Our Team

We are very proud of our outstanding team at Overton Preschool Playgroup. All of our keypersons are parents of children who have attended the Playgroup.

All of our staff are qualified to NVQIII or NVQIIII, and with Foundation Degrees in Early Years, with the exception of one part-time member of staff. Each staff member holds a First Aid certificate and safeguarding qualifications. All members of the Leadership team are also keypersons to children. The Manager works across both settings; our dedicated SENCO also provides support to both settings.

Manager

Amanda Igo

Amanda joined Overton Preschool in September 2000. She has an NNEB and NVQ IV Qualification in Childcare and Education. Amanda manages both the settings, and is very much involved in the daily planning of the settings. She is very passionate about early years education.

Deputy Leader Preschool

Angela Cowperthwaite

Angela is the Room Leader at the Preschool which is attached to Overton Primary School. Angela holds an NVQ III in Childcare and Education, and joined our team in September 2003. She loves being outdoors and her interests are STEM Learning and Science experiments.

Deputy Leader Playgroup

Linda Shanks

Linda is the Room Leader at the Playgroup Setting at the Community Centre. Linda holds an NVQ III in Childcare and Education, and joined our team in October 2006, after being a member of the Parent Management Committee. Linda has the additional responsibility of Birth to Four Co-ordinator.

Keyperson

Hazel Duncombe

Hazel is a Keyperson and joined the team in 2008. She holds a Level III Qualification in Childcare and Education. She loves doing carpet time and teaching the children all the new Makaton signs to the words of the songs.

Keyperson

Clare Miller

Claire is a Keyperson and joined the team in September 2021. She enjoys working as part of the team, settling the children, and working for the children’s best outcomes and interests.

Keyperson

Leanne Britton

Leanne is a Keyperson and joined the team in September 2018. She holds a Level III Qualification in Childcare and Education and a Degree in Design obtained from the Winchester School of Art. She loves art and craft and enjoys getting creative with the children, helping to bring their ideas to life.

SENCO

Eva Jones

Eva is our SENCO, holding an NVQ III Qualification in Childcare and Education. She has various other Qualifications to support our SEN children. She joined in 2019, and supports both our settings.

Keyperson

Shannon Lottering

Shannon is a keyperson and joined the team in January 2023. She holds a Foundation Degree in Early Years. She is very experienced and has worked in Early Years environments for 15 years.

Apprentice

Bianca Sparshot

Bianca joined the team in January 2024. She is currently doing her apprenticeship with us working towards becoming an Early Years Educator Level III.

Early Years Practitioner

Simone Trebilcock

Simone joined the team in January 2024. She holds a Level II Qualification in Children's Care, Learning and Development. Her son enjoys attending the playgroup too.

What is a keyperson?

When your child starts at Playgroup, your family will be assigned to a keyperson. This person is a member of staff who will work with you and monitor your child’s learning and development journey. The role of a keyperson is to introduce your family and child to the Playgroup, to be your child’s special friend in the group and build up a close relationship that helps your child to settle quickly and easily.

You will be able to talk to your keyperson in confidence about your child, including any special needs, medical and dietary requirements and any pet words that are useful at home for toilet, drink etc. Your keyperson will keep a watchful eye on your child, assist him or her to join in the activities and keep you informed on how your child is settling into Playgroup in his or her early days.

The keyperson will be responsible for keeping a record of your child’s progress by making regular observations. All new developments will be noted and recorded and a structured plan will then be formulated according to your child’s needs. In doing this the keyperson will liaise with you and you may discuss your child’s progress with them, helping to keep our records up to date with developments that take place at home. Whilst doing this you will be able to help develop and review our structured plans.

If you have any worries about your child in or out of Playgroup, the keyperson will be able to discuss this with you. Your keyperson will observe confidentiality as necessary.

All Children have a Learning Development Journey that documents the time they spend in setting.

Our aims for your children

to become excited, enthusiastic, curious and confident about learning
to be resilient and ready to take on all that is on offer
to be confident to ask questions, take risks and find solutions
to feel safe, secure and cared for
to know they are at the forefront of their keyperson's mind
to feel that the contributions they make are valued and respected
to have a broad range of knowledge and skills gained through everyday experiences
to be active and healthy
to feel that their efforts will be recognised and celebrated
to be comfortable to communicate their thoughts, ideas and needs in their own way
to be independent using self-care skills
to start to develop their turn taking and co-operation skills
to be comfortable in approaching others
to start to develop an awareness of their own emotions and behaviour as well as being able to reflect on them