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EYE SUPPLEMENT Student Spotlight: Work-life Balance

This month we caught up with Tracey Bruce, who is studying an MA in Education with Montessori at Anglia Ruskin University via distance learning. She discusses coordinating her studies around managing four Montessori day nurseries
Photo: LITTLE ORCHARD MONTESSORI NURSERIES AND CLAIRE TREGASKIS

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO PURSUE STUDYING EARLY YEARS?

When I finished school, I started a journey that sparked a deep passion for early years education. I completed a two-year childcare course (NAMCW Diploma) in Plymouth, and gained practical experience as a nanny in London and Bristol. After returning to Plymouth, I worked as a nanny for a local family before starting my own family. This journey has given me a profound understanding of each child’s uniqueness and a strong desire to help them thrive.

After becoming a parent, I searched for quality nursery education and discovered a Montessori nursery nearby. As I learned about Montessori education principles, I found that they resonated with my own beliefs about respectful and holistic child-rearing. Motivated by this realisation, I pursued Montessori teacher training. During this time, I took over the nursery my child attended along with an employee of the setting. Despite the risks of our inexperience, this venture has thrived over the last 20 years, growing from a single term-time pack-away establishment to a network of four Montessori day nurseries and a before- and after-school club: Little Orchard Montessori Nurseries.

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