Back To The Garden

Alistair Bryce-Clegg has spent the last 31 years working in the Early Years sector as a practitioner, headteacher and consultant. He is now an expert in the field and has is recognised nationally and internationally. He’s worked with Bloomsbury to publish 23 books and also writes for various magazines and publications. His inspiring TEDx Talk has been watched by thousands! He featured in BAFTA award winning “Old People’s Homes for 4 year Olds” on Channel4 which is a heart-warming documentary bringing together the old and young in an experiment to tackle social isolation. At ABC Does you can find out about the conferences Alistair offers, as well as get brilliant ideas and practical approaches to use in early years education through his books, blog and resources. He runs one conference and two half-day courses across the country. And his most recent creation is a child development app called “My First Five Years”, which he founded with Jennie Johnson MBE.

Links and Resources:

In this episode Sadie chats to the gorgeous Samia Longchambon, who plays the nations favourite, Maria Connor in Coronation Street. Samia is a mum of 2 children. We hear about her journey in becoming a parent, her pregnancy and birth stories, life as a mum and how she balances work/home life, her love and passion for all things holistic and more!

Links and Resources:

This episodes guest is skin healing expert, blogger, best-selling author and mum to Freddie, Hanna Sillitoe. Hanna is an inspirational lady who overcame her own struggles with her skin by healing herself naturally, which led her into wanting to share this with others and help as many people as possible (which she has definitely achieved! You can see all the success stories on her instagram).

She began with a blog which led to her creating her first book ‘Radiant’ an amazon best-seller with over 35,000 copies sold. In 2019 she succeeded in securing investment from Tej Lalvani and Peter Jones which includes a range of products including probiotics and skincare. And her second book Skin Healing Expert was published in 2020. We’re extra excited to have her on Back To The Garden Podcast because her next creation is going to be a mum and baby range!

Hanna is so open and honest and real, she’s completely herself and that’s part of why she has such a loyal and growing following.

In this episode Hanna shares all about her journey, her successes, her struggles, pregnancy in her 40s, the birth of her 1 year old, growing veggies, skin healing, her writing process, mum life, her products, dragons den, work/life balance and more. She is joined by her little boy Freddie.

Links and Resources:

Hanna Sillitoe:

Happy Christmas! We hope you've enjoyed the bonus festive episodes and our recent Autumn/Winter series. We'll be taking a break now so in the meantime head back to our past interviews with amazing guests and interesting conversations. 

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Today’s episode is a Bonus Festive Special Meditation with Jess Wilkinson, founder of The Sea Within.

Jess is a beautiful sunshine soul that has run workshops at the nursery and remained a friend of ours, she’s been a guest on the show in the Autumn/Winter series so check out her interview.

She hosts wonderful sessions for children of all ages. Her offerings include yoga and mindfulness workshops for children and young people, school sessions, mindful art workshops and mindful nature walks.

Today she guides us through a magical meditation to help bring a sense of calm in the busy, often stressful festive season. This episode is for children and adults. Create a cosy nest and enjoy. Do not listen to this episode whilst driving.

Links:

Todays guest is James McGoff. James played a critical role on the Board Of Directors in the development and success of the McGoff Group. The group was founded by his parents and he was the first of his brothers to join. He forged unbreakable relationships and is a much loved character that will be missed by the group. He’s a charming, comical personality. He dedicated 32 years to the family business with a broad portfolio which includes our nursery Back To The Garden Childcare. We’ll be hearing about his journey all the way back to his early years, his time at the McGoff Group, the wisdom he’s gained, his thoughts around intergenerational care, his tips for success, his hopes for this next chapter in his retirement and his message for future generations.

Links and Resources:

Today’s guest is…

The incredible lady that’s a trailblazer in the wellness world, Madeleine Shaw, inspiring us all with her delicious healthy recipes and lifestyle tips for self-care. She is an author, podcaster and mama of a gorgeous little boy called Seamus. We discuss pregnancy, mum life, her choices around her sons early years education, how her passion for wellness has influenced her choices as a mum. Just a trigger warning - Our conversation does go quite deep and we both share about our experiences with miscarriage. It’s a lovely heart-heart conversation and I’m sure you’ll get a lot from it. Curl up on, get cosy and enjoy listening to this episode with Madeleine Shaw.

