It has been my pleasure to work with Tom and Janine over the last few years. Not only do they have my complete trust and the trust of all my staff in handing over school pupils at the end of the day and know without question that they will be exceptionally well cared for and kept safe that they have the children’s and families’ best interest at heart and as such any information /messages or comments about behaviour are taking seriously and handled professionally and always passed along to parents / cares diligently. They are attentive to each child and often carry on what pupils have covered in school in their setting into the afternoon. What they achieve daily accompanied with all the other tasks involved such as preparing food and caring for the early years children in their care at such an affectionate and involved level for the last 9
years is truly astonishing.

When children start in reception class we can always tell which children have attended Little Munchkin Patch previously! Children are independent, confident self-starters and ready to learn.
And after visiting Tom and Janine at their setting and watching how they interact with children, attitudes and high expectations they set it is not hard to see why. When I started in my role as head teacher I made a point of not making recommendations for childcare provisions to parents but since we have known Tom and Janine we have always recommended their service with confidence. Although this wasn’t done lightly Tom and Janine made it an easy choice.

Moreover both Tom and Janine have become an integral part of our school community. Janine has become heavily involved in our PTA (WiSCA) and became secretary 3 years ago while expecting her third child but has still managed to raise the bar and expectations of all the members and those who follow. As if that wasn’t enough Janine also coordinates all the school branded uniform for all the pupils and has devised a system that is efficient and effective.

Tom is a parent governor at the school and we are always grateful for his unique perspective due to his role as an early years practitioner and previous job roles. He has overhauled our outgoing parent communication as a school and works hard to maintain our external comms and brand. He has assisted on announcements and documents on traditionally challenging subjects and is the only other person outside of school staff to have access to our website to help maintain our commitment to our vision and values.

I have taken you a long way to make a small point that Tom and Janine are invaluable to the school community. They are some of the few individuals that truly care about the school values and the children’s development and I would trust to make significant improvements. I know however that what we witness at the school is only a fraction of their commitment to their own day to day job role. Their energy and commitment is truly motivating and the results we witness in the children they care for is nothing short of inspirational.