Meet Our Lovely Team
Our team are key to everything we do at Pumpkin Pie.
There is a constant focus on training and development to ensure they continue to be the best they can be to teach and nurture your children. We take the education and training of our team very seriously. Whilst the requirement within Early Years is for 50% of the full team to hold a relevant qualification at Level 3, we actively support our team in undertaking additional training and will support them in achieving this qualification if they join us without already holding it.
We are also proud to say that all of our staff are paediatric first aid trained.
Lucy is a Level 7 qualified early years teacher and started out as a childminder in 2011 after having her daughter the year before. Pumpkin Pie was born soon after when she realised how much demand there was for quality childcare in the area. We have grown ever since!
Sophie is Level 3 qualified and is our Pumpkin Patch Room leader as well as the Deputy Manager. You will never see Sophie without a huge smile on her face!
Sarah’s job specification is endless, from website builder to party planner, baby cuddler to bookkeeper. No job is too big for this Office Manager!
Emily has returned from maternity leave and resumed her position as our training lead; assisting and developing all staff who are training for their Level 3 and Level 5 qualifications.
Pumpkin Pips
0 – 2’s Room
Emma holds a degree in Childhood Studies. She lives on a farm and is our very own Springwatch Extraodinaire!
Sophie is a master of knowing children’s routines and is also a lost property wizard!
Ali is our longest serving employee, having just celebrated her 10th anniversary of joining Pumpkin Pie!
Kiera is now on maternity leave. We look forward to welcoming her back with her new addition next year!
Marie has 15 years of experience in childcare and joined our Pips room after taking a break to bring up her son.
Julia has worked with our babies for over 4 years and is loved by children and staff alike for her calm presence and caring nature.
Kate has recently completed her Level 3 training making her our newest fully qualified practitioner. Well done Kate!
Sophie has recently returned to our baby room after being on maternity leave and it is really lovely to have her back!
Leanne joined our team a year ago and has since proved how enthusiastic she is about providing the best care possible for babies.
Denise has lots of experience, skills and knowledge from her previous work in baby rooms and has a very caring nature. Great to have you with us!
With two young children of her own, Amy has brought her skills from motherhood to our baby room and has a lovely, calm and friendly presence.
Bev has many years experience in childcare and working in nurseries and is a valued member of our Pumpkin Pips Team!
Amy joined us last year, having previously gained lots of experience with older children, working as a teaching assistant in local schools.
Pumpkin Patch
2 – 3’s Room
Rachel has amazing enthusiasm, keeps everyone organised and is also an excellent cook!
Abbie has worked in the Patch since starting at Pumpkin in early 2021 and is a firm favourite with all the children and staff alike.
Victoria holds a Level 4 qualification in Early Years Education and Practice, leads the Speech and Language sessions in the Patch and has recently taken on the SENCO role for our 2 year olds.
Georgia has recently completed her Level 3 qualification and has experience working with all ages at Pumpkin, having spent time in the Pips, Pre-school and now the Patch rooms.
Sam has worked in the Patch for almost 3 years and is a firm favourite with all the children. She is currently studying for her Level 3 Qualification.
Alex is a fully qualified teacher with lots of experience working within a school environment. She has joined our Patch for a change in career direction and we’re thrilled to have her with us!
Liv worked in our Pips room on a temporary placement last year, but decided she would like to work for us permanently so is now studying towards her Level 3.
We have known Claire for over a year since her daughter joined Pumpkin Pie. As a qualified Early Years Practitioner, we are now really happy to have her as part of our team too!
Pumpkin Pre-School
3 – 5’s Room
Jenny is a qualified teacher and is popular with the children for her caring and fun nature.
Emily is acting as our Pre-school Room Leader whilst Jenny is on maternity leave. Emily has recently qualified as an Early Years teacher and has worked on and off for Pumpkin for many years, so we’re thrilled to have her back!
Laura holds a degree in Childhood Studies and is our top photographer, capturing special moments from our children’s days.
Kate is our trained Forest School Leader and she leads 2 Forest School sessions each week for the Pre-Schoolers. She also helps the other rooms to incorporate Forest based fun into their daily activities.
Nicola has worked for Pumpkin Pie for many years and is always coming up with lovely activity ideas for the children. She has recently moved into Pre-school to take up the SENCO lead role in this room.
Hanna brings a bundle of energy and enthusiasm to our Pumpkin Pre-school, having recently moved from our Pumpkin Patch.
Katie has been a firm favourite with our older children for many years now, her enthusiasm, group times and fun activities are legendary!
Toni enjoys being silly and making the children laugh which goes down really well with our Preschool children! She also helps out in our baby room when needed.
Abi is a fully qualified teacher and has worked in our Patch room for over a year. She has now made the move to our Pre-school and become a Senior Practitioner.
Scarlett joined us straight from school and is currently studying for her Level 2 qualification. She gets stuck in with activities and loves to get the children out and about on adventures.
Caitlin volunteered in our pre-school room for a few months and impressed us so much with her enthusiasm and connection with the children that we offered her a position!
Amy has recently joined our Pre-school team having volunteered at Felton School and will be studying to become a teacher whilst working for us. Great to have you at Pumpkin Amy!
Our Support Team
Sharon provides an enormous help to the whole team at the end of the day by making sure the whole nursery is looking spotless!
Jemma has joined the team to be our cook and take over the menu planning. With over 10 years experience as a cook and chef, we’re excited to have her on the team!