Meet the Team
All the staff at Penguins hold paediatric first aid qualifications. Most are qualified in Childcare but more importantly we can all build a mean train track, sprinkle magic healing dust on a scraped knee and transfer any child from a car to a cot without waking them!
Hayley & Toni
Hayley & Toni are the childminders at Playful Penguins.
We met in Uni many years ago. Fast forward a few years and Toni was working as a supply teacher and trying to find flexible childcare for her then 4 year old Jacob. Hayley was a nanny at the time and about to buy her first house so together we came up with the plan to open Playful Penguins in 2009.
Our own children joined the team in 2012. Around the same time lots of our current children also had siblings which led to us become "extended" childminders, with more children than is typical for most childminders.
We both hold degrees (Toni's is in Primary School Teaching and Hayley's is in Law) and have both completed an Introduction to Childminding Course.
We have also completed all the necessary training including and we both hold Paediatric First aid certificates.
Kat
Kat is registered as our Childminder’s Assistant and works mainly with our preschool children aged 3 years and up, helping to prepare them for the transition to school.
Kat joined our team after working in a local primary school for 7 years, where she gained valuable experience supporting children across different year groups. She brings energy, creativity and a real passion for helping children to learn and grow.
As a mum to a 14-year-old, Kat understands the challenges and joys of family life and brings this experience into her role with us.
She loves encouraging independence, building confidence, and supporting early learning through play and fun activities.
Outside of work, Kat enjoys keeping active, spending time outdoors with her family, and getting involved in community events. She has a warm, approachable nature and is always ready with a smile, making her a wonderful part of our Penguins Team.
Niamh
Niamh is registered as our Childminder’s Assistant and works with children aged 2–3 years, supporting their early development and preparing them for the move to preschool.
She has over 5 years’ experience in childcare, including 2 years as a nanny, time working in a school supporting children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), and as a support worker for children and young people with physical disabilities and learning difficulties.
Niamh is passionate about inclusion and ensuring all children feel valued and supported. She is warm, patient, and creative in her approach, always adapting activities to suit the needs of the children she works with.
Outside of work, Niamh enjoys reading, cooking, and spending time with friends and family. She brings a calm and caring nature to our team, and her enthusiasm for helping children reach their potential shines through in everything she does
How do we work together?
Due to a weird quirk of being registered as Childminders (rather than a more typical Nursery) we can only have 3 members of staff in ratio with the children at any one time. This means we all get to enjoy one day off a week and Hayley does most of the more in-depth paperwork on a specific paperwork day. What this also means for you as parents is that we also have a "spare" member of staff; so if one of us is away on holiday or off work sick there is (almost) always another spare set of hands here to cover - woohoo! We have had to close only once since we opened in 2009, this was because a tummy bug wiped us all out and it just wasn't feasible to open, we even managed to stay open all through Covid!
Also a little strangely for a Childminders setting- none of us live in the house but someone has to live in the house for us to remain registered as childminders. We decided to take on a lodger called Sadie. She works 8am-6pm so she is generally here when the children aren't, she has a DBS and has been checked by Ofsted to ensure she is suitable to live here.
The house is actually owned by Hayley and her Husband Ian - you might see him around, he's a secondary school teacher and also registered as an assistant (so has been checked by Ofsted too) so he can come in when the children are here and sometimes does odd jobs.