Sally Donaldson By Polly Twisk
Sally joined DUCKS in September 2005 as Head of Kindergarten. With her extensive knowledge of Early Years education and child development, she soon motivated the staff to embrace many new initiatives such as child-led learn- ing and open-ended play. Sally instilled an ethos of reflection, learning and training to constant- ly improve and develop positive
clearing out the attic, using her sewing skills to upcycle items, and – most importantly – nurturing children, staff and parents, ensuring that she has always been there for everyone. When speaking to the Kindergarten staff about Sally, there was an overwhelming outpouring of wonderful com- ments: ‘one of a kind’, ‘always has time for you’, ‘children are always at the centre of her heart’ and ‘supportive, thoughtful, fun and loving’. Sally has been the heart of the Kindergarten for nearly 18 years, and she will be greatly missed by us all. ◎
lovingly prepared hand-printed T-shirts or personalised jars containing individual memories for each child. What can’t be said about Sally and bunting is not worth saying! She has made miles of bunting over the years, which has been used for many celebrations at DUCKS, the College and also for staff weddings, birthdays and other wonderful events. For the DUCKS 25-year anniver- sary, Sally crafted bunting with individual flags decorated by each Kindergarten family and member of staff. During Sally’s first year, she introduced the Kindergarten outing to Battersea Zoo. This has happened every year since, and is a military operation of car-seat logistics, minibus seat allocation, distribution of packed lunches and emergency wet-weather provision. On the bus on the way to the zoo, there is lots of singing of ‘Wheels on the Bus’, ‘We’re Going to the Zoo’, and so on, but on the way back, there is complete silence, with most of the children fast asleep, and staff and parent volunteers tired after a happy, fulfilling, fun-packed day. Sally’s knowledge of the Early Years Statutory Framework and regulatory and compliance requirements is outstand- ing. She has led the Kindergarten through inspections, and it continues to be graded as an Outstanding Early Years setting. Sally has a very detailed understanding of policy and procedure, which she has ingrained in her staff team. She is an ISI inspector herself and uses her knowl- edge and expertise insightfully when inspecting other settings. Another area in which Sally has imparted her extensive Early Years knowledge is that of leading staff training. Over the years, the DUCKS staff have appreciated her detailed and interesting delivery of a variety of topics, enabling complete engagement, and enhancing skills to complement everyday practice. Parenting classes are another important contribution Sally has made during her time at DUCKS. She has helped copious families with Family Links courses, running 4–8
week programmes for families, focusing on the nurturing of pre-schoolers through to teenagers. These classes are very close to her heart, as she is totally committed to helping parents to learn ways of navigating family life happily and successfully. Sally has always led from the front, and she cares deeply about child development and family wellbeing. She has supported so many families over the years, including many staff families, with unstinting kindness, calmness and patience. There is nothing she will not do for the Kindergarten, from DIY through to managing the Kinder- garten waiting lists, nappy-changing, parent meetings,
learning throughout the Kindergarten, with the children at the heart of any decisions made. She had an open-door policy, and parents always knew they could knock on her door and be given thoughtful advice about their child or be listened to if there were any issues. Both parents and staff held her in great affection for her kindness, support and exceptional command of Early Years learning. At the beginning of every term, we all knew Sally would have been busy over the break, thinking about exciting new ideas to bring to the Kindergarten, to stimulate and thrill the children and to inspire the staff. The children have walked into rooms transformed into beaches and forests, have had to unlock a treasure chest using clues to find the key, whilst wearing superhero capes, and have had tea parties with Sally’s eclectic collection of fine bone china. One of her legacies will be the way she instilled this ethos within the staff team so everyone felt empowered to bring and implement inventive, stimulating play-based activities, working collaboratively to make it the best ex- perience for the children. Staff know that if ever they see anything interesting in a charity shop, such as a typewriter, silver-plated goblets, tools or old telephones, these were a must-have for imaginative play. Sally believed in constantly celebrating children’s achieve- ments. Each week, a trophy was awarded to a child to take home overnight, to celebrate the ‘3Ps’ – Persever- ance, Patience and Persistence. When children left the Duckling Room to transition to the Infants’ School, Sally
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