Hi, my name is Vicki. I am a keen swimmer and started helping out at the local pool helping to teach children to swim at the age of 13. I then progressed to a swimming teacher at 16 until I was 19 and then went to work in Paris for a company running children’s activity holidays as an activity instructor. This is where I met my husband in 2003. We stayed there for 2 years and then went to do a ski season before coming back to Essex in 2006. Once back in Essex I returned to teaching swimming part time. I wanted to pursue a career working with children. I started working at Seymour House as a Midday Assistant. I was very persistent in them getting me trained up as a Nursery Assistant and I gained my NVQ 3 in Children’s Learning and Development. I stayed there until I was asked to become a nanny to 2 children by one of the families that I taught to swim. The youngest was 2 years old when I started, and the eldest was 5. The job came to a natural end when the youngest went into full time education. Following on from nannying I started at a company called EPIC in 2010, where I went into homes of children with palliative care needs and provided respite to the parents. I stayed there for a year as an opportunity within EPIC came up to cover maternity leave on the children’s ward at Broomfield hospital as a Nursery Nurse. I played and kept the children entertained while they were inpatients at the hospital. Once the maternity cover had finished I went back to the family who I nannied for as they had a surprise arrival! I stayed there until the little one reached full time education. After this position, I worked in Clacton as a School Readiness Advisor. I supported families whose children were going to primary school and making sure that the mummies and daddies were ready, as well as the children. In 2016, I joined an admin team within St. Peter’s hospital for 4 years. Then I had a break to raise my 2 children. I really missed working with children and the innocence that they bring. I applied for the position of Deputy Manager at the Pre-school and was so excited to hear that I had been successful, and I joined the team in April 2021. In my spare time I enjoy going swimming, going to the beach and getting a slice of cake out!

Hi, my name is Nicky, I am originally from Addlestone, Surrey. I started off my working life in retail. I worked as a management trainee at Harvey Nichols in London before marrying Nick, who was a submariner in the Royal Navy. We married in 1983 and moved to Gosport, Hampshire. After 8 months, we moved to Helensburgh on the West coast of Scotland where we lived for nearly 30 years. Whilst there we had 2 children, a son David who is now married, and a daughter Nadine, they all live and work in Glasgow. After Nick left the Navy, we moved to Barrow In Furness, Cumbria where we lived for 6 years. Together we ran a pub called the Red Lion, it was a great experience as neither of us had done anything like that before. I then briefly worked in Debenhams and the Co-op. We moved to Great Totham, Essex in July 2020 due to Nicks work. We have settled in quickly and love living here. We have family in and around the South East so feel at home. My interest in working with children began when my children were young. I started my own business working as a self-employed childminder from 1996 up until 2005. At the same time, I worked in conjunction with my local council caring for vulnerable children who needed support and care on a short-term basis. I found both roles extremely rewarding and loved working with children so decided to make a career out of childcare. I went on to college to study for my Level 3 in Early Years Care & Education. In 2005, I went to work as creche supervisor in a hotel called Cameron House on Loch Lomond. Whilst there I studied for my Level 4 Early Years Care & Education. After 2 years I left to take a position as Senior Nursery Nurse working with 3-5 years olds in a local nursery. Unfortunately, the nursery closed in 2010, I then decided to take a break from childcare. Since moving to Great Totham, I had been working at Buttercup Nursery in Chelmsford as bank staff. It has reawakened my passion for working with young children. I successfully applied for Tolleshunt D'Arcy Pre-school and started in January 2021. I enjoy reading and when the weather is good, I love to garden and go out on my bike. I am caring, patient and above all love being with young children.

Hi, I’m Angie. I was born in Ilford in Essex and moved to West Drayton in Middlesex when I was 18 to be close to my work at Heathrow Airport. I worked for British Airways for 21 years working in the reservation centre, Terminal 1 check-in then spent the last 12 years as cabin crew on both short and long-haul. My last flight was in 2003 after which I was grounded as I was expecting my first child. I went on to have two more children in 2005 and then 2006. I left the airline in 2007 when my maternity leave finished. Between March 2008 and July 2008 my children, Shannon, Daniel and Matthew attended Tolleshunt D'Arcy Pre-school at the same time! I made the move back to Essex in 2000 moving to Chadwell Heath and then to Tiptree in 2004. During my maternity leave I became involved with the pre-school as the Committee Treasurer when my daughter joined in 2005. I become the Administrator in 2009 before qualifying in 2012 and then became a Pre-school Assistant before taking up the position of Manager in 2013. My spare time is filled with running my three children to various activities. I am an FA qualified football coach and coach football on a Friday evening.

Hi, I’m Hayley, I was born in Chelmsford Essex and moved to Tiptree in 2010. I went to Chelmsford College where I gained my Level 1 in Childcare in 2005. In 2006 I went to work in Kiddi Caru Day Nursery in Chelmsford, where I obtained my Level 2 in Childcare. I left in 2010 when I changed career to hospitality. In 2012 I went to work in a private school, in catering, when I fell pregnant. I then had my daughter Indie in 2014 and then went back to work in childcare for a short while. In 2016 I had my son Joshua and became a stay at home mum. In 2019, when my son was in pre-school, I went to work in Poplar Nurseries until a job opportunity came up in the pre-school and I started in January 2021. In my spare time I enjoy a lot of family time going on long walks and days out.

Hello, I am Chloe. I am from Tollesbury and have lived there all my life. Ever since I was little I adored the film ‘Mary Poppins’ which started my passion for working with children. In my last year of primary school I was asked to help out with the EYFS a few times a week. When I was at secondary school I took a Level 2 BTEC in Child’s Play and Development which I was able to successfully complete at the highest possible grade. Since 2019 I started to babysit around my village and I continue to do so in my free time to expand the age ranges I look after and to understand all stages of development. I approached Tolleshunt D'Arcy Pre-school in hopes of starting an apprenticeship with them, which they gladly accepted. I started with the Pre-school in December 2021 and have since successfully completed my Level 2 apprenticeship and have started another one to achieve a Level 3 Early Years Practitioner qualification. In my spare time I love to bake, read and go on day trips to Richmond to walk down the riverside.

Hi, I'm Mia. I have lived in Tolleshunt D'Arcy all my life so I am really excited to be working in the village that I grew up in and at the Pre-school I attended. I have always wanted to work with children and with education ever since I was really young. After completing my GCSE's in 2019, which included a BTEC in Child Development, I went to Colchester Institute to achieve a BTEC level 3 in Children's Play, Learning and Development, which I loved. I had the opportunity to gain experience through placements in three different age ranges, which included the 2-4 years age range. I completed this placement here, at Tolleshunt D'Arcy Pre-school, which is when I knew that working within education was definitely for me. In 2021, I went to the University of Suffolk in Ipswich to complete a degree in Primary Education with Qualified Teacher Status. I had an amazing time completing this degree. It provided me with the opportunity to work with children of all ages and stages, ranging from reception to year 6, within three different primary schools. In my spare time, I enjoy baking, reading, going to the cinema as well as going to London to watch musicals in the west end.