown-up, children were at the school from Reception to Top Form.

I like mud and fun … neither of which are in short supply at Woodlands! I enjoy taking learning outside and, when not at Woodlands, I like to get outdoors for long walks and to garden. My other passion is for words. I’m fond of reading, writing and enormously fond of chatting. You have been warned!

I have taught children in Early Years for the last 20 years. I am so pleased to have joined Woodlands Nursery – it is such a fun and inspiring place to work and the friendly team is passionate about creating a wonderful learning environment.
I am now officially an ‘empty nest mum’, with my two daughters now living and working in their university towns. I often commute to Scotland and Manchester in the school holidays for visits.
I am kept busy out of school with two old horses to look after and can often be found out walking in the countryside. I am also currently studying to teach children mindfulness to support their mental and emotional wellbeing.