MEET THE TEAM

We’re lucky to have a dedicated team. Get to know our team members and structure below. If you want to meet us, just book a visit!

MANAGEMENT & PRACTITIONERS

Management Team:

Lily Rajnovic – Manager (Butterfly Group)

Lily joined us in April 2016.  She has been working with children for the past 30 years. She started her professional career as a primary school teacher in Croatia. She moved to the UK in the late ’90s and since then she has lived and worked in Didcot. After working for 15 years in Stephen Freeman Primary School, Lily was excited to join the team. Lily loves gardening, needlepoint and reading.

Dawn Dellow – Deputy (Ladybird Group)

Dawn joined us in June 2017 as a Pre-School Practitioner and then progressed onto becoming our Deputy Manager. Dawn has been involved with the pre-school for several years before being employed by us by being on the Committee and Fundraising Committee whilst her daughter attended the pre-school. Dawn’s hobbies include dog walking, watching touring cars, listening to music, spending time with her family and friends.

Claire Downer – Office Manager

Claire joined us in May 2016.  Claire has been involved with the pre-school for several years before being employed by us by being on the Committee and Fundraising Committee whilst her two children attended the pre-school. Claire’s hobbies are speedway, swimming and spending quality time with her family and friends.

Pre-School Educator’s:

Sonia Fung (Caterpillar Group)

Sonia has lots of experience working as a teacher both overseas and in the UK and is excited to take these skills into working within the Early Years sector which she has been interested in since she had her own son.  In her spare time, Sonia loves playing with their cat Oreo, binge watching tv drama series/Youtube videos and joining zumba/yoga classes.

Deepthi Dondapati (Bumblebee Group)

Deepthi has previously worked at Stephen Freeman school since 2019. She has chosen this profession due to the passion she has towards working with children and is dedication in her role. She has a keen interest in cooking and would like to  travel around the world. 

Jackie Waters

Jackie has many years experience of working with different ages of children over the years from starting as a Childminder, Teaching Assistant, Nursery Nurse,  SENCO and then her previous position of being a Deputy Manager in a Pre-School.   She has 3 children and 2 grandchildren, who she loves spending time with. She also has a cat and a dog.  In her spare time she likes to bake cakes, gardening, reading, walking her dog and Ceroc dancing

 

Amy Lee

Amy is a mother to 2 children one boy and one girl.  Amy’s previous job was on the ambulances but she has recently had a change of profession to fit in around her children and since then has found that her interest has taken her to chose the career path in childcare.  In her spare time she spends a lot of time with her children, partner and dog blue.  She also has a love for art and cooking. 

Nicola Vaughan (On Maternity Leave)

Nicola first went into childcare in 2012 and always loved working with children. She has worked in many settings with lots of different children and enjoys seeing each child’s individual personalities come to light, feeling privileged to be a part of helping them learn and grow. She has two boys of her own who show her daily just how different and amazing all children are. They love to get outdoors and explore different places and they especially love trips to the beach. 

 

Stacey Chainey (On Maternity Leave)

Stacey is a mother to three boys. Her previous job was in dentistry as a dental nurse, but since having children and seeing them grow and learn new skills it gave Stacey the love and passion to work with children.  She also has two beautiful dogs so spends a lot of time out walking or out on their bikes. Her hobbies are cooking, swimming and long walks.

KEY PERSON SYSTEM

Our key person system means that your child will be given a key person when they join pre-school and that key person will have a group of children for whom she is particularly responsible.

Your child’s key person will work with you to ensure we provide what’s right for their individual needs and interests.

When your child starts at the pre-school the key person will help them to settle and aid them in benefiting from our activities throughout their time with us.