Who we are

 Having trained as a teacher at Cambridge University back in the 1980s, I began to specialise in Early Years education in 2007 after buying our third nursery setting. 

I am a trained Montessori Teacher and have my Early Years Professional Status. You’ll often find me talking about my involvement in support and advisory groups within our local authorities, plus universities, training providers and national bodies.

I continue to head up the care and education side of the business across the whole group. This includes leading training in First Aid and Safeguarding for all our practitioners, as well as guiding through Ofsted regulations. 

Having previously worked in the IT industry for Cisco and having studied in Accountancy and Law, Alice and I were presented with the opportunity to purchase Atherton House in 2001. With Alice’s passion for education it seemed a fantastic opportunity. 

Following the success of Atherton House we purchased a further four settings, the latest to join the group being Rainbow in Lymm in August 2021. 

My day-to-day role is supporting with HR queries and processing payroll. Together along with George I look to plan well into the future to ensure our sustainability.

I attended Atherton House nursery just as we purchased it back in 2001.

Having always supported the family business growing up, in 2018 I joined full time as a director following the completion of my Economics and Management Degree from St Andrews University. I have since completed further accountancy qualifications with CIMA.

My role within the business is to ensure the smooth running of the day-to-day logistics across the group whilst also putting in place processes to make everyone’s life that little bit easier. 

In 2021 I started Caterpillar Careers, a recruitment company specialising in early years to support our own nurseries, as well as others local to us.

I joined the team in September 2022 from a background working in Marketing at the University of Liverpool, where I also completed a Business Administration apprenticeship in 2017.

I primarily work alongside Vicki at Caterpillar Careers focusing on the recruitment of staff, while also supporting the Atherton House Group too in retention and wellbeing as part of our People Team. You might hear from me at different times of the year during celebrations keeping you up-to-date with news across our nurseries and the wider sector too.

I’m also always up for for a chat and here to listen to any ideas to ensure the bright future of our nursery group.

You’ll almost certainly meet me during your recruitment journey. I initially joined our sister company Caterpillar Careers as their first employee in December 2021 to focus on recruitment but also support our recruitment and HR within the Atherton House Group.

I previously worked as a Nursery Manager in a large nursery for over 10 years but decided to try something a little different in 2021 after the birth of my second child. I have a passion for Early Years and achieved my degree in Early Years Education in 2013. With my previous nursery experience and knowledge, I always endeavour to support and assist to the best of my ability.

One of the newer members of the team, I joined in July 2024 as Executive Assistant to George Apel.  I have a strong background in administration, with 18 years of experience in the legal field and a deep commitment to operational excellence. 

Working across the group I support our operational running and streamlining processes to improve our efficiency. Acting as a central point of contact for both internal and external communications, I ensure that we have the time to focus on strategic initiatives that drive the business forward.