After giving birth to my first son, George, I started the dreaded experience of looking for Childcare because I had to return to work. I wanted somewhere that was very small and personal, where the staff felt like family members, where I could feel their warmth, positivity and enthusiasm.
I wanted to believe that they would show love towards my little baby and that they would try to care for George as much as I do when I could not be with him.
Unfortunately I couldn’t find what I was looking for, so as an experienced Nursery Manager, along with studying Early Years Education at Bath Spa University and with over 17 years childcare experience as well as being a mother myself, I believed I could create a setting that I, as mother, would put my own children. So that is exactly what I did!
I have worked very hard to ensure the Nanny Bears family fully embrace the culture of ‘Treating every child as if they were one of our own’ and completely understand the small but very important details that only parents would worry about, ‘Will he be cold?’, ‘Will they remember how I said he sleeps’, ‘If he cries will they comfort him?’. We concentrate on ensuring that we know our children inside out and have well established relationships with all of our parents. I work very closely with my settings to ensure this is implemented to the highest standard.
I now have my second little baby, Alfie, attending Nanny Bears, and I can leave him knowing he is well loved, safe and cared for and he also has loads of fun with his friends!
Someone asked me where the name Nanny Bears came from…
When I was a little girl, my Nanny Win looked after me while my mum worked. I absolutely loved it, I loved the smell of her house, how cosy it was and the way it used to make me feel all fuzzy on the inside. We used to sit by the fire and drink pretend tea, I would dress up in her clothes and wear her beaded necklaces and high heels. She used to sit on the stairs with me while I pretended it was a train and we were going on holiday. It was so exciting and she used to make me feel so special. When I talked she really listened and she told me some amazing stories, I learnt so much from her.
I knew from a young age I wanted to recreate nurseries that felt like this. Somewhere that had that comforting feeling, where children would be excited to go and where they felt safe, special and loved. Originally I was always going to call my nursery Nanny Wins. Then realised people wouldn’t understand this or relate to it. My Nan always used to ask me for a ‘Bear hug’ so this is where Nanny Bears came from, it represents a feeling of a place, a place that feels like a hug, a place that feels like home.