Recently I was invited to spend time with Mr and Mrs Paintpots (aka David and Anna Wright) at some of their settings in Southampton. Their energy and passion for early years is infectious and their dedication to their staff team and the children and families in their care is evident in all that they do. We spent the morning exploring three of their settings finding out about the 'Paint Pots' motto 'Love, Laughter and Learning’ . We then talked at length about their plans for the future, their charity work both at home and abroad and David's work in the wider early years sector. During the day I asked a series of questions, the answers to which provide insight into the Paint Pots philosophy and give a clear view of the wide brush strokes David and Anna are making across both the National and International early years canvas. Who are Paint Pots? The Paint Pots nursery group established in 1992 as a small preschool in the family home. The name Paint Pots was chosen as it symbolises for Anna 'the unique potential inside each child from which creativity, imagination and wonder develop and flow.' Anna was (and still is!) passionate about caring for children. With an NNEB qualification and experience as a nanny, she successfully established the first setting with the same reputation for loving, homely care that remains today. When talking about this, Anna tells me she said at the age of 5 that when she grew up she wanted to have 100 babies; David comments aside that she probably does now have about a hundred! After they had their own children David retrained to Early Years to join the Paint Pots business following a 25 year career in IT. Between them, they view the Paint Pots staff, children and their families as their own extended family. As we walked around the different settings the sense of connection between all involved is palpable; each setting is unique, yet each is connected through the shared aims and values. Every staff member is known to David and Anna. Each is greeted warmly with genuine concern and interest, staff due soon onto maternity leave are carefully reminded to keep hydrated during the heatwave. Family circumstances are gently enquired about and thanks and gratitude are shown to staff who go the extra mile to help out colleagues in need of assistance. Both David and Anna are quick to play as we explore different nursery rooms - questions about frying imaginary sausages on an imaginary barbeque soon take David away from a tour of the garden. Anna meanwhile, reassures a new parent anxious about their return to work during a baby settling session. Clearly both Mr and Mrs Paint Pots are very 'hands on' and instill a confidence in staff, children and parents alike. In the beginning... Many new providers will recognise the early challenges that were faced. David and Anna admit they knew little about the larger scale childcare business, finances, management or customer service. They comment however that there was less regulation in those days and there was more support available. This perhaps gave them the guidance they needed. With fewer local authorities being able to provide the package of support they once were, it is becoming increasingly difficult for new entrants to the market place to get the help they need. The desire to provide the best care and education that they could motivated David and Anna then, and continues to do so now. Whereas in the beginning they were working in the rooms themselves, very much 'hands on', they are now managing and coordinating a large team of professionals. The ethos remains the same: "When you start any venture – business or other organisation, of necessity, it is usual to do everything yourself. This is particularly true of small businesses where you work in your business as well as on it. Anna’s passion has always been for children but as you grow, you spend less time directly with the children and you understand that your role is to ensure that you support others to provide the same level of care and education. The commitment to our values and the original purpose for founding our company still remain. We work hard to communicate this to every member of the team when they join us." This shared commitment is evident in each nursery - they may look different, be different building styles, be decorated differently but the manner of the care and education and the dedication behind it is the same. A dedication of which both Mr and Mrs Paint Pots are rightly proud. Moving forward... With their reputation established Paint Pots has expanded to include 11 settings comprising 3 pre-schools, 6 nurseries and 2 after school clubs. The expansion has been in response to the needs of local children and families - David is keen to tell me that there is no expansion master plan ... they just evolve naturally as demand requires, "We moved out of our house into other premises in direct response to demand – for longer hours, more days and more children. We believe that we have something special to share and therefore expansion enables us to do more of what we believe we are good at. We look at each opportunity as it presents itself. We have never had a strategic growth plan. And we do not consider moving out of our area." They have however, planned to extend their supportive reach for the benefit of local children and families with their charity 'Families First Southampton'. The charity employs an outreach worker who supports dads, kinship carers and children across the city. Further afield, David and Anna are trustees for New Life Home Trust UK a charity which supports baby rescue centres in Kenya. They are taking some of their team to volunteer in one of the centres next year. So with this huge involvement in their own settings and the early years sector as a whole (you will see from David's biography how involved he is in the wider world of early years) one might wonder how Mr and Mrs Paint Pots relax, they say "One of our hobbies is travelling to other countries to visit Early Years settings. We have done so in Italy, China, Iceland, Slovenia, Austria, Ireland, America, Spain, Belgium and New Zealand – amongst others!" Phew! It was a pleasure to spend time with David and Anna; their passion for early years and their dedication to the youngest children in society is clear to see. This photo of them fundraising locally sums up their attitude and ethos perfectly 'Love, laugh and learn'!!
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