Spotlight on ... Elaine Harrison
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Name: Elaine Harrison Position: Nursery manager and owner of Poppies Daycare Nursery in Wiltshire
Why did you decide to set up a nursery in a garrison town?
My father and my husband were both in the military so I feel very passionately about it. We have an important relationship to establish with parents on the care side. We have to help them. Sometimes that just involves going out into the garden with them and letting them have a cry. Post-traumatic stress disorder can have a knock-on effect for children as well.
What are the challenges involved?
It's very difficult to get outstanding from Ofsted with such a high turnover. Seventy-two per cent of our intake comes from military families. Many of our children will go through three nurseries in three years. It is so transient that it becomes very important they get some consistency, although they might only be here for six months.
Would you consider further expansion?
We might open a third setting at some point. There's going to be a super garrison set up in Tidworth in 2020, with 500 new houses being built for British soldiers returning from Germany. There will definitely be a need for care there.
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