ThirzaAsh

 
Stage:Guest
Area:Avon, United Kingdom
Member since:06/03/2008
My photos:1

My name is Thirza Ashelford and I am principal of Norland College (www.norland.co.uk), which is internationally-renowned for training nannies and placing them with families all over the world. Our graduates also work in nurseries, maternity hospitals, schools and many of them go on to become teachers themselves. I trained at Norland in the early 1970s so have been a Norlander all my working life – and what a life that has been! After working as a nanny in London for a few years, I spent the next seven years working in Local Authority Day Nurseries in London and then in Somerset. After the birth of my two sons I worked as a childminder and was involved in setting up the local childminder group as well as working for the National Childminding Association where I wrote information books and leaflets, including “Minding Children with Special Needs”. Going back to work had to fit in with home and family and I was fortunate to be offered a job in a school for children with severe learning difficulties, which I loved. But then an even more exciting opportunity came my way and I opened the first workplace nursery for Somerset County Council – what a dream: setting up your own nursery with someone else’s money! Eventually I moved into education and for the last 18 years I have been teaching early years students, joining Norland College again as principal three years ago.

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