Hey There!
I'm Sally and I help charity managed settings like yours cut out the overwhelm and become more confident management teams by providing practical solutions to your challenges.
Lets be honest, you're probably here because you're in need of help and advice but you don't know where to turn for help
And I get that​
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You've got questions about a specific problem or want to know how others do that thing you're trying to do so you pop it in a Facebook group to ask others.
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The only issue there is that you'll likely end up with a hundred differing answers that leave you feeling more confused, or worse, that others are doing things you're not. And then you
go into a complete panic about what you think you should be doing forgetting why you asked the question in the first place!​
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So then you try a Google search and go down the rabbit hole of hours of endless searching and reading just trying to find the answer you need.
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Information overload!!
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​Here's where I swoop in, not in any kind of superhero way but just to help you:​​
So who am I?
I've been working within the Early Years sector since I first qualified as an N.N.E.B Nursery Nurse in 1992 with roles including private nanny, pre-school committee chairperson, pre-school manager, advisor for the then Pre=school Learning Alliance (now the Early Years Alliance) and Kent County Council and owner of a nursery.
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It was my own setting that was the real starting point of my Dinky Ones story. I had always dreamed of having my own nursery so when the opportunity arose in 2012 to take over an existing pre-school I left the local authority (where I had been through two restructures in 3 years) and jumped in with both feet.
Without going into detail this transpired to be the biggest mistake I ever made, certainly professionally but personally too, and a year later I walked away from what had once been my dream.
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With my mental health in tatters I found myself questioning my ability, feeling like a failure and totally confused as to what to do next. It was at this point that I knew I could use my knowledge and experiences to help others so that no-one else had to go through what I had.
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In 2014 the beginnings of Dinky Ones began to take shape and I went live to the world in May 2015.
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I knew that I could use my knowledge and experiences to provide something tangible and worthwhile for others who were in the lonely situation of having nowhere or no one to turn to.
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Since then......
Ten years on and Dinky Ones is a very different business to the one that I started but although the model has changed my ethos and mission remains the same.......​
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​I believe that everyone who works in Early Years deserves the best advice, guidance and resources to support them with managing and getting the best from themselves and their business, whenever they need it, for as long as they need it.
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In this time I've supported over a hundred clients to make the transition to CIO, mentored many settings to help them develop their business, trained hundreds of trustees to give them a better understanding of their role and held hundreds of discovery calls to answer questions and give advice and support to those in need of it.
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But most of all, nothing excites me more and fuels my passion for the charity managed early years sector than you.​​
2009 - Kent County Council "headshot" having just been through a second restructure in 3 years
2013 - A smile that masks a thousand worries and the shattering of a dream.
2016 - Dinky Ones First Birthday photoshoot
I take a different approach to your business.....
I'll communicate with you in plain English, in a way that's easy to understand
I'll be honest and transparent in any advice I give regarding your business.
I'll be respectful of the fact it's your business and I can't tell you how to run it.
These are a few of my favourite things
MY KIDS: Although they're both grown adults now I'm an immensely proud mummy.
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FAMILY: Vitally important to me in every way and they are my biggest supporters.
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PAST TIME: People watching! Aren't we fascinating creatures!!
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FAVOURITE FOOD: Fish and chips, especially out of the paper at the seaside
COFFEE ORDER: A cappuccino (unless it's Christmas then it's a gingerbread latte every time!)
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HAPPY PLACE: My garden. Love nothing more than pottering about doing things whatever the weather
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FAVOURITE PLACES: Bournemouth for the beach or Shropshire for exploring
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HOBBIES: I belong to a running club and enjoy watching motorsport, darts and the Lionesses
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