My Name is Deborah Thorne and I am the Senior Nursery Manager for Children 1st @ Sheffield.

I have been working with children since the age of 16. I qualified as a Nursery Nurse in 1993 gaining my N.N.E.B Diploma in Nursery Nursing.

I then worked as a nanny for almost 2 years having sole charge of two boys Edward and Thomas who are now 19 and 21.

I started work for Children 1st Day Nurseries in May 1996 when they purchased the nursery that I was currently working in. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to grow with the Nursery right from day one and have gained a vast amount of experience. I have worked my way up from Nursery Nurse opening the baby unit, to Room Leader then to Deputy Manager and finally on to Nursery Manager in 2000. I have worked with all ages of children and enjoy the challenges that working with different aged children bring but I especially love the Early Years age group and this has been my area of specialism for a number of years.

While I have been with Children 1st I have managed the Newark Nursery for 6 months working with the team and the new Nursery Manager to build up occupancy levels. I then managed St Peters and St Paul Nursery for 2 1/2 years which I really enjoyed as this took me out of my comfort zone and I grew in confidence and was able to develop my own skills. I then came back to the Sheffield Nursery (home) in May 2009 were I have resumed my role as Nursery Manager for the Peter Rabbits and Early Years.

Through my role as Nursery Manager I have worked with diverse cultures and families with different needs and expectations, this has given me the tools to enable me to meet their different needs and make a real difference to children's lives, one of my passions is to be able to offer high quality childcare for ALL children regardless of their status.

My role as Nursery Manager also enables me to work with children with Special Education Needs (SEN) and become a linchpin with families and other members of my Nursery Team, giving our children the best start to their nursery education regardless of their abilities or needs.

I have also built a strong team who I work very closely with and feel I am a good role model to all staff members. I am a qualified NVQ Assessor and gained my Level 4 in Childcare and Education, I enjoy this very much and hope to continue to support all the trainee Nursery Nurses that train with us.

I became a Nursery Manager by chance as I had no desire to become one, I was more than happy being a Nursery Nurse and enjoyed the role as key worker to my children but through a passion for my work and the investment of Margaret I was encouraged to move up the ladder. I enjoy the challenges that being a Nursery Manager brings and feel that over the last 15 years that I have worked for Children 1st Day Nurseries I have gained so much and been able to give so much back.

I believe in the ethos of Children 1st Day Nurseries and am fully committed to our mission statement of: ‘Leading the way, shaping the future’ and providing high quality day care and education, my role as a Nursery Manager enables me to ensure that the children who use our setting are receiving the very best and I can ensure the quality is there all of the time this is why I have stayed with Children 1st Day Nurseries and will continue to stay until I am old and grey (if you let me)

I like lots of things about Children 1st Day Nurseries - the dedication to our small babies that we insist on, the quality environments, the sleeping outside in proper prams, the play experiences that the teams offer, the drive and passion of our teams and the on going commitment that we have to achieving the best that we can be.

I always feel proud when I attend outside training events as I know that out provision is up there with the best.

I hope I inspire other Nursery Nurses to be passionate and proud of the work that we do, and encourage new families to make that brave first step of bringing their children to nursery for the first time to start the education of their children.

My name is Clare Hart and I am the Nursery Manager for the under 3’s suite. I joined Children 1st @ Sheffield back in 1996 at the age of 17; I was a Trainee Nursery Nurse and completed my NVQ level 3. My training gave me lots of experience of working with children of all ages and how to work as a team.

Once I had gained my qualification as a Nursery Nurse, I was given lots of opportunities to grow and develop. After about 8 years I made a big leap to work at Children 1st @ Clowne as a Senior Nursery Nurse. I was a bit nervous at first but was touched to be given this opportunity, and whilst being at Clowne I was made a Deputy Manager.

After working as Deputy for 6 years, in January 2011 I was given a massive opportunity to become an Acting Manager for six months at our Chesterfield nursery. During my time there I developed the staff team and made connections with parents and children. At the end of my time we were inspected by Ofsted and awarded a fantastic 'outstanding in all areas'. For me that was a perfect finish to my six months.

I was then given an opportunity to move to one of our bigger nurseries, Children 1st @ St Peter and St Paul and in November I became Nursery Manager working alongside Laura Wildin. I am now loving being back where it all started at Children 1st @ Sheffield.

