Our Team

Stepping Stones has an existing team of four dedicated team members who have proved to be very successful over the last few years, and this team will be added to as the nursery expands. We have maintained a high level of parent satisfaction, with parent expressing that the nursery has given their children the best start to their education thanks to the high quality pre-school education offered. The team works hard to ensure a creative and stimulating environment, which enables children to have exciting adventures in play and learning.

Owner – Mrs Karen MacDonald

I am the new owner of Stepping Stones and am very excited about taking over the nursery. I am married and am mother to 5 gorgeous children, Hannah, Natalie, Caitlin, Findlay and Ruairidh, the girls having previously been students at Stepping Stones when they were younger.

I have a variety of experience working with children, starting as a nanny, followed by working in a creche before following a career in the NHS in which I looked after children with complex needs, worked in a surgical ward and then within the nursing team of a local GP practice. Unfortunately an accident 7 years ago resulted in me becoming a bilateral above knee amputee in 2018 and left me looking for a new career direction.

A chance conversation led to me finding out that Stepping Stones was up for sale and the rest as they say is history. I have done various Continual Professional Development courses in preparation, and have just completed my HNC Childhood Practice, graduating with an A, and I am now planning on continuing to complete my degree.

I am very excited about the plans I have for the expansion of Stepping Stones and the future potential of the nursery.

Practitioner – Mrs Andrea Green

I am married with 17 year old twins and I got into child care when my children started primary school. I was helping at a local nursery school which I really enjoyed and luckily after a couple of years a position became available for a play practitioner which I applied for. Thankfully I was successful and this started me on my new journey which resulted in me completing my college course and becoming a qualified practitioner.

Ten years later and I still have the same passion for teaching that I had all those years ago. I

attend regular training in all areas of the curriculum to maintain my Continual Professional Development to ensure my practice is current. Shaping the lives of the next generation is a privilege that I embrace.

Practitioner – Miss Jody Hopper

I am mother to 4, now adult children. When my kids were wee I was a childminder, and completed a home learning course and got my qualification as a Nursery Nurse. The next 12 years were spent in childcare, 8 of these at Stepping Stones.

I am also a qualified yoga instructor with an additional qualification with rainbow kids and family yoga.

Recently I have been a support worker for a woman with Down Syndrome, which has given me a fantastic opportunity to meet and interact with a variety of adults and children with special needs.

I am so excited to come back to Stepping Stones and am really looking forward meeting this year's new arrivals.

Practitioner – Mrs Annette Goram

I am delighted to be joining the wonderful team at Stepping Stones as the banking/volunteer early learning practitioner. I have a son, a daughter, two grandsons, a dog and a chicken.

I am a keen gardener and I have a passion for the outdoors and a windy west coast beach!

Previously I worked as a private nanny for a local 1yr old girl until she started school after completing my SNNEB ( Scottish Nursery Nurses Education board) then Lomond School Nursery for 25 years during which time I worked on gaining the Nursery/ primary green flag status followed by 6 years in the Helensburgh Waitrose where I continued to work with local schools implementing the grow and sell initiative.

Practitioner – Ms Ellouise Stanley

From a young age I have always wanted to work with children. My passion started by watching my mother and helping out in school with the younger children. I got to experience first hand how much play can help with a child's development.

Once my niece was born, I knew I wanted to work in the early years to help give children the best start in life.

Completing my NC and HNC in Childhood Practice only made me more sure I had chosen the right path. I love being able to help the children learn new things in fun ways and seeing them grow into individuals with unique personalities, ready for their next steps in life.

In my free time I love to relax with a variety of different books. I also enjoy going on walks with my many dogs or even by myself, where I can discover new areas and paths I've never been on before.

Recruitment

All staff go through a rigorous recruitment process and are recruited in guidance with the Governments national guidance Safer Recruitment Through Better Recruitment (2016). This enables Stepping Stones to meet existing legislative and regulatory requirements in relation to safer recruitment and selection to ensure all skills, experience, qualifications, criminal records, identities and values of existing and future staff are fully checked and referenced.