At The Blue Strawberry we strive to work together in order to create an enabling environment for children and their families.
“Children in The Early Years Foundation Stage make excellent progress because the Nursery has outstanding leadership and excellent provision. There is continuous self-evaluation and a strong committment to ongoing improvement. The staff are a strong team and there is an exceptional partnership with parents.” Ofsted Report.
The Team
Each Nursery has a designated Manager and Deputy Manager who are responsible for ensuring the day-to-day provision of services to an extremely high standard.
Each area of the Nursery is overseen by a Room Leader, a staff member who already holds a minimum qualification of Level 3 in Childcare and who will usually be working towards or have already obtained their Level 3 in Nursery Management.
Nursery Nurses hold a minimum Level 3 qualification and Nursery Assistants hold a minimum Level 2 qualification. All staff are actively supported by the Management Team in their ongoing professional training and development. We encourage all our staff to aim for the highest qualification possible.
Everyone at The Blue Strawberry has a drive and passion for improving their knowledge, training and qualifications so that they are able to provide an exceptional standard of Nursery care.
“Robust recruitment, induction and vetting procedures ensure that all adults working with children or having unsupervised access to them are suitable to do so. Personal and professional development of all staff is actively encouraged. A wide variety of training is accessed and the result is a knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff team who effectively support and include all children.”
Shellie Jones, Managing Director
Shellie founded The Blue Strawberry in 2000 as she wanted an inspirational day care facility for her children, in order to develop a work-life balance for her and her family. Having successfully founded and managed the Nursery she found she had a natural aptitude for the child care industry and has grown The Blue Strawberry into a respected and admired brand. She has a Degree in Psychology from Worcester University and a wealth of commercial experience. Shellie has managed the business for 11 years, and is achieving her dream of providing high quality childcare within the local area.
“We select our staff on the basis of their professionalism, enthusiasm, experience and personal qualities. There are two vital priorities we take into account when recruiting any staff member – a dedicated love of young children and a desire to improve the quality of care and education available.” Shellie Jones, Managing Director
Katrina Jakeway, Quality Manager
Katrina has worked within the Early Years sector for more than 12 years, eight of which have been within The Blue Strawberry. Katrina has managed the Leamington Spa Nursery for six years, during which time she has experienced the management of all settings with the company and in 2008 was promoted to Quality Manager. Her main responsibilities are to ensure the day-to-day running of the company and maintain the high standards that The Blue Strawberry strive to achieve.
Katrina is qualified to Level 6 with a BA (Hons) in Integrated Early Childhood Studies and holds Early Years Professional Status.