Another coup for Kiddlywinks
Last updated 05:12, Friday, 07 November 2008
Karen James, owner of Kiddlywinks nursery and pre-school in Penrith, has received Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) and is now helping her team develop their own careers in childcare.
It has been a winning year for Kiddlywinks, last year’s winner in our sister paper the News & Star’s Cumbria Children’s Services Childcare Awards. She opened the nursery on Station Road five years ago.
Karen is one of 52 people in Cumbria who has achieved or is working towards achieving EYPS at Lancaster University.
She received her certificate, and Lancaster University Certificate in Children’s Care Learning and Support, from Greta Grindell of the Centre for Training and Development at Lancaster University, a specialist work-based learning centre. Karen said: “The Government’s aim is to have an EYP in every children’s centre by 2010 and in every daycare provision by 2015.
“Since I qualified I have also linked up with Lancaster to offer EYP training placements, and act as a mentor, for their candidates needing further experience.”
While some of the Kiddlywinks team are working on their Nova’s in childcare, Lisa McLeod, Rachel James and Kelly Bell are studying for Foundation Degrees and hope to progress to EYPS on the Long Development pathway which will also see them achieve BA Hons Degrees at Lancaster University. Dawn Driscoll from Kirkby Stephen and Tracey Troughton from Shap hope to follow in Karen’s footsteps to gain EYP Status next year, they are currently on placement at Kiddlywinks.