Links and Resources:

Today’s guest is

Jenny Carmichael, our very own wonderful award winning nursery chef! We’ve wanted to have her on the show for a while now but nursery life is very busy so I’m really excited to share this conversation. She talks about her early years life, her background and journey into becoming our nursery chef, her passion for sustainability and managing waste, and the ways the nursery does this, her autumn/winter menu, plant-based focused meals, working with the veg boxes, the kids kitchen takeover and of course the recognition she’s gained through being awarded Apprentice Of The Year by Trafford college.

Links and Resources:

Today’s guest is …

The successful actress and conscious entrepreneur, Claire Cooper. Claire has featured on our screens as regular character Jacqui McQueen in Hollyoaks (where she met her husband Emmett Scanlan), Knightfall and the TV series 12 Monkeys along with many other credits. She is the founder of the ethical clothing and lifestyle brand Om & Ah London and her new recent addition to her business ventures - the Doughnut Whisperer! She is an activist, highly passionate about animal welfare. And she is the mama to a beautiful little boy called Ocean. 

Today we discuss being a new mum and her parenting journey and how it was such a gift after experiencing a miscarriage during her first pregnancy, having her baby during lockdown, conscious parenting, her passion for the planet and her views around child development, how she balances her career and home life, her self-care rituals and so much more!

Trigger warning: we do discuss miscarriage and baby loss in this episode.

Links and resources:

Todays guest on the Back To The Garden Podcast is Jess Wilkinson, founder of The Sea Within Mindfulness.

Jess has run workshops at the nursery and has remained a friend of ours. She’s had an interesting career from working in the fashion and creative industries and as a textile teacher to creating a wonderful workshops for children of all ages. Her offerings include yoga and mindfulness workshops for children and young people, school sessions, mindful art workshops and mindful nature walks. She often collaborates with The Whitworth Art Gallery. Today she shares her journey, what mindfulness is to her, mindfulness and art, how mindfulness has helped her personally, and so much more.

This episode is part of our Autumn/Winter series, in the previous episode we interviewed our nature expert Mark Wallis! If you haven’t listened yet definitely check that one out too. Still to come - interviews with Madeleine Shaw, Claire Cooper, Jenny our Chef and James McGoff!

Listen on your favourite podcast app or find the link in our bio and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode!

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Links and Resources:

Welcome to the Autumn/Winter series which includes conversations with amazing guests today’s guest is Mark Wallis, the Maintenance and Nursery Support member of the team at Back To The Garden Childcare. He began as the contract gardener and in his role his role has developed into so much more than that - he is now working with the children, encouraging them to help him grow veggies, plants, flowers and willow, he collaborates with Jenny our chef in the kitchen in using our own produce for meals and has turned the tipi into a forest school space and helps run the tool shed. The founders have funded his forest school training and he’s hugely influential in developing the outdoor space at our nursery ‘coming soon’ in Lymm. Today we discuss his journey and how and why he joined our nursery team, his forest school training, the seasonal offerings from the garden, his plans for the nursery, current activities with the children, forest school activities for Autumn/Winter and the exciting developments for Back To The Garden as we branch out into a new area and so much more.

Links and Resources:

‘If you look at kids and babies, watch their bellies rise. They belly breathe like troopers. Whatever happens to us when we grow up, suddenly we stop breathing properly.’

Intro:

Nicola Charnock is the resident Nutritionist at BTTGC and mother of 2. She qualified at the renowned CNM London (College of Natural Medicine). Her business CF Wellness Organics combines all her holistic skills and training under one roof. With 15 years of sports rehab experience, her clients include high profile athletes and musicians. Her understanding of the rate at which the body heals and athletic performance led her to train as a yoga teacher in India and introduce nutrition into her work. Through becoming a mother herself she is educating and supporting families through workshops in fertility, pregnancy, and post birth for both mother and baby. She runs food workshops including ‘Nutrition for the Whole Family Made simple’. Her love and passion for what she does makes her an incredible guest.

This is her second time on the show - to check out her first episode head back to Episode 6 in 2020 to hear about her personal experiences with children and eating well at home, optimum foods to feed children, supplements, sleep, brain and gut health, mental health and young children, why post-natal mothers need lots of support and so much more (head to Episode 6 to listen to that first) - link in show notes.

In today’s episode we are concentrating on seasonal nutrition in the Spring, seasonal recipes, the new nursery menu, children and mental health following 2020 and what we can do nutritionally to support them, we discuss gut health in more detail and the vagus nerve, soil and immune health…. And so much more!

It’s a joy to have Nicola back on the show for an insightful and educational conversation.

