Hello, my name is Louise Bucknall and I am the Nursery Manager for Children 1st @ Plumtree.

I have been with the company for 8 years this year and look forward to many more years ahead. I started as a newly qualified level 3 Nursery Nurse and have developed with the company to Senior Nursery Nurse before moving to Deputy Manager to now managing the Plumtree setting.

I feel an enormous amount of pride in my work, being such a huge part of children’s lives is a privilege. I enjoy working alongside my team and the families to ensure that the children in my care receive the best possible start.

My role is to ensure that we provide an outstanding quality of care for the children and their families in our setting. The strong connection that we have here at Plumtree with our children and families makes this possible and makes everyday different and exciting'

Hello, my name is Emma Neale and I am the Assistant Manager at Children 1st @ Plumtree.

I began working here in April 2011 and since joining I have had the opportunity to grow and develop myself from starting as a Nursery Nurse to becoming a Senior Nursery Nurse and a ‘training and development worker’ to now being a Deputy Manager.

My favourite part of the job is seeing how the children learn and grow. I love being part of their nursery lives making sure they get the best start.

Hello my name is Dawn Dakin and I am the Deputy Manager here at our Plumtree nursery. I have been working for the company since 2005 and have held many positions within that time. I am a mother of 2 myself.

I take responsibility for the under 2s unit here at Plumtree. I have a level 3 qualification in childcare, NVQ 3 in Management and Leadership, First Aid and Food Hygiene.

Taking care of children at a young age sets them up for their future and I am extremely privileged to be a part of that journey.

Hi, my name is Miss Emma, I am the Early Years Teacher at our Plumtree Nursery. I began working with the company in August 2020.

I studied at the University of Derby for3 years, where I completed my Bachelor of Education degree in Primary Education. I have taught across different age groups, from reception to year 6.

I find teaching Early Years is the most rewarding. When teaching Early Years, I endeavour to make learning as creative, fun and engaging as I can. I take great pride in making each individual child’s experience in nursery both personalised and unique and helping make sure they are as prepared as possible for starting school.

Hello, I am Julie Wenn. I have been with Children 1st since 1998 during which time I have had several roles and experienced working at all levels with children of all ages. I started as the manager for our out of school club before moving into nursery management, training and development.

My current role as senior manager for the central region allows me to support staff teams, nursery managers and management teams to provide outstanding care and education for our children.

I am a mother and grandmother with over 37 years of experience of working for the best outcomes for children. I am passionate about supporting and developing all of our nursery staff to be able to provide all of our children with the best care and education possible.

My name is Emma Goodall and I began my journey with Children 1st in 1995 so am now in my 25th year with the company!
I started life at Children 1st as a relatively newly qualified Nursery Nurse having gained my NNEB diploma at Doncaster College and following short stints as a nanny and a childcare coordinator at the college itself. I have since completed a level 4 NVQ in Leadership and Management and a degree in Early Years education.
I have held various roles within the company from Nursery Nurse to room leader, from development deputy to nursery manager, and each one has allowed me to develop the skills, knowledge and experience to lead others in the company to strive to be the best they can be.
I have been part of the senior management team at Children 1st since 2003 and this role now sees me supporting the North and East nurseries in the company providing guidance and support where necessary, monitoring and inspecting provision and practice and supporting the training of the teams. My role is varied and interesting allowing me to have a real and direct impact on the lives of the children which is what gets me out of bed every morning
! It is most important to me to ensure that the teams working with your children love them, keep them safe and develop them to their full potential.
My own development with Children 1st has been immense and I remind myself every day what a huge responsibility it is to ensure that children are put 1st every day of the week and it is the most important job in the world to ensure that they are safe, loved and able to thrive to the best of their ability.