Meet Our Nursery Team

My name is Vicki and I am Nursery Manager at Turtles. I was born and grew up in North London, and after university moved to Hertford. Before joining Turtles I worked as Deputy Manager at our sistering Nursery Mara in Barnet. I joined the Turtles team in August 2021. Working with children has always been my goal in life, so I started studying Child Care 10 years ago. Since then, I have achieved my Level 6 in Education, Level 3 in Child Care and Education, and Level 1 in Forest Schools. I see myself as a friendly and sociable individual. My weekends are always packed solid with meeting friends and family doing various activities. I have a love for camping and will go often throughout the year to get a weekend break away.

My name is Lola. I am the deputy manager at Turtles Nursery. I have worked at Turtles for almost 4 years, from nursery practitioner to room leader, to my current role. I have a strong love for Turtles, as it has taught me so much about nursery life as a whole, babies and children as unique individuals, that we support, care, nurture and has molded me into the practitioner I am proud to be today. I have been born and raised and still live in Covent Garden, with a large family who also all live close by.

My name is Daisy, I am the ocean room leader/ third in charge. I hold a Level 3 diploma in Early Years Education and Care, and I am currently studying Leadership and Management. I joined the Turtle’s team nearly a year ago now and have loved the journey so far. It has been so rewarding to take on this role, getting to know all the lovely children, staff, and families, creating some lovely bonds.

My name is Natasha Pugh, I am 36 years old. I live with my fiancé in Covent Garden, and we have 2 children together aged 8 and 6. I come from a big family and have always lived in Central London. I have 3 younger brothers and 31 cousins so from a young age I have always been around children. From the age of 17 I started my training in childcare achieving my level 2, level 3 and a degree in early years education. I worked in a primary school in Fulham for 8 years working in the nursery and reception class. I then worked in a private nursery in Fulham for 2 years as a room leader. For the last 4 years I have been working at Turtle’s nursery. I am extremely close to my family and love to spend as much off my free time as I can with them making memories and watching my two girls and my niece and nephew grow up together. I love to explore our beautiful London city visiting all the wonderful parks we have to offer.

Hi my name is Alba, I am from Catalonia and I speak Spanish and English. I have been working with children for the last five years in Spain and I started my journey here in England with Turtles 2 months ago and I have settled in well now. I love working with children because it keeps me on my toes, learning new things each day and I enjoy being able to nurture children and watch their growth. In my free time I mostly enjoy travelling the world and learning about different cultures. My other hobbies include photography because I love to capture the special moments in time.

I am a qualified creative practitioner who has trained in using art as a tool of expression. I have worked in childcare for over 3 years and have experience with supporting children and their families with Special Educational Needs and or Disabilities. I work closely with several other practitioners and external agencies to tailor and adapt learning opportunities and promote equity within the setting for children with special educational needs. I find this role particularly rewarding and love being the contributing factor behind a child’s development or just knowing I have been able to make a positive difference. I enjoy working with Turtles as the staff are great and I learn something new from them and the children every day!

I am a level 3 practitioner who has an immense passion for childcare, I am also a native Spanish speaker, and this gives me the chance to support children who speak Spanish at home to transition into English as they settle in nursery, I love taking the time to support children and meeting their individual needs and help them reach their goals. As a parent, I also love to nurture children and make them feel like they are in a safe, loving and playful environment, which is ultimately, what all parents wish for when their children are being cared for. I am part of a great team at Turtles and only hope to extend my skills and learning from such skilled practitioners in order to deliver the best care and learning journeys for all children at Turtles.

Hi, my name is Naomi, I am 16 years old. I speak English and Portuguese. My hobbies include baking, roller skating, listening to music, painting and doing DIYs. Right now, I am studying childcare but, in the future, I hope to one day open up my own diner or café where I can sell things that I make. I have always loved to bake; I’ve done it for many years. I love to travel and hope to travel the world. I love to spend time with my friends and family. My favourite game console is the Nintendo Wii and my favourite game to play on it is just dance. When I’m alone I like to spend my time by watching my favourite series, soaps, and movies. I am a big Disney fan so I enjoy watching Disney movies the most.

Hi my name is Samantha and I am currently working in Ocean room. I have been working at Turtles day nursery for the last four years. I started my career as a teenager doing babysitter jobs for friends and worked as a nanny travelling the world working for a famous photographer, Tony McGee looking after his son. I worked at a local school - St Joseph’s Catholic primary school for 14 years running breakfast club, after school club and lunch time duties. I was born and have lived in Covent Garden my whole life. I have three lovely daughters. My eldest daughter Beth works at Turtles nursery in Pebbles room. My whole life I have been caring and working alongside children - which I really love.

My name is Beth and I am currently room leader in pebbles room. I have been working at turtles since 2012 when the nursery first opened. I started as a student and since then have worked in both rooms as well as taking on other roles such as 1:1 SEN support, deputy manager and safeguarding lead. I have always wanted to work with children and seeing them grow and thrive is a massive achievement at the end of each year. I have experience with all ages from birth to 5 years and have completed various courses along the way such as my level 3 childcare qualification, level 4 management, and leadership, first aid, food hygiene, safeguarding and at the minute I am completing my level 5 management and leadership course. I have two children myself a son aged 5 months and daughter aged 4. I have lived in Covent Garden for the past 25 years and enjoy spending my weekends doing lots of exciting things with my family. We particularly enjoy soft play, baking, exploring new farms and parks as well as attending church on Sundays.

Hello my name is Zubaida. I am currently based in Ocean Room at Turtles. I have only worked at Turtles for a short amount of time but in that short time I have really enjoyed getting to know the children, their families and the staff. I am a mum to two children. That is where my passion for childcare started. Since then I have been in nurseries for years. When i'm not at work my children are always keeping me very busy, doing various activities and going out for the day with them. Having children of my own has taught me so much about children, and these skills I have brought to Turtles Nursery. I am excited to continue my journey at turtles and to complete my Level 3 qualification in Childcare.