‘Routine is key’

Links and Resources:

Mr and Mrs Wild are the conscious power couple behind their eco friendly, plant-based coffee-house and cafe Wild and Wild. They are parents to 3 beautiful children. In this conversation we delve into their story, how and why they started their business, their philosophy around parenting, challenges they’ve faced, their partnership and their secret to running a successful business and maintaining a healthy dynamic in their relationship, their dreams and visions for the future and so much more…

Part 2:

00:19 Children and emotions

4:46 Experiencing miscarriage as a family

11:05 Are children becoming more sensitive and more aware of things?

12:38 Books that have helped them.

13:15 Conscious parenting, home-schooling and a child-led approach

15:44 Wild and Wild - the challenge of 2020, what they’ve learnt and new offerings!

20:08 Tips to someone setting up something

23:58 The importance of having a business plan

25:05 What’s on their current vision board for the future

27:18 Mushrooms and their benefits

29:31 Kids and good nutrition (and veganism)

36:20 Personal rituals, things they’re working on

39:28 Rapid fire questions

Links and Resources:

April and Chris Wild are the conscious power couple behind their eco friendly, plant-based coffee-house and cafe Wild and Wild. They are parents to 3 beautiful children. In this episode we delve into their story, how and why they started their business, their philosophy around parenting, challenges they’ve faced, their partnership and their secret to running a successful business and maintaining a healthy dynamic in their relationship, their dreams and visions for the future and so much more…

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Links and Resources:

’’Our educational system is for a different era.”

Welcome back to the Spring/Summer series of the Back To The Garden Podcast. Today follows on from the previous episode with our guest, Mary Mclachlan, who founded the Wood School in Manchester in 2010. It’s an incredible school set in a 1.7 acre woodland. We’re also joined by our regular podcast guest, Anne Statham (our very own child development specialist). This is a very in-depth conversation. If you haven’t listened to part 1 listen to that one first, then come back to this.

What we cover:

• Things that have inspired Mary
• Her advice to someone starting a school outdoors
• The amazing qualities of Willow
• Challenges Mary has faced and overcome
• A story of hope, the power of a community and how the Wood School has helped a child going through traumatic experience
• Ideas for families for outdoor activities this Spring
• Wild garlic, growing plants and spoon whittling!

“The joy of Willow is the instant result. It’s also really giving. The kids get to see it grow, Willow grows really quickly, it grows quicker than they grow. It also provides a great resource endlessly. You will now be cutting willow forever and the more you cut the more you can build. And we talked about creating these little spaces that only the kids could fit in so that they could have that sense of a space for themselves.’”

In this episode we talk about:

00:48 Mary’s relationship with her children

1:57 Philosophies, places and schools around the world that inspired Mary. Here we touch on the educational system and mental health. What the pandemic has brought to light around education.

10:54 Advice to somebody out there wanting to create an outdoor setting.

13:52 Mary and Back To The Garden and the Willow weaving.

19:29 Tips for parents to do this Spring at home

21:45 Personal rituals Mary likes to do in the Spring

22:33 Spoon whittling

24:21 One particular story about a child where Mary’s really seen a difference through their time at the Wood School.

27:08 Challenge Mary has faced and overcome.

34:10 Rapid fire questions

“When a child is in trauma it really does take a whole community, everybody needs to pitch in.”

Links and Resources:

https://thewoodschool.wordpress.com/

https://www.peacefulparentingprogrammes.co.uk/about-me

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I’m just a bit of a maverick, I see things slightly differently and always gone a bit left field and I’ve always questioned and wondered whether it could be done differently or better.’

Welcome to the Spring/Summer series of the Back To The Garden Podcast. Todays guest, Mary Mclachlan, founded the Wood School in Manchester in 2010. It’s an incredible school set in a 1.7 acre woodland. In this episode we’re also joined by our regular podcast guest, Anne Statham (our very own child development specialist). This is a very in-depth conversation so it is split into two parts.

What we cover in this episode:

• Outdoor learning
• Developing empathy in practitioners 
• The art of active listening
• Parent Effectiveness Training (PET)
• How the wood school began
• The importance of developing a relationship with nature at a young age

We’re thrilled to have Mary as a guest on the show and welcome back Anne.

’Concepts around awe and wonder, that’s why it’s set in a wood. The wood is constantly changing. It surprises you each time you go. I was in this week, I’ve had the wood for over 15 years, and this week I saw a new bird.’

