Nursery World Awards 14: Individual - Newcomer of the Year
Monday, September 29, 2014
Joint winner - May (Maisie) Collin, Maisie Poppins Childcare, Hackney
Maisie set up Maisie Poppins Childcare in 2013, and the childminding setting became the first in Hackney to be awarded outstanding in all areas by Ofsted on a first and then second inspection.
She currently looks after six under-fives a day and one six-year-old after school, and prides herself on maintaining ratios 50 per cent higher than required. The children are taken out every day on a trip, with the rest of the time spent on free play, cooking sessions, role play, music, making dens and outdoor play, as well as learning numbers, letters and shapes. Maisie is particularly committed to supporting children's emotional needs, encouraging a focus on PSED with a specially-built 'emotions area', which has allowed the children to identify and share their emotions at a very early stage.
Maisie is also keen to establish positive partnerships with everyone she works with, from children and staff to parents and members of the local community. She took on two local level 3 childcare apprentices full-time just after opening, and advocated for them when their college was unable to deliver their course on two occasions, eventually securing them a third course. She also took the opportunity to enrol herself on a level 3 in childcare alongside her apprentices in order to support them in their studies, with plans to embark on her level 5 afterwards. She is committed to continued professional development and providing regular training for her staff, and writes and delivers training to her local network, as well as organising charity fundraising in her local community.
She has also developed excellent relationships with parents through home visits, regular reviews, social events, joint outings with parents and children, and a secure website where parents can view daily photographs of their children engaged in activities and connect with each other. She extends her commitment to partnership working into building good relationships with local children's centre staff, health visitors, speech and language therapists and early years consultants she works with.
Criterion
Open to early years practitioners with less than one year's experience at closing date.
Supported by Nursery World Jobs
