The Fennies Team

As an organisation, our aim is to change the perception of the nursery industry by being the best and moving it forward. Our driven team know what really matters, their passion for our mission and values attribute to our growing business and exceptional culture. 

Education

Rageena Tahir

Rageena

Head of EYFS

Rageena joined our quality team as a Regional Quality Manager, with over 11 years of experience working in nurseries and teaching children English as an additional language. She developed her role and grew into our Head of Education, holding a level 6 qualification in childcare herselfRageena now works alongside our internal education specialists to curate specific moduleand refine learning activities within our nurseries.  

Ruth Mottram

Ruth

Education Advisor

Ruth is passionate about child-led play and the learning benefits that comes with it, this can be seen within Ruth’s creative teaching processes in which she actively researches new ideas for. Ruth works alongside our nursery teams within each setting, role modeling activities and ensuring best practice. Ruth is passionate about incorporating the arts within her work and sparking children’s creative spirit. 

sam wass 3

Sam

Child Development Expert

Sam is a child psychologist and developmental neuroscientist who studies all aspects of early years behaviour. He studied at Oxford, London and Cambridge and now leads the BabyDevLab at the University of East London. Sam works alongside the Fennies education and marketing teams to provide insight and expand upon innovative child development research topics which feeds into many aspects of our offering including staff training, educational topics and content for our blog and social media platforms. Sam specialises in understanding how the latest research from developmental psychology and neuroscience can be translated into pioneering early years practice.

kelly

Kelly

Quality Development Manager

Kelly has worked in early years for twenty years, 13 of which being a Nursery Manager. Kelly is passionate about children’s real life experiences, and ensuring that these experiences are enriching and support each unique stage of development. Kelly is also a keen advocate for smooth transitions ensuring that children are ready for their next stage of learning. Kelly uses her knowledge and skills to deliver the best possible outcomes for children at Fennies.

Jaimie Cooper on white

Jaimie

Quality Development Manager

Jaimie joined Fennies in 2014 as a Room Leader and developed her knowledge and skills which saw her progress to a Nursery Manager role at Fennies Horley. This drive inspires our teams who she supports with their own career progression regularly. Working alongside our education team, Jaimie regularly draws upon her experience and uses a hands-on approach to create positive learning outcomes for all children at Fennies.   

angela

Angela

Quality Development Manager

Angela joined Fennies with 25 years of experience in early years education and training under her belt. Inspired by different methodologies and approaches Angela has implemented her knowledge working as a Manager and Operation Manager for a variety of childcare companies. Angela is a former Ofsted Inspector who has recently been active internationally by coaching and inspecting settings that follow the British Curriculum and the EYFS overseas. China is one of the countries which Angela has visited most frequently, where she enjoyed training a large audience of students, teachers, and business operators in the early years. Angela, who has a keen eye for details, works within the quality team to help Fennies maintain high standards.

paula

Paula

Regional SENCO

Paula joined our Educational Department as a Regional SENDCo and Inclusion Manager. With over 10 years of experience working in Early Years and over 5 years as SENDCo and is very passionate about advocating for families with SEN children. Paula now works alongside our education team to promote inclusion within our nurseries and offers support to all staff, especially those working with children with SEN and English as an additional language. 

Christina Leontiou

Christina

Spanish Lead

Christina’s passion for early years sparked when she spent a year teaching in Madrid during her time at university. Incorporating her half Spanish and half Greek roots, Christina is passionate about inspiring the next generation to become excited about learning a new language, she achieves this by creating fun educational activities for the children at Fennies.  

Lisa Moret

Lisa

French Specialist

Lisa previously worked as a primary school teacher in France and came to England to explore her passion of strengthen children’s communication skills through an additional language. As a mother of a bilingual child, Lisa implements a creative approach to her teaching methods by researching inventive new ways to enhance children’s learning experiences. Lisa is also qualified in Performing Arts and incorporates music and role play within activities! 

early years french teacher person smiling

Myriam

French Specialist

Myriam’s passion for teaching begun at the age of 18 while working in summer camps in France and as a Nanny in America and Australia. This grew as she achieved a Diploma in Early Years Education whilst working in bilingual childcare centres in Perth and Zurich. Myriam believes that learning a second language from an early age is beneficial and valuable to children in so many ways. 

Meet the team

Elodie

Spanish Specialist


Elodie has been teaching French for 25 years and has always been very passionate about languages, as she studied Spanish, Italian and German. She has taught in a variety of settings, from nurseries to secondary schools, mainstream, private and even Special Needs School. She opened a Saturday morning school for bilingual children, promoting the importance of learning languages early, and introducing Spanish. She has two bilingual children and believes that being able to speak more than one language is so beneficial. She loves creating resources for children and making sure that languages are taught in a fun, interactive way. Elodie cannot wait to teach the children Spanish.

art

Priyanka

Art Specialist

Priyanka is a practising mixed media artist who is passionate about sharing her knowledge of art, art techniques and learning through exploration. She has been actively teaching art in the community since 2017, and she strongly believes in how “process art” nourishes the innate magical curiosity the children have in the Early Years and the importance of expressive art and design. She looks to encourage each child to be creative in a way unique to them in a supportive and engaging environment.

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Aaron

PE Specialist

Aaron has 7 years experience working as a PE Coordinator at a primary school. He is looking forward to supporting each and every child with their development and the Fennies teams with their delivery of the activities in their nursery.

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Jack

PE Specialist

Jack has worked across both primary and secondary schools. He has professional and personal experience with all physical developmental milestones for children. Jack has a keen interest in passing on his love for physical activity to future generations.

Academy

Jamie Atkins

Jamie

Academy Lead

Jamie is an expressive and interactive facilitator who encourages a collaborative approach to learning. Previously working as a primary school teacher, this experience catapulted his interest in coaching others and Jamie moved into the Early Years sector as a professional Development Consultant. He has a keen interest in coaching others as well as being an advocate for supporting mental well-being.  

Pru Barwood

Pru

Academy Lead

Pru plays a vital role in the management of our apprenticeship program from an operational perspective, ensuring all training is aligned with policies, procedures, Fennies values and creating an open and reflective environment. Pru works alongside learners, Nursery Managers and external partners to deliver an outstanding learning experience, helping our Apprentices develop their skills through innovative training.

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Sarah

Onboarding Lead

Sarah has been working in the early years for over 10 years. She is a qualified primary school teacher and has a wealth of experience from her time working as a childminder, in nurseries and in schools. She is passionate about providing children with quality learning experiences through play and sharing her knowledge to support our teams in enhancing their practice as part of the Academy Team at Fennies. As a mum of 3, Sarah understands the vital role practitioners play in shaping children’s learning journeys. She is always looking to provide the very best nursery experience for the children and team members.

Academy

Kelly

Academy

Kelly has been working in early years for over 12 years. During this time, she has had experience working as a Deputy Manager and Training Advisor. She strongly believes that every child deserves the best start in life, and this drives her to share her knowledge and experience with our teams. Kelly has a 3-year-old herself, which gives her the passion for ensuring parents and team members understand the importance of early years in a child’s life.