Leadership team

“I have worked at SMART since May 2014, having previously worked for a global financial institution.  I am married with 3 children and understand how important it is for parents to find a flourishing environment for their children in the early stages of their development.  

For me, it is all about seeing the children happy, settled and enjoying nursery - alongside content parents who are safe in the knowledge that their little ones are having a lovely time learning.  Being there for parents and children at all times, is a really important part of our ethos and for me personally.” 

"As the Director of Education at SMART, I oversee the curriculum development and implementation of best practices based on theoretical and practical developments in Early Years. I hold a BA Hons degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Roehampton and have previously managed several nursery sites. My passion is to create child-centred, holistic learning environments that empower children to explore, create, and discover their full potential. I support the team in delivering high-quality care and education to improve the outcomes for children. When I'm not working, I'm busy being mum to my own little Picasso!" 

"My children were born a few years after we founded SPEL and the process of selecting a nursery really informed how we think about serving parents. A safe and caring environment, professional communication and a real partnership with parents should be the hallmarks of what we do. That is also what we look for when buying nurseries: owners who have earned a great reputation for these things in their local community. 

My background is in financial analysis, and my main focus at SPEL is developing strong processes to ensure our nurseries operate efficiently. When I'm not in the office, my wife and I are usually running after our 2 little ones in a park somewhere in Southwest London."

"When we started on the SMART journey in 2016, our goal was to create a small group of high-quality nurseries that we would want to send our own children to. Early Years is a child's first interaction with education, and it plays such an important role for working families. For me, that's the best part of the work we do - putting our energy into creating a great introduction to education for children and serving the families in our community.

In a "former life", I worked in finance so it's great to put those skills to work behind the scenes to ensure we have a strong business platform to support the important work that happens in the nurseries. Outside of work I'm an average golfer, occasional runner and taxi service for my 2 teenagers."