During my time at Children 1st I have grown and developed, with many opportunities to learn. I have gained lots of knowledge and been very lucky to receive a number of company awards including Trainee of the Year, Outstanding Performance, Personality of the Year and in 2013 I won Deputy of the Year.

For me it means such a lot to see all the families we have helped and supported and that our children are given outstanding opportunities to learn and develop their confidence for the future.

My name is Kelly Harrison and I am one of the Deputy Managers at Children 1st @ Sheffield.

I have known from an early age that I wanted to work in the childcare sector. Whilst at school I completed a work experience course in a nursery and loved every minute of it. At school I also studied a course called Family Studies which concentrated on the development of children 0-16. After completion of this course I received a GCSE grade B. I then went onto study CACHE Level 3 Diploma in Childcare and Education at college. During this time, I completed several placements in nurseries and schools.

One of the nurseries that I completed my baby placement in offered me a job as a supply nursery worker which I then worked in throughout the summer holidays. After college I then decided I wanted to be an Early Years teacher and went onto study BA(HONS) Early Years Education with QTS at University. I really enjoyed my time at university but after nearly two years I decided I wanted to work with younger children in a nursery. I left university and on the same day applied for a job in the nursery I did my work experience in. This job was only for three months and after the three months were up I started looking for another job was delighted to find employment at Children 1st.

I started working at Children 1st in August 2012. I started working in the Benjamin Bunnies room and learnt so much from the room leader Miss Natalie. After a while I decide I wanted to be a room leader too. After working in the Benjamin Bunnies room for a year and half there was a room leader position that opened up in the next room Peter Rabbits. I immediately applied and out of four other candidates was successful. I loved being a room leader but decided after a year I wanted to progress further so when then position for Deputy Manager came up I immediately applied. I was successful in my application and have been in my new role for 9 months!

I love my new role and learn something new everyday. I am very proud of how far I have come in just three and a half years and very thankful for Children 1st for giving me these opportunities. The managers Marie and Deborah have given me lots of support and guidance along the way and I can't wait to see what my future holds with Children 1st.

My name is Rachel Kitts and I am the Senior Manager for the North region of Children 1st Day Nurseries

I gained my qualification in Nursery Nursing (NNEB) in 1988 at Clowne College and had my first job in the Day Nursery at the college. I started in a part time post which quickly progressed to full time and became the Deputy of the Nursery.

After working at the Day Nursery for fourteen years it was acquired by Children 1st and moved to a new building on the Clowne College Campus.

I have worked with all age groups of children from 0 – 8yrs and finished my time as a Deputy in the Early Years room before taking on the Nursery Manager post with Children 1st Day Nurseries in January 2005.

Through my role as a Senior Manager I have worked with diverse cultures and families with different needs and expectations, this has given me the tools to enable me to meet their differing needs and make a real difference to children's lives, one of my passions is to be able to offer high quality childcare for ALL children regardless of their status.

My role as a Senior Manager also enables me to work with children with Special Education Needs (SEN) and become a linchpin with families and other members of my Nursery Team, giving our children the best start to their Nursery Education regardless of their abilities or needs.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the responsibility and satisfaction that working with children has brought to my working life and would recommend working for Children 1st Day Nurseries to anyone thinking of becoming a Nursery Nurse as it is an excellent base to gain valuable knowledge.

I believe in the ethos of Children 1st Day Nurseries and am fully committed to our mission statement of: ‘Leading the way, shaping the future’ and providing high quality day care and education. My role as a Senior Manager enables me to ensure that the children who use our settings are receiving the very best and I can ensure the quality is there all of the time this is why I have stayed with Children 1st Day Nurseries and will continue to do so.

I like lots of things about Children 1st Day Nurseries the dedication to our small babies that we insist on, the quality environments, the sleeping outside in proper prams, the play experiences that the teams offer, the drive and passion of our teams and the ongoing commitment that we have to achieving the best that we can be.

I always feel proud when I attend outside training events as I know that our provision is up there with the best.

I hope I inspire other Nursery Nurses and Managers to be passionate and proud of the work that we do, and encourage new families to make that brave first step of bringing their children to Nursery for the first time to start the education of their children.

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.