Who We Are...
And info about qualifications,
training and CPD
Sarah Walker
Jenny Longden
I Sarah Walker, am the owner and managing director of Halesowen Day Nursery. I am a Qualified Teacher with an advanced diploma in Child Psychotherapy and an extensive background in working with children.
Jenny Longden is the Nursery Manager for Halesowen Day Nursery. She has a post graduate in Early years and a BA in Early Years.
Emily Hobday
Emily Hobday is our Deputy Manager and Pre-school Room Leader. She has a degree in Early Childhood Studies and has over 10 years experience in childcare.
Lisa Brookes
Lisa Brookes is our co Deputy Manger alongside Emily and Baby Room Leader. She has an NVQ level 4 and a long background working with child. She was also a childminder for a number of years.
Melissa Farrell
Melissa Farrell is our Nursery Development Officer. She works with our teachers on a 1-2-1 basis, supporting with planning, observations, personal development and interactions. In addition, she works with the management team on an organisational level to refine and implement the long term vision of Halesowen Day Nursery.
Alice Grennan
Alice Grennan is my mother and the original owner of Halesowen Day Nursery, she now manages the accounts and supports me in too many ways to mention!
In addition to myself and my staff members above, the nursery employs two more fully-qualified Lead Practitioners, who, together with Emily and Lisa, supervise the four playrooms.
They are supported by a team of qualified Nursery Practitioners whose photos and names you can see below.
We call all of our practitioners 'teachers' because we feel strongly that that is what they are! Every interaction with a child teaches them something; something about their world, themselves and how to integrate the two. We feel that the Early Years Sector is of paramount importance and want to raise the status of those who are educating our youngest children.
Babies and Toddlers Teachers (Under 2's)
Lisa Brookes
Sam Jennings
Kindergarten and Pre-School Teachers (Over 2's)
Lauren Darby
Emily Hobday
Additional Staff
We are also supported by an
Office Administrator's, a Chef, and a Cleaner
When our teachers are on annual leave or are sick, we never use agency staff to cover them. Instead we have a team of regular bank staff who know the children and staff and have experience in working in our setting and therefore understand our ethos and our standards and expectations.
In addition to our employees above, the nursery aids the development of future child-carers by supporting the local colleges and offering long-term training placements to students studying for Early Years qualifications.
Qualifications, Training and CPD
All of our teachers are qualified to work with children. All staff have an up-to-date enhanced DBS clearance and we maintain a robust recruitment system. Safeguarding, First Aid & Food Safety training is mandatory training for all staff – these are regularly accessed and updated appropriately.
A quality learning experience for children requires a quality workforce. To ensure your child is
getting the very best out of Halesowen Day Nursery, our practitioners have access to numerous
training opportunities, both internal & external and are encouraged to be ‘reflective’ about their
practice and provision. We have monthly staff meetings which are used for staff training and we also
hold up to three Training Days per year.
Professional Development and Standards are monitored through a strong appraisal and
supervision system whith regular focused observations. This is paramount to ensuring that we
continue to provide the very best care and education for the children we care for.
Furthermore, staff have responsibilities and autonomy within the nursery through additional training relating to their personal interests. These areas include: Safeguarding, SENCO, health & safety, maths, communication & language, art & construction and nature & discovery to name but a few (for a full list please refer to the noticeboard in the foyer).