Links and Resources:

https://thewoodschool.wordpress.com/

Ken Robinson

‘Children are brilliant at picking up on other peoples energies. They do pick up on stress. It does impact them. Also children have these incredible imaginations, and these can work negatively too and they worry about things. They’ll put things into their little minds. It’s so important for children and parents to have these moments of calm.’

Intro:

Louise is a Children’s Mindfulness and Wellbeing Coach at The Calm Folk. She has a beautiful instagram page @thecalmfolk. It has the magical effect of instantly making you feel calm when scrolling (something quite rare on social media). She’s had an incredible journey with so much experience in various fields relating to children’s wellbeing and education. She’s a gentle, beautiful soul and this episode is just wonderful!

“I always knew I wanted to be around children and to be creative around children.”

In this episode we cover:

• Louise’s journey and why her years in education led her to follow this path
• What mindfulness is and how it’s helped her personally as well as with clients
• Her little creation to support people in creating mindful rituals at home
• Minimalism and what led her to become a ‘Minimalist’
• Her top tips for having a minimalist Christmas
• Daily rituals Louise practices
• The anxiety she has experienced in her life and why mindfulness has helped
• Why the breath is so important
• And so much more.

Following this conversation I felt calm and peaceful, I expect it will have a similar effect for the listener. Happy Listening!

‘Children are actually naturally more mindful. When a child has chosen an activity that they love they are engrossed in that activity, they don’t worry about ‘to-do’ lists. Obviously in this present moment they are worrying a lot more. But generally they are mindful, it’s us adults that are definitely a lot less mindful.’

“I’ve always loved the hilarity of being around young children and I know that’s not the academic thing to be saying but they’re hilarious. They teach you all the time, they teach you something every day and it’s wonderful to be around them.” - Cath Larkin

Intro:

Cath Larkin has worked in the Early Years sector since the 90s. She has received huge praise for her ‘Inspirational’ leadership. She is an advocate for outdoor learning, forest-school based activities and ‘being in the moment’ with children rather than over-planning. She’s incredibly passionate about what she does, which is why even though she is now retired, she continues to train others in the UK and Internationally (including our very own team at Back To The Garden.) Today alongside Cath, we are welcoming back Anne Statham (who we interviewed in Episode 2). Anne is an Early Years specialist at Back To The Garden and a good friend of Cath’s. This is a jam-packed, informative and inspiring episode.

“I went into Early Years and never came out of it. Sometimes life has a way of tipping you into something or nudging you and off you go. You find where your supposed to be.” - Cath Larkin

We cover:

• Cath’s personal journey and how she got to where she is today.
• Her training and education
• Where Anne met Cath and their work together
• What’s inspired her in her work.
• The pressures on parents to ‘see’ results of learning.
• Outdoor play and it’s benefits
• Creativity and it’s benefits
• Healthy risk taking
• Allowing children to resolve their own conflicts and the benefits of this in later years.
• The importance of community
• Why early years sector needs to be valued more in society
• Mental Health and 2020 for parents, children and educators.
• And so so so much more!

We’re thrilled to have these 2 wonderful guests on the show and we hope you enjoy hearing about their journey in early years education.

Links and Resources: (for all links head to backtothegardenchildcare.com)

Follow @backtothegardenchildcare

‘Being inspired and amazed by every day little details. Looking at the world in wonder. Children see those things, which you can lose as you get older.’

Intro:

Sian Kellaway is a gifted artist and teacher. Her natural creativity flows through her in various forms, one of which is screen-printing, where she has a successful etsy shop for prints. She’s a mother of two, a teacher and project developer at our very own, Back To The Garden Childcare. You could say Sian is part of our nursery ‘extended family’. Her current project at nursery centres around the outdoors spaces - the tipi, shed and garden, which we discuss in todays episode.

This is a fascinating episode that covers:

• Sian’s journey and inspiration
• The current projects she’s working on at the nursery
• Why boredom is key to creativity
• The tools she uses to support her creative flow
• Why creativity is so important to society, children’s wellbeing and so much more.

Happy Listening!

‘It always used to fascinate me as a child, in a way these worthless objects, not worth anything to anyone else, but they’re so interesting and take on such a significance for a child.’

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Links:

“They don’t eat anything that doesn’t look like it comes out of the ground.”

Nicola Charnock is the resident nutritionist at Back To The Garden Childcare and mother of 2.

She qualified at the renowned CNM London (College of Natural Medicine).

