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Devonshire Day Nursery
Chance to begin a career at an ‘Outstanding’ day nursery
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Two pay rises in a year; a profitsharing annual bonus and ownership of a top ‘UK best company to work for’ make the team at Devonshire Day Nursery in Chiswick unique in the Early Years sector. But as Emmy Avery, manager of the Ofsted-rated ‘Outstanding’ day nursery in Bennett Street, Chiswick, explains, what makes them really special is the focus on ensuring everyone is happy and has what they need to deliver excellence as standard every day. “Seeing our children realise their full potential is enormously rewarding but achieving it in beautiful imaginative play and learning spaces with state of the art resources takes job satisfaction to a whole new level and spurs us on in these challenging times,” she said. Devonshire Day Nursery is part of Childbase Partnership which is rated ‘World class’ by Best Companies; ‘No. 1 and No. 2 Best Big company to work for’ in the last two years of the pandemic and has over 2,000 employee owners in 45 day nurseries in England. A fully stocked trophy cabinet celebrating everything from the Princess Royal Award-winning training programmes – that support practitioners in becoming outstanding teachers – to decadeslong ‘Climate Positive’ action and over £3.5 million in charity fundraising since 1989 are personal achievements for each and every employee owner. “Being owners really does make a difference. We are all enormously proud of our company and how we are shaping it for the future. We don’t just talk about diversity and inclusion or making a real difference in the world - we are, as a team, living it and making sure we have fun along the way,” said Emmy who has worked in the Early Years sector for 17 years, 12 of them for Childbase Partnership. Company support for every colleague comes in many forms from the Hardship Fund where colleagues can apply for loans to meet unexpected bills that threaten real hardship to ‘Mental Health First Aiders’ currently being trained for each setting. But in nursery, the focus on wellbeing means finding as many ways as possible to inject fun into the work experience like dressing up to celebrate national days like World Book Day or, most particularly, cultural events and festivals when team members have the opportunity to share their personal experiences. “Celebrating what makes us different and the same is as important for the team as it is for the children in our care. We have a range of resources in nursery, aids for parents and bespoke training to ensure we maximise every opportunity for this.
Children and staff alike find as many reasons as possible to celebrate in nursery which makes for a very happy workplace,” said Emmy. Equally, a member of the Devonshire team serves on the Diversity Forum alongside colleagues representing a wide cross section of experience and cultural diversity company-wide to ensure all employees feel included in company interactions and processes, and policy and practice is continually assessed and enhanced to reflect this. Fundraising for worthy causes is another vehicle for fun at Devonshire with the team staging a variety of events in nursery and with sponsored events - like the Monopoly Walk across London - to raise cash for the charity voted to benefit for a yearlong fundraising drive. Charity fundraising and innovative environmental initiatives unite parents, staff and children in a common goal and have won Devonshire and Childbase many awards and accolades particularly this year when the company went ‘Climate Positive’ by offsetting more emissions than it generates with investment two United Nationscertified carbon reduction projects in India. This is in addition to a tree-planting programme – one for each current employee owner and new recruits through the Eden Reforestation Project’ - zero waste to landfill practice, and the nursery has been powered by ‘Green Electricity’ from renewable sources producing zero carbon emissions since its opening in 2001. Devonshire also holds the top Eco-Schools ‘Green Flag’ Award for exceptional environmental awareness and conservation with Childbase Partnership as a whole leading the way with a total of 16 nurseries attaining a second consecutive flag. “There is a real pride amongst parents and the staff team about how our children are embracing their responsibilities to the environment. I never get tired of parent stories of young children telling them off for putting recyclable waste in the wrong bin or for not turning off their lights”, said Emmy. Devonshire is also a holder of the Mayor of London’s Healthy Early Years London Silver Award - one of only 3 in Hounslow Borough and 124 in London - which celebrates excellence in promoting Healthy Eating, Physical Activity and Social and Emotional Wellbeing. “We offer more than a job so if you are looking for a career, or want to start a career, in childcare and Early Years Education the amazing team at Devonshire Day Nursery wants to meet you,” said Emmy.
Falcons Pre-Preparatory Chiswick
by Áine McGinty Local Pre-Prep launches podcast
From just under 9 million podcast listeners in the UK in 2017 to just over 15 million in 2020, podcasts are continuing to grow in popularity (Statista Research Department May 2021). In fact, these days it seems there aren’t many famous people without a podcast! Centering on anything from parenting and marriage, mental health and wellbeing to sports and much more, they’re a great way to pass the time on a walk or even at home.
Now one local school, Falcons Pre-Prep Chiswick, has taken advantage of the popularity of the audio-only medium by creating their own to showcase just what makes them stand out in the Early Years sector. ‘‘The number one key message that we want to convey to anyone who comes to us to find out more about our school is that we are not simply a school that educates children aged 2-7. We are more than that. We are a team of passionate Early Years educators, many of whom have been at the school for years, and we all love what we do. Our curriculum is finely honed to suit the needs of each and every one of our pupils and designed to get the best out of everyone. And it is because of these factors that we achieve the results that we do, year after year,’’ explains Liz McLaughlin, Head at Falcons Pre-Prep.
‘‘Launching a podcast was another way for us to communicate this passion and expertise through allowing our staff (and sometimes even our pupils) to chat about themselves. It gives them a platform to talk about why they do what they do, and expand further on their own passion points that they bring with them into the classroom, an opportunity that day to day school life does not often present.’’
The idea for The Pre-Prep Podcast came about in summer this year. ‘‘We are always looking at ways to communicate with new parents as well as strengthen our already close-knit school community, and given the continuing steady increase of podcast listeners in the UK, it felt like a natural addition to our marketing channels. Therefore, in the summer of 2021, we agreed and planned the launch to coincide with the start of the new academic year,’’ Liz adds.
The Pre-Prep Podcast is proving to have been a good move with a number of parents mentioning how much they’re enjoying it to Liz.
However, the podcast isn’t just for existing parents to enjoy learning more about teachers and the school’s ethos. ‘‘Our hope is that the wider community will continue to hear about it and tune in for our insights into educating the next generation.’’
Liz continues, ‘‘There is content here for everyone – for those parents looking for the right first school for their child who might listen to our podcast and be inspired by what we offer, to other parents or even grandparents, aunties and uncles and other educators of little people who might find our advice useful and gain some tips for themselves.’’
Falcons Pre-Prep Chiswick have a fantastic Christmas episode planned featuring Mr Sole, their highly talented and passionate Head of Music! Not only will he be talking to the hosts but he will be leading a small group of boys in singing something festive. We’re told Mr Sole is also a gifted Cello player, so he might even play a small piece!
Any reader who has interesting views on the world of Early Years education is encouraged to get in touch with the school for a chance to be a special guest on The PrePrep Podcast.
Falcons Pre-Prep Chiswick aim to release a new episode every two to three weeks. To listen to their podcast, head to falconschiswick. co.uk/podcasts
Falcons Pre-Prep | 2 Burnaby Gardens | W4 3DT 020 8747 8393 | falconschiswick.co.uk
