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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 at St Luke's Hall. 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
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.
Keyperson
Bianca Sparshot
Bianca joined the team as an apprentice in January 2024. She qualified as a Level III Early Years Education in July 2026, having completed her apprenticeship and being awarded a distinction.
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.
Keyperson
Daisy Miller
Daisy joined the team in September 2026, having worked in childcare settings for more than five years. She is passionate about supporting children's learning, development and wellbeing.
Early Years Practitioner
Dimple Smith
Dimple joined the team in September 2026. She is experienced in creating safe, inclusive and supportive learning environments and enabling children to thrive during their formative early years.
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
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to become excited, enthusiastic, curious and confident about learning
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to be resilient and ready to take on all that is on offer
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to be confident to ask questions, take risks and find solutions
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to feel safe, secure and cared for
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to know they are at the forefront of their keyperson's mind
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to feel that the contributions they make are valued and respected
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to have a broad range of knowledge and skills gained through everyday experiences
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to be active and healthy
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to feel that their efforts will be recognised and celebrated
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to be comfortable to communicate their thoughts, ideas and needs in their own way
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to be independent using self-care skills
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to start to develop their turn taking and co-operation skills
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to be comfortable in approaching others
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to start to develop an awareness of their own emotions and behaviour as well as being able to reflect on them