Her business CF Wellness Organics combines all her holistic skills and training under one roof. With 15 years of sports rehab experience, her clients include high profile athletes and musicians. Her understanding of the rate at which the body heals and athletic performance led her to train as a yoga teacher in India and introduce nutrition into her work. Through becoming a mother herself she is educating and supporting families through workshops in fertility, pregnancy, and post birth for both mother and baby. She runs food workshops including ‘Nutrition for the Whole Family Made simple’. Her love and passion for what she does makes her an incredible guest. We are joined today by Nicola (and her son Bodhi?).

“I’m always in the kitchen, that’s where to find me. Except from that I’m on a yoga mat. We look at food, where it comes from. I get the kids to smell everything before we eat. They’re always around when I’m making it.”

In this episode we discuss: 

• Nicola's personal experiences with her children and eating well at home
• The optimum foods to feed children
• Her view on supplements
• The importance of sleep
• How brain health and gut health are connected.
• We touch on mental health and young children
• Why post-natal mothers need lots of support
• and so much more.

“The less chemicals that are put into their tiny bodies the better.”

‘Once you’re through the doors of The Whitworth, it’s such an amazing space that you can’t help but want to come back.’

Lucy Turner, is the Early Years Coordinator at The Whitworth Gallery Manchester. Her renowned work includes the creation of the Early Years Atelier (or children’s art studio), where children are provided with a rich, sensory, hands-on experience of artistic exploration inspired by the Art in the gallery. Artists and musicians are brought in to collaborate. Children and parents have free access to a wonderful space to grow and explore through a child-led approach to learning. During lockdown, Lucy has provided weekly activities online for children and parents to take part in at home. This is an epic episode that covers so much!

Topics included:

• Lucy’s personal journey and how she got to where she is today.
• Museums and cultural organisations are not traditionally seen as sites for play. We dive into how Lucy has challenged this and has actively sought to encourage babies, toddlers, children and parents to play and be inspired at The Whitworth and how this has benefited them.
• Why the “Still Parents” project is so important to her and how the project supports the lesser seen aspects of parenthood.
• How The Whitworth has partnered with other cultural organisations to take this a step further.
• The huge physical transformation The Whitworth went through and how this has made the gallery more inviting.
• The vision for the Atelier and the role of the Atelierista (studio assistant).
• How COVID-19 has affected the gallery and the plans to reopen in September.
• and so much more!

We’re thrilled to have Lucy as a guest on the show and I can’t wait for you to hear about her journey in art and early years education.

‘Particularly with young children and contemporary art, there’s something really exciting because they don’t have these preconceptions of what art should be, they just embrace what is.’

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“Children are so non-judgmental, they show so much love to you, you can be silly with them and they’ll laugh along with you. That’s the beauty of children.”

The Garden Eatery created the menu for Back To The Garden Childcare and todays guest is Kate Mosely is the co-founder of The Garden Eatery, Hale. She started the business with her best friend, Amy Sheperdson in 2014 and it’s grown from strength to strength with a loyal local community of customers, it’s also become a destination hot spot for health and wellness and has a strong following online. Her husband Chris joined the team in 2017, focusing on the commercial kitchen premises for the cold pressed juices, smoothies and raw cakes & bakes. Kate is also a yoga teacher working in Hale and Altrincham as well as online. She gave birth to twins, Winnie and Rupert in December 2017. Kate now balances being a mum to both her children and also her business baby. Her passion for healthy living, nourishing foods, sustainability and love of life comes through all that she does. She’s a wonderful soul and pleasure to have as a guest on the show.

“Had i slowed down, honoured the transformation my body was going through I really do think I wouldn’t have experienced the anxiety i did when i was in the post-natal period.”

In this episode we discuss:

• Kates career paths (marketing/primary school teacher) and what led her to creating The Garden with her best friend. 
• The hurdles the business faced and what lessons they've learnt along the way.
• Her journey as a mother and the lessons she's learnt and why she's so passionate about teaching pregnancy yoga. 
• What led her to becoming a yoga teacher.
• Why sustainability is so important to her within her business and how she took this a step further with the 'Love Your Mother' campaign. 
• How she balances running a business with her husband, Chris and at the same time raising twins. 
• How lockdown has affected The Garden and the support they've received from their local community.
• How the Black Lives Matter movement has inspired her to take action within herself and also her thoughts on ways to integrate more awareness into the home to help her twins on this subject. 
• Her inspiration, current books, what she's grateful for and so much more. 

Kates honesty is so refreshing and I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

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“Family values are things that are very important to us, and that’s helped drive the business.”

In this episode we welcome Chris McGoff, Director at The McGoff Group.

