TNB Garrison Early Years and Play, Wiltshire, UK

Meet Tree Tots Management

Shirley Hitchmough

Level 5 leadership for the children and young people’s workforce
Level 3 forest school lead
Designated safeguarding lead
Derbyshire language assessor

I have worked for TNB for many years starting as a parent volunteer, but it was soon evident to me that early years stole my heart, and I knew this was where I wanted to be. From then I undertook my level 3 early years educator qualification which taught me so much about why we do what we do and why it is so important. I continued my journey doing my level 4 and 5 which I put to good use in my role as deputy manager through to manager.

Opening Tree Tots Day Nursery was a dream come true and something I never thought I would have the opportunity to do, and as the name suggests incorporating a forest school seemed a natural addition. Once I had completed my forest school lead qualification my team and I set about turning our back garden into a working forest school base. Now children enjoy forest school sessions three days a week and they love it.

I always look for ways that I can improve and grow as a setting, but I couldn’t do it without my team who work every day caring for and nurturing little humans and growing minds. The importance of a ‘good start’ into early education should never be underestimated.

Melanie Smith

Deputy Manager
Level 3 Early Years Educator
Level 3 Forest School trained
Deputy Designated Safeguarding lead

Mel and I have worked together for many years and in that time, I have seen her grow from an early year’s educator to a senior and now as my deputy manager.

Mel has a passion and drive that is commendable meaning she has been able to support a lot of children through their early years journey. The children are always at the centre of any decision that Mel makes and she will do everything in her power source resources that the children ask for no matter what they are.

Mel thrives best when outside with the children in the forest school area or the woods, watching the children learn so much from nature. Mel says that it is amazing to see the difference in some children who might struggle with the confines of the nursery when going outside and having that sense of freedom.

Mel supports me as the manager with professionalism and drive showing the same commitment in office-based tasks, her attention to detail is always appreciated and I wouldn’t want to run Tree Tots Day Nursery without her.

Samantha Mcdermont

Level 3 Early Years Educator
Level 3 Special Educational Needs Coordinator
Advanced Safeguarding trained

Being a special educational needs coordinator is a demanding role that requires a big heart, oodles of drive, and a passion for providing support.

At Tree Tots Day Nursery we are lucky to have Sam who puts that big heart and passion to good use.

Sam works closely with speech and language therapists, educational psychologists, health visitors and of course, the child’s parents. Sam will be the key point of contact for all those involved.

Sam also provides advice, guidance, training, action plans, and resources to staff and parents in order to help children with special educational needs achieve their full potential across the four broad areas of need.

• Communication and interaction
• Cognition and learning
• Social, emotional and mental health
• Sensory and/or physical needs

In Sam’s words “all children are unique; a big part of my job is to tune into that uniqueness and guide each child to reach their own goals”.

Georgia Parnham

Level 5 qualification
Advanced safeguarding trained
Training Lead

Georgia is passionate about providing the best learning outcomes for our children and this is why Tree Tots Day Nursery places great importance on the learning and development of staff which is reflected in her role as Training lead.

Georgia fully supports the TNB apprentices through planning and delivering a comprehensive pre apprentice programme. This gives each learner a really grounded understanding of the level of commitment and the knowledge required to become an effective educator.

Although our apprentices will be based at Tree Tots Day Nursery, we understand the importance of gaining a variety of skill sets from other experienced educators who can share their passion and knowledge of their own area of expertise.

Georgia will liaise with the other nurseries within TNB during the work placement phase and will visit each student weekly to continue supporting with written questions based on new practical skills gained.

I have been blown away with the level of dedication that Georgia puts into her role on a daily basis.

Victoria Lightfoot

Level 3 Early Years Educator
Room Senior of our Acorns (4 months – 2 years)
Blossoming Babies
Safe sleeping
Understanding Babies and vulnerability of babies
Hygge Baby (a calm soothing natural approach)

Vicky is the room senior of our baby room (Acorns), she has such a quiet calm personality that is ideally suited to this age range. Vicky knows the importance of the home from home feeling that babies need and for parents to know they are safe, well cared for and nurtured.

Vicky and her team know how hard it is for parents to leave their little bundle each day in someone else’s care so when the opportunity arises, she will invite parents to join in with heuristic play or treasure basket sessions. Vicky says that it is so rewarding for parents to see how their child has built such a strong bond with all the baby room staff.

Kimberley Gregson

Level 3 Early Years Educator
Room Senior of our Saplings (2–3-year-olds)
Advanced Safeguarding trained

Since becoming the room senior of saplings Kim has added her magic touch to the room providing a home from home environment to ensure our 2–3-year-olds feel comfortable and secure in their room.

Kim will provide new experiences and has added a themed area to support children’s current interests that stretch learning, creativity and curiosity. Kim shares photos of the area on our social media page for parents keeping them up to date on their children’s current interests. This promotes collaboration between parents and the setting as children enjoy bringing in their own photos to share with the rest of the group.

Kim has had such a positive impact on our Sapling room, and I really look forward to sharing in their ongoing journey.

Isabel Burton

Level 3 Early Years Educator
Room Senior of our Oaks room (3–5-year-olds)
Advanced Safeguarding trained

Bel is a breath of fresh air; she is such a positive person with an energy to match. Our Oaks children love it when Bel goes into story mode dressed as a character which really brings it to life. After a story session I will often see groups of children using their imagination acting out their own story lines.

Bel loves to organise and involve parents in different events, our sports day suddenly became very competitive when it came to the parents running race. Bel also organised the pre-school graduation successfully sending off 24 children in style to start their next chapter of learning.

Bel is never short of ideas and is my go-to person if I need ideas for fund raising or setting events.