Mary has owned and run the Marmalade Cat Day Nursery for fourteen years. Within this time, she has been privileged to have come to know many children and their families. She is extremely passionate about offering children a play-based curriculum that allows them to experience the joy of learning.

Mary always works hard to ensure that all nursery staff members are highly skilled and committed to creating a welcoming environment where children can socialise and make friends. She does this through creating a language and imagination-rich environment that supports children’s learning. She ensures that the team consistently develop creative learning strategies which suit children’s learning styles and their interests. Mary has also been committed to ensuring that foundation skills are embedded in children’s learning, so that children are well-prepared for starting school when the time comes.

Jade has worked in childcare for five years and has completed various training throughout her time at the Marmalade Cat Day Nursery. When she achieved her Level 3 childcare qualification she achieved a distinction grade and always upholds very high standards. She really enjoys watching the children grow and being a part of that. Jade states, “when children accomplish something that I haven’t seen them do before, it gives me so much pride and happiness”. Jade also learns a lot from them too and finds it interesting to see what the children know and have achieved.

Jade’s experience and expertise over her many years working in childcare has helped her build a strong team of like-minded professionals, all dedicated to creating the best possible environment for the children.

Jodie has over thirteen years of experience working in a childcare setting. She also has 2 boys and a girl of her own, and they attended the Marmalade Cat Day Nursery also. Therefore, she has seen first hand what it feels like from a parents’ perspective as her children journeyed through each room until they were ready to leave pre-school and begin school.

Jodie particularly enjoys little ones and spending time in the baby room. She likes to watch them as they begin to learn as well as develop new skills. One of the key things she finds fascinating is seeing the babies begin to build bonds with their peers and practitioners.

Kasia has been working at the Marmalade Cat Day Nursery since August 2019 following Au-pairing for a British family. She has experience working in the baby and toddler rooms and is always happy and enthusiastic and enjoys the outdoors and working with different age groups. She particularly enjoys setting up tasks to help challenge children in the toddler room to help them meet their milestones.

Izzy went to a local Primary School in Berkhamsted for her work experience placement. She enjoyed it so much, that she then decided to pursue a career in childcare.

In October 2022 she began her journey at the Marmalade Cat Day Nursery, where she has since gained experience working across all 3 rooms with the majority of her time being in the toddler room. She gained her Level 3 childcare qualification in July 2024 and as a valued team member has since worked her way up to be a room leader. Izzy enjoys baking with the toddlers and helping them get stuck in, always finding new recipes so that they can try making together.

She particularly has a keen interest in animals and regularly sets up animal activities- this reflects through her story telling and when singing songs as well as playing with the toddlers.

Lily started her career in childcare in 2019 and has experience working for an independent childminder before she came to the Marmalade Cat Day Nursery. She gained her Level 3 childcare qualification in 2021 and worked her way up to be a room leader in January 2023. Lily particularly enjoys a tuff tray and all of the endless opportunities it can bring to encourage play and allow the pre schoolers to engage and learn new skills. She loves watching children develop and believes that this stems from them playing and having lots of fun.

Lily has recently undergone her SENCO training so that she can particularly focus on liaising with parents and children with any concerns and putting the appropriate systems and support in place.

Julie has been our chef for almost a year now, and she really enjoys being able to prepare nutritious meals and snacks for the children and seeing their little faces light up as they tuck into her freshly prepared food. She has worked closely with our nursery owner to create a weekly food planner to ensure our children get a wide variety of nutrition, vitamins and minerals within the meals and snacks we provide. We are a nut free nursery and our chef Julie also always checks thoroughly any dietary requirements and allergies to ensure food safety and high standards are met for all children at all times.