Through the generations
Former teacher Jayne Goddard founded Technotots Nursery more than 25 years ago.
And it has got to the stage where some of the parents and staff came through the door when they were kids way back when.
Owner Jayne has waved off thousands of kids on their journey towards school — and is proud every year when Technotots holds its annual graduation.
But one of the most rewarding experiences for her is to see the generations grow up and return to their old stomping ground.
From parents who were once a technotot to members of staff who used to run around the nursery — Jayne doesn’t have to look far if she wants a tale from down memory lane.
“It’s really rewarding when people come back,” Jayne told the News.
“You see a lot of parents bring their kids — and we even have staff who were here as kids. “That is a really good feeling. “We like to think we have a good family feel here.
“We help parents as best that we can as well as the kids. It’s part of what we do.”
Senior supervisor Dawn McCorkindale says that a lot of the staff are “in with the bricks” and have clocked up decades of service at the St Leonards nursery.
“It’s a good group,” she said. “I came here 22 years ago and just love working with the kids.
“It’s a same with a lot of the staff here. They just really enjoy what they get to do.”
A big part of Technotots is educating the kids on the world around them and they do that through numerous charity efforts.
Youngsters have been involved in fundraising for Down’s Syndrome Day and welcomed in pooches for the Bravehound project — a charity supporting former servicemen, women and their families.
Teacher Gillian Stewart said: “These kinds of things really help the children.
“It shows them that the world is a big place and it’s not just them in it. 180418technotots_01
“They are really understanding the world and engage with it.
“We have them come up with ideas for how they would like to fundraise and work with them to narrow it down — sometimes they can be very creative but we like that!
“They have come up with things like art galleries.”
Kids are now also taught French and makaton – a form of British Sign Language often used for children who have various special needs.
Depute head Angela McMillan, who has also dedicated more than two decades to the tots, is proud of the initiative.
“We have our French teacher come in once a week and we have a boy in our nursery who has Down’s Syndrome,” she said, “so the kids are now learning makaton along with him.
“It’s given them a different thing to think about and experience and learn.”
We have a lot of parents who were here as kids...our staff too.