Happy Hares Nursery Staff

I am a qualified Early Years teacher with over 30 years of experience within the role. I pride myself on being an exemplary practitioner, constantly striving to model, share and inspire outstanding practice within the team.

During my career I have taught in a range of settings; international schools both in Europe and  the Far East, as well teaching for many years in London before moving back to Devon several years ago. I also have had extensive experience of a range of senior leadership roles including Early Years Head/Assistant Head of a large school in West London.

Working with young children has always been a passion of mine; it is so rewarding to see them grow into adventurous, inquisitive and confident little learners; it is a privilege and a pleasure to be part of their journey.

I qualified in 1995 and have worked in a variety of childcare establishments from day nursery to soft play, and as a private nanny.

Childcare is my vocation and I have wanted to work with children since I was at school. I love watching the children grow as they move through nursery, developing personalities, learning new things and finally, moving on to ‘big school’.

Over the last 10 years my love and passion for childcare has grown more and more!

It has been so special to see our lovely babies go from taking their first steps, developing their speech, becoming toddlers and then on to becoming independent and moving onto their big adventures to go to school. All whilst watching their unique personalities develop.

I love to build great relationships with all our families, as having a close bond with the children’s loved ones is so important,

As Deputy Manager and Deputy Safeguarding Officer, I pride myself at being a fantastic support to my team, using my experience and knowledge to make our setting the most fun, inspiring and safe setting there is!

I am very passionate about working with children and take great pride in watching my pre-school group grow and develop, gaining the confidence to move onto the next stage of their life.

I changed my career a little later in life, having raised my daughter and worked within the retail and customer service for a great number of years.

I have never looked back as the joy of being a part of so many children’s lives is so rewarding and enjoyable.

I love working with children, I’ve been working with children since I was 18 starting off as an apprentice and gaining my level 3 qualification.

I am a big kid myself, I like to have fun and being energetic and i reflect that in my practice with the children. Playing, working with children I just have a huge passion for and find it exciting every single day, no day is ever the same, i also want to leave an impact on children’s lives and give them the best start into education.

My passion with children is to explore the outdoors, being sporty, doing activities that will benefit their learning. I love just playing alongside children being 1 to 1 or in a group and capturing their imagination and being in their world.

I have a 3 year old son, he’s my absolute world. I love being outdoors, going out for walks, playing football and just generally having fun with him.

I have worked at Happy Hares since May 2019. I have always wanted to pursue a career in childcare; I now have the chance to fulfil my passion for working with children and watching them grow and develop.

I love to encourage children to explore messy activities and to create their own adventures through play. I believe that this gives  children the skills they need to equip them for the best start in life.

I am a proud mum to my beautiful daughter. We enjoy being in the great outdoors and building creations with a range of different resources and media.

Before joining the team at Happy Hares I have worked within schools as a teaching assistant within Special Educational Needs and in preschools and childminder settings.

I currently hold a BA Hons Degree in Childhood Studies and over the next year I will be training to achieve Early Years Teacher Status.

I love working within the early years sector, seeing babies grow and develop into toddlers and getting them ready for their school journeys. I am a great believer in creating educational opportunities as early as possible for children to give them the best start and I love to work with them to progress through their developmental
journey in a fun and exciting way.

I have always known I would like to work in childcare, and I have been provided with the great opportunity to work at Happy Hares alongside some amazing staff members.

I have a Level 3 Qualification in Supporting Teaching and Learning from my previous year of work experience in a primary school. I am currently completing my Foundation Degree in Teaching and Learning, in collaboration with the University of Plymouth.

Working with children has always been very rewarding to me, studying and supporting their development has always been a passion of mine and I am grateful to be at Happy Hares!

I have worked in early years since 2009. I have experience working across all age ranges but particularly love working with the under 2’s, watching them develop in confidence and growing their own personalities.

I have worked with children with SEN, especially those with global development delay and those that are non-
verbal. I enjoy being able to make a difference to these children’s lives. I enjoy being creative and messy play!

I have had the pleasure of working at Happy Hares for just over a year. I previously have had 17 years experience of working within childcare. What I enjoy most about being with the children is discovering their unique personalities and watching them grow, learn and develop.

I have two children of my own (aged 6 and 14). In my own time I like to go the the gym and spend time with my family and friends.

I have been working in local Early Years Settings over 12 years. I have joined Happy Hares in April 2022. Working at the nursery with the children and the team is a pleasure. I have previously worked in all age groups, I enjoy working with small group of children and also 1:1 as I supported children with special needs.

I am very passionate about childcare, I love learning new things from all the children and the wonderful conversations we have. I also enjoy preparing messy play activities and outdoor play.

I am privileged to watch children grow and develop into beautiful independent individuals to be ready for their next adventure.

In my spare time I enjoy spending time with my family, being outdoors, skiing and travelling.

Ever since I was young, I knew I wanted to work with children. As soon as I left secondary school I volunteered in a nursery and reception class. I found so much joy from that and that’s when I knew it was exactly what I wanted to do. Recently I have started to teach myself Makaton, this is something I am very passionate about. Communicating is so important and Makaton is just one of the many amazing ways we can use to express ourselves and communicate with others.

I absolutely love how curious the children are and how willing they are to explore and learn anything. I feel very lucky that I am able to be part of their journey! I have recently started my NVQ Level 3 in Childcare.

The lovely Ella has already been working at Lovacott since July 2023.

She will be starting her Level 3 Apprenticeship at PETROC this month and consequently will be working in both settings in order to support he professional development.

She will be based with the Little Hares (babies) on a Monday and a Tuesday.

My love for working with children began 4 years ago when I was a student here at Happy Hares whilst completing my level 3 in childcare. I then went on to be a Teaching Assistant in a local primary school once I had achieved this. Since then I have gone on to complete a Foundation Degree in Early Childhood Studies, through the University of Plymouth and Graduated in 2024.

As well as this I work at a gymnastics club where I am a qualified Women’s artistic gymnastics coach (WAG). I teach children from toddlers through to teenagers and of all abilities, recreational to competitive squad.

Working with children is so rewarding, seeing them achieve new things is exciting and it’s an amazing feeling knowing I am making a difference to children’s journeys.

Jodie is passionate and caring towards the children. She is doing a level 3 childcare apprenticeship to be able to put more time and work into helping the children develop and do the job she has always dreamed of.

Jodie is willing to help provide a secure safe place for the children to learn and explore. She likes to make things interesting and fun for the children as well as learning to develop and grow.