Our team

The staff
Busy Bees Pre-school is run by a Management Committee consisting mainly of parents of currently attending children. They are supported by a team of highly experienced and well-qualified Early Years practitioners, who are all passionate about providing high quality care and education for children, as well as ensuring they have lots of fun!

Tina,  Pre-school Manager

Tina, our Pre-school Manager, has a CACHE Diploma in Childcare & Development (Level 3) and over 10 years’ experience in Early Years, as well as a wealth of leadership and management experience from her previous career. Tina is in charge of safeguarding and behaviour management, along with her managerial duties. With two children of her own, Tina became interested in childcare and early years education through helping at their pre-school and volunteering on the committee. She enjoys spending time outside with the children, as well as sensory play, singing and story time, and is a specialist play-dough maker!

Gail, Deputy Pre-School Manager

Gail is an experienced Pre-school Practitioner and has responsibility for equal opportunities as well as being our Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator (SENCO). Gail is a former primary school teacher with three children. She enjoys sports, so spends plenty of time with the children in our outside area, and coordinates our PE sessions. As well as organising some fabulous role-play areas, Gail also has a strong focus on maths, and ensures that lots of opportunities for learning are provided in all areas of our indoor and outdoor environment.

Lorraine, Pre-School Practitioner

Lorraine is a long-serving, experienced Level 3 Pre-school Practitioner, as well as being the Health and Safety Officer.  Lorraine has two children and got involved with Busy Bees when her son attended. She is known for her wonderful baking and cooking creations, and always has a large group of willing volunteers to help!  As well as her baking skills, Lorraine is also known as our 'Creative Director', with a talent for making lovely displays. She also really enjoys supporting the children in their chosen activities, to ensure they have a sense of pride in their achievements.

​Claire, Pre-school Practitioner

Claire is an experienced, Level 3 Pre-school Practitioner. She is the Named 3rd in Charge (in the absence of the Manager / Deputy Manager), as well as the Safeguarding/ Child-Protection Deputy. Her other duties include organising our events, trips and parties. She is also great at baking and enjoys messy activities, as well as organising fun, extra-curricular events for Busy Bees children. Claire is mum to three children, which take up most of her spare time!

Indira, Pre-school Practitioner

Indira is a Level 3 Pre-school Practitioner. She enjoys creative activities, as well as playing games with the children both inside and out. Indira is also keen to share and teach the children about her culture, including how to make some wonderful traditional Indian foods. Indira is mum to two teenage children.
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Amber, Pre-school Assistant

Amber is a Pre-school Assistant. She enjoys creative and messy activities, and supporting the children in their day-to-day play and learning. She is mum to one little boy, who also attended Busy Bees.

​Victoria, Administrator

​Vicki is the Busy Bees Administrator and Committee Treasurer. She is a qualified Accountant (ACMA), having trained and worked for Kingfisher Plc for 7 years before running her own successful business in Harrogate. Vicki takes care of all our finances, admin and admissions. 



Katharine, Pre-School Practitioner
Katharine is an experienced Level 3 Practitioner and a busy mum to three boys. She enjoys baking and cooking activities, sensory and outdoor play.

The committee
At Busy Bees, we have a parent-run committee of elected members, which is responsible for the overall management and smooth-running of the pre-school including:

• Overseeing the employment of staff, salaries and contracts of employment
• Working with staff to ensure the correct health and safety policies, risk assessment, insurance and first aid procedures are in place
• Ensuring the continued upkeep and maintenance of our building

Committee members can volunteer for specific roles such as Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary or Fundraising and Events, or can be general members. If you would like to become a Committee Member or would like more information, please don’t hesitate to speak to our Chair.

The present committee members are:
Chair:  Serena Wilson
Vice Chair/Ofsted Nominated Person:  Pauline Ross
Secretary: Ashley Clemence
Treasurer & Admissions: Vicki Whitelegg
Fundraising Committee:
Lisa Lehan, Sue Gardner,  Colleen Jonsen, Laura Seaton
 
Partnership with parents
Busy Bees Pre-school is run by eight permanent members of staff and a parent-led committee. However, as a non-profit making charity, we also rely on the help and support of our parents with fundraising and day-to-day activities to ensure its continued success.

As well as making a real difference to Busy Bees, it is also an excellent opportunity for you to become more actively and practically involved in this aspect of your child’s life. (Some parents have even chosen to pursue careers in childcare following the time that their children have spent at Busy Bees - just ask some of our staff!)

Fundraising
Busy Bees is partly Government-funded, but much of the money we require to operate has to be raised. We have regular fund-raising events throughout the year and ask for volunteers to help. These have included an annual Jumble Sale, Fish & Chip Quiz Nights, Bags to School, a Lottery Board, a Christmas Shopping evening, the sale of personalised Busy Bees items, and a stall at the Pannal School Christmas Fair.

Helping out
We welcome parents to join in with activities such as helping with snack time. It is a great way to see what your child really does at Busy Bees and to be involved in a fun and rewarding way.

Special skills
We are always looking for parents/carers with a special skill that can be shared with the children, for example, artist, doctor, musician, foreign language speaker. Let us know if you think you could help.

AGM
All parents/carers are invited to join the staff and committee at the Annual General Meeting where we get together to review the past year. Please look out for the date and come along.