We take up to 40 children per session and there are about 130 families that use us each week. Because of my background with special needs, we get a lot of referrals for children that require extra help. I'm the manager, but I'm a practitioner too.
There wasn't a children's centre here because it is not considered an area of deprivation. We have taken on many of the aspects of a children's centre with services like physiotherapy and speech and language therapy. We try to have a can-do culture and a lot of the ideas for services come from parents.
I think it's very important to help staff to develop their careers. I was lucky in having a manager who supported my passion to work in early years when I was in a secondary school, even though it had nothing to do with my job at the time. I have gone on to gain Early Years Professional Status (EYPS). I didn't have maths, which was a massive hitch, but I was supported by Lancaster University and took the short path to the course.
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