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 (Butterfly 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.
Jackie Waters – Assistant Deputy (Ladybird Group)
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
Pre-School Educator’s:
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.
Tracey Webb (Caterpillar Group)
Tracey has many years experience working with young children in various settings. She has previous experience as a Deputy Manager and particularly likes planning and carrying out exciting activities and story sessions. In her spare time, Tracey enjoys gardening, home decor and days out with her family.
Barbara Osiecka (Butterfly Group)
Barbara has been working in nurseries since 2018, gaining valuable experience in supporting young children’s growth, learning, and social development. She is an energetic and creative person who enjoys reading stories with children to spark their imagination. Outside of work, she loves traveling and collecting magnets from the places she visits, which inspires her to bring cultural stories into the classroom. Her hobbies also include baking, especially birthday cakes.
Hannah Rhodes (Trainee Educator)
Hannah is our trainee Pre-School Educator and is looking forward to hands-on experience whilst training. She has a daughter and has previously volunteered at her daughter’s school and realised that working with children is what she would like to further her career in.
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.