(P.P.A Diploma) As the joint owner of the nursery, Denise works very closely with the nursery managers and despite reaching retirement age, still works on site on a regular basis. Denise decided to open Mulberry Corner in 1992. Having moved to the area with no family support she was aware of how important the provision of quality childcare is to enable parents to successfully return to work. With limited options available at that time, Denise decided to set up her own nursery. Mulberry Corner was the first day care nursery to open in the Test Valley Borough and it has grown in both size and reputation over the years. Childcare and looking after children has always been Denise's passion and she continues to work with the same enthusiasm today as she did at the beginning of her career.
(NNEB Diploma and NVQ4 in Management) Sabrina joined Mulberry Corner in February 1998 as a nursery nurse and is now deputy manager of our nursery, where she oversees all aspects of staff and children within the main nursery. Sabrina has had experience in the nursery as a supervisor and has also helped out in the preschool. She is ideally suited to the running of the nursery due to her patience and caring nature and ability to lead her team in a fair and fun way. Sabrina is well experienced and extremely passionate about providing the best possible care for children. She also has two boys of her own.
(BTEC trained) Gemma came to Mulberry Corner in June 2001. Gemma has had plenty of experience working in both sides of the nursery, including her roles as main nursery supervisor and preschool manager. Gemma returned to our main nursery as a senior nursery nurse after the birth of her second child, Austin and is currently back in our preschool as Deputy Manager. Gemma is an enthusiastic and dynamic member of our team and she has an excellent knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and child development in general. Gemma is also fully trained in safeguarding children and is one of our two Lead Practitioners in Safeguarding. Gemma led the team during our most recent outstanding Ofsted inspection. Gemma also has a daughter, Bella. 
(NVQ3 Trained) Jodie has over 18 years’ childcare experience, having first qualified as a nursery nurse in 1998! Jodie spent 4 years at Riverside special needs school and works at Mulberry Corner, out of ratio, to provide support to a number of children with special educational needs. We are delighted that Jodie is able to bring her wealth of SEN knowledge and experience to Mulberry Corner as SEN Coordinator. 
Janine joined our nursery team in January 2017, having previously worked for another local nursery chain for over 10 years. Janine has brought lots of new ideas and experience to our nursery team and has a lovely caring and calm manner with the children. Janine completed her Early Years Teacher training in July 2018 and is in charge of outdoor learning for our nursery children, leading nature sessions every afternoon in our nursery garden.
(NVQ3 Trained) Becca joined Mulberry Corner in 2014 and has experience working with both our nursery and preschool children. Becca is a kind and fun member of the team, and always builds up extremely close relationships with her key children and their families. Becca is really looking forward to her new position as joint supervisor of our main nursery.
Ellis joined Mulberry Corner in May 2016 from a special needs school in Southampton and also has had experience in an Early Years Centre as a learning support assistant. Ellis is suited to the preschool as she has a wide knowledge and interest in child development. Ellis is a confident and knowledgeable member of staff and prepares lovely adult led activities for the children.
(NVQ3 Trained) Hayley joined Mulberry Corner in 2007 and became supervisor of our preschool in 2017. Hayley took a short career break in 2012 to work with children in Greece, which she thoroughly enjoyed. Hayley returned to Mulberry Corner full of passion and continues to be a fun and active member of staff. Hayley has experience with both our nursery and preschool children, as well as children with special needs, having previously worked for The Autistic Society. Hayley is currently working in our main nursery prior to going on maternity leave in April.
NVQ3 and SENCO trained Kat joined Mulberry Corner in August 2006 and became supervisor of our main nursery in 2011. Kat returned to Mulberry Corner in January 2018 on a part time basis as a senior nursery nurse after the birth of her first child, Bobbi. Kat is fully SENCO trained and always ensures the children in her care are meeting their full potential. She is experienced with liaising with outside agencies to provide consistent care and attends many training courses to ensure her knowledge is up to date. Kat is a friendly and bubbly member of the team with lots of energy and a lovely caring nature.
(CACHE level 3 trained) Lauren joined Mulberry Corner in April 2005 as a nursery nurse and became deputy supervisor of the nursery before leaving to have her first child. Lauren has worked in both our main nursery and our preschool and now works within the nursery on a part time basis as a senior nursery nurse. Lauren is a very calm member of staff and is constantly coming up with new ideas for activities. Lauren is extremely artistic and enjoys creating exciting displays around the nursery for the children to look at. Lauren has two children of her own, Connor and Mia.
(CACHE level 3 trained) Michelle came to Mulberry Corner in 2008. Michelle has worked in both the nursery and the preschool, but is very much suited to our nursery setting due to her extremely compassionate and caring nature. Michelle works very hard settling her key children and builds lovely relationships with our children and their families.
(CACHE level 3 trained) Danielle joined us in October 2010 and currently works in our preschool. Danielle has a wide knowledge of child development and plans lovely activities for the children based on their needs and interests. She enjoys imaginary play with the children, as well as singing activities. Danielle is currently on maternity leave, following the birth of her second son.
(NVQ3 Trained) Jasmine joined our team in May 2018, having previously trained and worked in another local nursery in their baby room. Jasmine has a lovely quiet and caring nature and is enjoying working in our busy routine.
(NVQ3 Trained) Hannah joined Mulberry Corner in July 2018, having previously worked in another local nursery as supervisor of their baby room. Hannah is a confident, fun and bubbly member of staff and has a very natural, caring way with the children.
Gemma joined our nursery team in August 2018, straight from completing her childcare course at Eastleigh College. Gemma has a very caring, quiet nature and has already built up some lovely relationships with our little ones. Gemma is enjoying being part of a busy nursery team and is learning lots from our experienced team. Gemma also helps out each week at a local Rainbows group.
Chloe joined our preschool team in October 2016, straight from her role as Unit Leader in a summer camp in Massachusetts with Camp America. Chloe loves books (and writes her own blog on this subject) and also loves to bake. Chloe is a very bubbly, confident member of our team and is really enjoying getting to know all our preschoolers.
Izzie joined our team in April 2017, having previously worked as supervisor of a local afterschool club. Izzie is currently working in our preschool but has also worked in our nursery, which she thoroughly enjoyed. Izzie has a natural caring and fun way with the children and builds lovely relationships with her key children and their families.
Alice joined our team in November 2018 and is currently part way through her level 3 childcare apprenticeship. Alice has a mature and confident nature and is a very fun and enthusiastic member of the preschool team.
Ready, steady, cook!
We love baking and cooking at Mulberry Corner, so much so that the nursery children decided to devote an entire week to cooking activities last month. They baked bread, created insects out of salad ingredients, made pasta salad, mini pizzas and some yummy desserts. To tie in with dinosaur week, the preschoolers made dinosaur biscuits as well as dinosaur egg cupcakes and also made gingerbread men during their let’s pretend topic. The Pips also walked to the shops during half term, picked out the items on their shopping list, used the self service checkout to pay for their items and then came back to cook some yummy treats to take home. Cooking is a fantastic fun way to put lots of maths skills into practice including weighing and measuring and using numbers in context. We have also enjoyed playing with various real herbs, spices and foods this month too. Here are just a few photos:
