Georgie is a qualified teacher, SENCO and Forest School leader. She has taught children of all ages (and even some adults) from SEN to mainstream schools to adult prisons (!) and is passionate about her current role in senior leadership and as SENCO in a primary school. Georgie completed her Level 3 Forest School training at Hill End in Oxford in 2015. 

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"I want to give children the most exciting, challenging and fun time at nursery, where lots of learning, growing and developing is happening. I aim for The Little Firefly to be a safe, happy, nurturing place that prepares the children for their futures ahead of them. We want to be an outstanding place of learning; where stories are read under trees, naps are taken in hammocks, mud pies are made and lunch is cooked on an open fire. The Little Firefly is the kind of place where amazing memories are made and cherished and where children learn independence and resilience, but most of all where they can play freely and unhindered in the great outdoors, all day."

Alison has over 7 a half years experience working with children both as a Childminder, Teaching Assistant and as a fully qualified Level 3 Forest School Leader. Alison has recently achieved her Level 3 Childcare qualification. 

She is enthusiastic and determined to extend her learning alongside the children in a fun filled, imaginative and gloriously messy child led environment.

Alison has a true passion for nature and the wholesome well-being it promotes to all aspects of learning and development. She is truly excited to become part of the The Little Firefly Forest School team, discovering and making never- forgotten lessons and memories everyday. 

Katharine is a qualified teacher and has twenty years’ experience of supporting children with additional needs. During her ten years of teaching, Katharine led an Early Years Team and was the SENCO.  Prior to teaching, Katharine coordinated community development projects in London, studied Urban and Community Regeneration, worked on the Oxford Playbus and ran an art class. She has a degree in Fine Art and level 3 in Nursery Nursing. Katharine is hugely enjoying doing her Forest School Leadership Training. In her spare time, Katharine enjoys being outdoors and sitting round the fire with her family and their dog, Pepper.

​‘It is an honour to be part of the Forest School team. Giving our Little Fireflies sustained time to engage in play as well as experiment with and explore our natural environment has far reaching benefits. At Little Fireflies, it is wonderful to be able to nurture positive connections and relationships within small groups, and guide the children as they develop their self-confidence, autonomy and self-worth. Each child brings something valuable to Forest School and it is a privilege to hold a safe space where we can share and appreciate this.’

Valerie is a level 6 Early Years Professional with a degree in Early Childhood Studies and over 20 years experience as the  previous owner and manager of Dinton Pre-School where she gained additional knowledge and  experience as SENCO and Safeguarding Lead. After stepping down from leading the pre-school in July 2022 Valerie spent a year as a TA in a Foundation class at a local village school gaining a wonderful insight into children's  ongoing early years learning journey. In her spare time Valerie loves  reading, skiing, going  on long walks and to the gym. 

'I am  passionate about encouraging and supporting  children to learn through  self initiated play and exploration in a caring and nurturing environment and excited to be given the opportunity to learn more about forest school and to be a part of enabling children to experience  amazing play opportunities surrounded by nature and wildlife'

Alasdair (or Ali as he is more well known) has a degree in archaeology and a former career in online business information and finance, however his true passion is for the outdoors. He has a life long love of nature, specialising in Ornithology and Lepidoptera (Birds, Butterflies and Moths). He is a former competitive skier, snowboarder and surfer and an accomplished mountaineer. He has had many years of practical experience in teaching people of all ages in these disciplines.

Ali is a true advocate of the power of nature and outdoor activity in a child’s early years development. This includes the positive effect on resilience and self belief; attention to detail and concentration; improved self-discipline and increased physical activity and fitness.

Ali is always ready to share his knowledge and invent new opportunities for learning in our fantastic Fireflies biosphere through play, everyday adventure and discovery.
 

Uma has had the pleasure of getting to know everyone at the Upton site during her work experience as part of her Level 3 Health and Social Care Diploma. More recently she has joined our team of bank staff and is excited to start working at the new site in Kingston Blount while completing her Early Years Level 3 qualification. 
Uma has trained to be a doula and is passionate about using empathy and compassion to effectively support children and adults. She also has years of experience understanding and supporting neurodivergent needs, and strongly believes that using nature in learning environments contributes massively to creating a therapeutic atmosphere where anyone can flourish.
Uma loves wildlife and being outdoors and is particularly interested in the health and medicinal benefits of nature. In her spare time, she enjoys reading books on herbalism and foraging wild plants for food or healing purposes. 
 

Ciddy is a qualified teacher and Forest School Lead, with many years of experience teaching children from preschool age to teenagers.

After studying Early Childhood Studies and English Language and Linguistics at Oxford Brookes, she completed her PGCE and worked in Oxfordshire schools for many years, before leaving to travel in Europe and Central America, volunteering in refugee camps, schools and homeless charities and visiting different education settings along the way.

She is an advocate of learning through play and communication, and has finally found a channel for her sewing and begun making children’s puppets! Ciddy is so excited to now be part of a setting as nurturing, creative and exciting as Little Firefly and can’t wait to get started! 

Oskar is Georgie's husband, Forest School handyman and maker of things! Oskar often helps out at the Forest School and whilst he is mainly responsible for the maintenance at the Forest School, he has also been known to bring his guitar with him to do some singing with the children. 

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Oskar is also a Excel Spreadsheet extraordinarie, so is responsible for all things finance based at our nursery. 

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Christina has over 10 years experience working with children aged 6 months - 11 years as a Nursery Nurse, Special Educational Needs Teaching Assistant, leading Lego Therapy sessions and as a fully qualified Level 3 Forest School Leader.

She is enthusiastic and excited to be part of the Little Firefly team, making memories with the children in a fun filled, imaginative and gloriously messy child led environment.

Christina has a true passion for nature and the wholesome well-being it provides. At home Christina’s main passions are riding her Fell pony Pookie, caring for her farm animals, including British Lop pigs and helping out with the family florist shop. 

Anni has recently changed career paths, having spent over ten years working for charities and children’s services in fundraising, events, marketing and graphic design. Lockdown inspired a new career in working outdoors and with children and she hasn’t looked back! 

Anni is currently working towards her Level 3 in Early Years Education to support her in her new endeavour with us. She also works as a special needs teaching assistant at a secondary school and comes with a lot of understanding of special needs within families from her upbringing too. 

A keen runner, hiker, cyclist, dog walker, kayaker, paddleboarder, traveller.. She is happiest outdoors and up for all our forest school adventures! Anni loves getting creative with whatever she can get her hands on and is keen to encourage curiosity, play and independence in all our forest school children.

Lindsey has recently changed careers, coming from a creative background in graphic design and marketing, it was sharing her joy of the outdoors with her two children that made her reconsider her career direction. She is excited to be working towards her Level 3 Early Years education alongside her time at the Forest School.

Lindsey has always had a love of the outdoors, the natural world and all things supporting wellness, becoming a Yoga Teacher in 2019 opened her up to many new possibilities and is keen to encourage confidence, awareness and self-worth in each child.  She also spends many hours growing her own vegetables, walking in the woods, swimming in the sea and pretending to eat mud pies. She is keen to share her love of the outdoors with the Forest School children!