With over 45 years of construction excellence, The McGoff Group is a well established, highly experienced multi-faceted collection of like minded business which work together to develop and create community. New Care was founded in 2010 and is unparalleled within the care sector, with 7 operational care homes including Bramhall Manor which has a contract with the NHS and council in Stockport. In 2017 The McGoff group joined forces with Jeannie and Stewart Pickering to found Back To The Garden Childcare where the first nursery opened in Broadheath in 2018.

During this conversation, we discuss:

• The mission of The McGoff Group and why they decided to add a nursery to the portfolio. 
• Why running care homes was such a strong foundation for creating a nursery. 
• The philosophy of the design for both the space in Broadheath and the new intergenerational concept in Lymm. 
• How the group have been supporting the NHS through a partnership to free up hospital beds for those who can be cared for in their New Care facilities and at the nursery taking care of the children of key workers and those who are vulnerable. 
• The obstacles they have faced during this pandemic and how they have overcome these, making them even stronger. 
• We also discussed what it’s like to run a family business and how the strong family values within the business has contributed to their success.

This is such an interesting discussion hearing all about the businesses in The McGoff Group. I really felt his genuine passion and care for everything he does and how much he values the people that work with him. The McGoff Group ‘do things a little bit different’ and you’ll hear why. Chris shared a very moving story about one of the care home residents.

Twitter @ChrisMcGoffManc

Twitter @BackTTGardenCC

Facebook / Instagram: @backtothegardenchildcare

“Children are very alert to the emotional atmosphere of a space so our job is to make them feel safe and to be constant for them.”

In this episode we welcome childcare professional Anne Statham onto the show. She is a qualified teacher and consultant who has worked with children in their early years since 1995. Anne has an MA in early years studies and practices and a Forest School Leader Level 3. She has a creative ‘child-led’ approach to early childhood education and currently works at Back To The Garden Childcare in Broadheath. Anne has a 7 year old son.

We discuss her experiences working in childcare and what led her to pursue this enriching career and the inspirational people and places that were key to her own development. How the seeds of the values she feels are important today were planted in the early 1900s, that the ideas of ‘Back To The Garden’ have deep roots.

Her warmth and true passion for her job shines through. It’s a fascinating episode which covers so many topics. Not to be missed!

“Children in this generation need to be creative in the widest sense. Creative not just in an artistic sense but creative in making links in all areas of learning.”

*Please note: This recording was made before the lockdown. The nursery is currently open for key workers and vulnerable children whilst offering online support to parents with children who are home learning.

Thank you for listening to this episode!!

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“If you believe you’re doing something right, you weave your way through with honesty and integrity” - Jeannie Pickering

This pair of hippies (really they lived in a commune in the 60s) who became entrepreneurs are sharing their incredible journey in our first Back To The Garden podcast.

Everything they did came from a place of integrity and passion to create something that didn’t exist in the UK. Starting with their first Kidsunlimited nursery in the 80s in Wilmslow, they then were the first company to create workplace nurseries, including collaborating with Anita Roddick, the powerhouse who founded The Body Shop.

Training was also vital and we’ll discover how they created a training that then became NVQ’s, allowing women returners to become empowered, this programme won the Secretary Of State award and is now part of the NVQ model still used today.

Design was key as Jeannie believes the environment is ‘the third teacher’. Working with renowned architect Roger Stephenson their innovative spaces won awards. They were part of the Hulme Regeneration project creating the St Mary’s nursery making childcare accessible to the community there. They have strong roots and built something from humble beginnings and changed the face of childcare, ending up with 64 nurseries across the country.

Their drive came from pure passion to create the best possible spaces for children to grow and be nurtured. Drawing inspiration from the Reggio Emilia approach their philosophy was always to have the child at the centre with a focus on creativity, outdoor play and treating each child as an individual.

This story is interesting to not only those in the childcare sector and parents but to anyone who has a dream.

Yes, there were ups and downs but they came back fighting because it was all born from a belief. Every step of the way each achievement came from a lack of something in the sector and this is why they were considered trail blazers who changed the future of childcare forever.

We discuss their incredible journey from Kidsunlimited to the present day where they now founded a new nursery, Back To The Garden Childcare with the McGoff Group.

Now, here they are as the ‘forever young’ elders.

All elders have stories and this one is a real gem.

“The nursery is a family of parents, children and staff.” Stewart

Thank you for listening to our very first episode!! We’d be so grateful if you could take 2 minutes to leave us a review on your preferred podcast app. Please share with anyone who you think would love to listen.