Officrèche

Michelle is the manager at Officrèche, an Early Years Professional with a first in her BA (Hons) and a distinction in her FdA in Early Years Care and Education. She came to Officrèche from three years at Brighton and Hove Council where she advised and supported Early Years settings across the city, with the implementation of the EYFS. During this time she prepared and delivered several training courses to childcare professionals, nursery owners and managers. Michelle’s BA (Professional Studies in Learning and Development) dissertation topic was the importance of the key person in providing flexible childcare – this issue that is right at the centre of Officreche’s success.

Before Michelle’s stint in the City, Early Years and Childcare team, she had over 5 years as a leading practitioner in both University run and private nurseries. The combination of this hands-on experience with her overview of local best practice has been put to admirable use in Officrèche’s new take on flexible childcare.

Her communication skills and up-to-date knowledge are vital in her role as the leader of the staff and parent-carer volunteer team – as is her sense of humour… She works alongside the Early Years Practitioners in all the rooms at Officrèche and is also the touchstone for all training, legislation and resources.

Michelle commutes from her home in Newhaven – she’d run in if she could since fitness and fresh air are essential to the balance in her life. Her partner is a firefighter and she has two teenage stepsons and a younger goddaughter.

Tara is the deputy manager at Officrèche, an Early Years Professional with an FdA in Early Years Care and Education and a BA (Hons) in Professional Studies in Learning and Development. She also has over 10 years of full-time experience in caring for children in Brighton – in both private and council run nurseries. Passionate about the education and development of under 2’s, she leads the baby room at Officrèche – it’s full of fun and personal touches.

She is a vital part of the management team at Officrèche, with input to policies and procedures, recruitment, resources and appraisals. She and Sarah are both Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCO) at our setting and she also leads with Mikki on promoting positive behaviour. She’s an essential part of the team that leads parent-carer volunteers where she puts her calm, capable and cheerful character to great effect.

Tara lives by the sea, in Saltdean. In her spare time she enjoys having relaxing days with friends – shopping, pampering, and watching cheesy movies! She sings in a local contemporary music choir and soon hopes to find time to organise a charity event to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital, something she has been planning to do since she was a child and benefited from treatment there herself.

Mikki is an Early Years Practitioner in the Yellow room, a key person for children in the 2-5 age group. She has a level 3 qualification and has worked in childcare for over nine years – in both an NHS nursery and a private crèche. This experience has increased her natural skill at settling children – vital as they become more independent and test boundaries. She takes the lead alongside Tara in promoting positive behaviour at Officrèche.

Her calm and confident manner makes her well suited to provide back-up care for the Baby Room when it’s really busy. She readily admits that her own children (one now a teenager) have provided her with many insights into how to adapt when caring for different age groups. Since we already had a Michelle here when she joined us – she’s known as Mikki to avoid confusion – twisting some famous lyrics ‘she’s so fine she blows our minds, hey Mikki!’

Mikki lives in Hangleton so gets the bus eastwards into Officrèche every morning, leaving behind her menagerie – two cats, a fish and a snake at last count…

Kirstine is an Early Years Practitioner at Officrèche and works with Tara and Emma in the baby room. She has a level 3 qualification and nine years of experience in Brighton nurseries and pre-schools. She’s a key person to the under 2s and as such provides continuity for the little ones with her gentle approach. Her cuddles are legendary in the settling of babies – parents take great comfort in them as well!

Kirstine and Elpi lead equalities in this setting, making sure everyone in Officrèche - whether, adult or child, staff or member - is treated inclusively. She also funnels ideas from all the staff into the planning for our outside space, making sure the children always have plenty of choice.

She’s Brighton born and bred, gets the bus in to the nursery from her home in Bevendean. She sometimes reverse commutes to London where her boyfriend lives – they love to go to the West End to catch a show.

Emma is a key person in the Baby Room although she also enjoys playing with the older children when the groups merge, particularly on the deck outside. She’s studying for her level 3 qualification and has worked with children in schools and in private childcare since 2007. However, both her parents’ careers are in childcare so she’s been surrounded by those with the same vocation all her life – this makes her skills pretty instinctive!

Her organised nature is a vital ingredient in our unique flexible childcare and she supports Michelle in looking after the health and safety of everyone at Officrèche. Emma’s quiet confidence is born of experience, her focus is gentle yet effective - and her ready laugh is infectious with the little ones, even before they can speak!

Emma commutes by bus to and fro from Hollingdean. Though, in her spare time, she’s more likely to use a compass and a map – she’s completed her Gold Duke of Edinburgh award so 10 mile country hikes are second nature to her. She has young cousins that she loves to look after and a hankering to spend more time in New York – but please don’t worry, the Officrèche family and her own have a pretty firm hold on her heels and heart…

Jess is an Early Years Practitioner who works with children of all ages at Officrèche. Before joining the team here she had experience in private nurseries and with school age children – and her time working in a leisure centre crèche gave her great experience in settling children.

She is the newest member of our team so will build up to becoming a second key person to children here – this role may sound secondary, but in truth, it is far from it! The continuity of having a second key person for each child is vital to the happiness of the families and the success of Officrèche’s unique flexible childcare.

Jess is Brighton born and studied here too. She travels in to work from her home in Coldean and she always stops off on the way to visit Harry, her horse. He is an ex-showjumper; nowadays he rests his legs up the top of Bear Road and munches on the carrots, apples and Polos she brings him as treats!

Amy first discovered Officrèche when she needed childcare for her daughter – she’d enrolled in an accountancy course at Brighton City College when Shae was not yet one year old. The path to being a chartered accountant is a long one, so in the meantime she decided that she could use her parental skills by volunteering in our nursery rooms – and bank some childcare hours for Shae in return. We put her through our induction course and we’re delighted to have her as part of our growing team of parent-carers.

Amy and Shae live very close to Officrèche, just a couple of minutes walk away from Seven Dials. Each week she liaises with Michelle about her availability and so has plenty of opportunities to really see how the Officrèche team works, inside and out.

Amy loves to cook and bake, to breath fire and hula hoop - as yet, we’ve not seen her doing them all at the same time, although that type of multitasking would impress the pre-schoolers in the Yellow Room no end!