WAS IT A HARD DECISION TO SELL THE NURSERY GROUP AFTER OPERATING FOR 35 YEARS?
I've worked with children since I was 14 and had run Children 1st for over 35 years. It was a joy to run the nursery group. It has been my life. I didn't want to give it up, but I'm 85 this year. I was employing 800 staff and thinking that I need to leave them safe. If I could have, I would have ran the nursery group for another ten years, but the odds are against me.
Once the group had been sold to Storal, telling my team of staff was very difficult.
WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT THROUGH CHILDREN 1ST?
I've had so many. The most significant is how through the nursery group we've been able to develop and train people – I've enjoyed that. It wasn't until I sold the business that I realised how long my staff have worked for me. We had a huge number of employees who had worked for Children 1st for 20-30 years. We had also been running our own training department during that time, which I believe is a big reason many people have stayed for so long.
CAN YOU RECALL ANY SIGNIFICANT MOMENTS OVER THE YEARS WHILE RUNNING THE NURSERY GROUP?
When I opened my second nursery, I had a gentleman visit who was the equivalent of head of safeguarding now. He was talking to me about policies and business plans. I said I didn't need any policies as I knew what we were doing. I didn't know what a business plan was. We had policies, but they weren't written down. I took a lot away from that conversation. After that, we always developed policies as a group, growing them from the ground up, never top down.
Another significant moment was when we contacted social services for a child whose back was completely bruised. It turned out the child wasn't bruised at all, he had Mongolian blue spot [a type of birth mark]. The parent was absolutely mortified. We had to get medical experts in. That was a real eye-opener for me. I learnt early on to take things steady, because if you don't, you risk destroying people's lives by getting something wrong. You have to take concerns very seriously, of course, and my staff teams have always been encouraged to share any concerns before they make decisions so we can act based on correct information.
WHAT ARE YOUR PROUDEST MOMENTS?
I've won a lot of awards, but it's never been about that or making money, it's been about giving children opportunities and teaching them to respect each other, be kind, share, be curious and investigate.
When I started in the sector, there were only two nurseries in Derbyshire. I had many difficult conversations with councils about setting up private provision. This was in the early 1990s.
The Private Day Nurseries Association asked me to join them, but I didn't. They then came back to me some time later and I agreed to join them and was later elected chairperson. During this time, it became the National Day Nurseries Association and a registered charity. We lobbied for the private sector to work together, and the NDNA became a vehicle for building trust in the sector and showing local authorities that the private sector has a part to play.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR NEW CHARITY
Over the years, I've seen many families struggle. There needs to be a place in society for people to come when they're in trouble, to prevent them going to social care, to help families have a little bit of respite, someone to be there to help them and to be a crutch.
We've got some wonderful things going on through the charity, which is financially supported by the profits from Maggie's Nursery. The idea is that the charity will eventually be able to support parents at other nurseries who may have fallen on hard times while they get back on their feet – that's the vision.
Getting to know you…
What job did you dream of doing as a child?
I always wanted to work with children. I had a very mixed family. I would have been considered a deprived child. I didn't recognise that at the time, it was just life. When I met my husband and went to his house, there was a meal out on the table with dishes to serve yourself – I had never experienced that at home.
From a very young age, I knew I could make a difference to children's lives. I worked for local authorities, in children's homes and in playgroups. I worked with social services, but didn't like what I saw in children's homes. I always knew in my heart I could do better.
If you could solve one problem in the sector, what would it be?
Less emphasis on school readiness by the Government and more recognition of the importance of caring for children and equipping them with good values, making them feel loved and safe.
If you could invite anyone to a dinner party, who would you pick?
Anyone in power, because most politicians don't know anything about early years and shouldn't be making big decisions with no understanding.
