Becky came to Wingate Nursery in 1998, working as Deputy, alongside the previous Headteacher Paddy Beels, OBE. In 2014, Becky stepped into headship and has been instrumental in leading significant developments over the years, namely the opening of an Outdoor Nature School. Her passion and ambition is rooted in creating a culture and climate that respects and protects children and their childhood.      

Nichola joined the Wingate family in 2018 as an early tears teacher, before becoming deputy head in 2023. Her love of nature and the outdoors has been perfectly suited to influence the pedagogy at 'the cottage in the woods', our outdoor nature school. Nichola also delivers training to early years educators - both through our own professional development programme and also for EEF, the Education Endowment Foundation. 

Beata came to Wingate in 2019 and has been the key person for orange group, until 2024 when she asked to step into the role of allotment lead. Beata is particularly skilful at enabling children's 'big thinking' through complex construction projects, so we are really excited about how she will transfer these skills to her work with children in residence at the allotment with her.  Beata is originally from Poland, but has been living and working in the UK for more than 20 years. 

Tom is passionate about working outdoors and is perfectly placed to lead the Ramblers. He loves camping and being outside both at work and home with his wife and family. Tom is a positive male role model for our nursery children - a rarity in early years, so we feel very lucky to have him in the team.   

Burcu joined the wingate family in 2020 and although was fairly startled by our ethos and pedagogy when she first started, has grown into the educator role with so much confidence. She takes her role very seriously and works incredibly hard as a key person, helping to raise strong, confident children who love learning. Burcu enjoys supporting children with research - looking into things they find interesting but want to know more about. Burcu is a 'Communication Ambassador' and is highly skilled in supporting young children with speech and language difficulties. Originally from Turkey, Burcu now lives with her husband and son in Hartlepool. Burcu has recently been granted British citizenship which means we get to keep her here forever!

Sophie came to us on supply, initially supporting children with additional needs, but it wasn't long before we offered her a contract to become a fully fledged member of the team as the key person for the red team. Sophie is from a farming background and as well as being physically strong and resilient, she has a lot of knowledge about outdoor life and is the first one to roll her sleeves up and "muck in!"  

Caroline was (and still is) a parent of 2 children, Alfie and Penny, often helping out with events and fundraising. Caroline was a primary school teacher for many years, until she joined the wingate family in January 2025. She brings many skills with her, including music, singing and creativity, which we are really excited about uncovering.  

Hannah joined the wingate family many years ago, in our childcare organisation. She was initially baby room lead, before stepping into the role of manager. She led the team for 3 years before stepping across into school to join the nursery school team - as key person for the blue group. Hannah's nurturing nature is a welcome gift in school, which we all admire in her and aim to replicate, especially with our youngest children.  

Mel is a newbie - joining us in September 2025. She worked as a reception teacher in a primary school before applying to join our team. The majority of Mel's experience is with EYFS and year 1, which is great, but it means she is learning fast about working with younger children. Of course, having 2 young children of her own brings plenty of experience!   

Laura is also new - joining us in September 2025. She graduated from the University of Sunderland with QTS in 2020, and brings vast experience of working in various early years contexts. Laura has worked as a nursery class teacher in a primary school, a teaching assistant in a private setting and also an educator in an outdoor nursery school in a neighbouring authority. 

Kate was also a parent, before she applied to work at Wingate. She started by doing voluntary work with us, until a vacancy to apply popped up. Kate works with our youngest children who are 2 years old and has done this at our outdoor school, 'the cottage in the woods' and in school. She works alongside Amy and together they are loving their time with the little ones. 

We first met Amy as a parent, before she applied to work alongside Elaine in the kitchen, preparing meals and supporting the children with lunches. She also helped out with cleaning on occasions, too. Amy soon expressed an interest in working directly with children and so whilst undertaking a qualification in childcare, she did some voluntary work with us. Amy is now employed and is a key person to a small group of younger learners.

Sarah is German, now living in the UK. She is parent to Ella, who was in nursery with us 2024-2025. Sarah loved our values and approach to early childhood education, asking us if Ella could stay in our school for longer.  We knew Sarah was quite special and approached her about joining us - potentially. She worked in travel agency, with no qualification or experience of working with children, so we guided her towards an apprenticeship, which started in September 2025.  Sarah has slipped beautifully into the team and is loving every minute! 

Amy is a parent to Frankie and Oliver, both of whom came to nursery. Amy is in her third year of an Early Childhood Studies Degree and has worked with us over a number of years, sometimes as a parent, sometimes as a volunteer, sometimes on placement and sometimes as a paid educator.  She is currently working 3 days a week, supporting Beata at the allotment and will join the team officially, once she's fully qualified.

Sophie is currently working with us full time on supply and is supporting our children with additional needs. Sophie utilises her knowledge and skills to help create a safe, inclusive environment where children thrive. Sophie focuses on helping children achieve the targets set out in their support plans, as well as working alongside them in the ordinary available provision.  

Maxine works full time with us - currently through a supply agency. As soon as we met her, we knew she would 'fit the bill'! Maxine has lots of experience in supporting children with additional needs and is a trooper when it comes to many other aspects of the job. She is loving her time at Wingate and supports all our children beautifully. 

Beth is employed to support children who meet the criteria for early years pupil premium. Beth works specifically with these children, giving them extra opportunities to build foundational skills, knowledge and understanding. This takes place daily through focussed support to engage children in key experiences, and practice skills over and over in small groups to consolidate their learning and ensure they have every opportunity to reach their full potential.