Grafton Childcare Day Nursery & Preschool was set up in 1991 by Denise Tupman. Who has owned and managed it ever since. Denise is Level 3 qualified, our settings Safeguarding Officer, one of our 1st Aiders and one of Grafton's Fire Warden's.
In Denise's spare time she enjoys sitting down with a good historical novel. Walking one of her three miniture Dachshunds Schnitzel von Krumm, Strudel von Hund and Pretzel von Biscuit, Dyeing her hair various shades of purple and wearing silly dangly earrings and oh and being Grandmother to William and Albert. But we have a small but perfectly formed team here at Grafton Childcare Day Nursery & Preschool and below you will meet the rest of us! We hope you like our portraits very carefully drawn by Ella! We are very proud of the fact that ALL of our Nursery Nurses hold a minimum of a Level 3 certificate in Early Years or it's equivalent and each also holds a full Paediatric First Aid for Child Care Practitioners certificate, which exceeds the minimum requirements required by OFSTED. |
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So we have in no particular order ……
Phil Tupman – Denise’s long suffering husband for over 35 years and Daddy to their four adult sons, Matt, Chris, Jonty and Andy and Granddad to William and Albert.
Phil is Grafton’s Cook, Caretaker and Head of Transport. Since Denise does not drive, although she does own a rather fetching Lilac Morris Traveller Estate which you may see Phil and her driving around in.
Not only does he cook all of the meals freshly each day for the nursery he also cooks for the Tupman family daily as well. When he’s not cooking for us, he can often be found with a drill or screwdriver in hand repairing or mending something for Denise, from one of her very many lists stuck on the Fridge!
In his spare time Phil enjoys looking after his avery full of Finches and Canaries and taking our Miniature Dachshunds Schnitzel von Krumm, Strudel von Hund and Pretzel von Biscuit for long walks, although they never seem long enough to wear them out!
Phil is Grafton’s Cook, Caretaker and Head of Transport. Since Denise does not drive, although she does own a rather fetching Lilac Morris Traveller Estate which you may see Phil and her driving around in.
Not only does he cook all of the meals freshly each day for the nursery he also cooks for the Tupman family daily as well. When he’s not cooking for us, he can often be found with a drill or screwdriver in hand repairing or mending something for Denise, from one of her very many lists stuck on the Fridge!
In his spare time Phil enjoys looking after his avery full of Finches and Canaries and taking our Miniature Dachshunds Schnitzel von Krumm, Strudel von Hund and Pretzel von Biscuit for long walks, although they never seem long enough to wear them out!
Chris Tupman – always has a smile on his face and joined the family firm in October 2006, he gained his Level 3 Diploma in 2012 and works mostly with the over two’s or wherever his many talents are needed. Chris is also one of our 1st Aiders.
In his spare time Chris enjoys off road cycling and restoring a vintage Mini Clubman Estate.
In his spare time Chris enjoys off road cycling and restoring a vintage Mini Clubman Estate.
Lara Rowe – joined Grafton in September 2011 as a level 3 Apprentice having completed her level 2 in Childcare the previous year at Newton Abbot College.
Lara now works for Grafton full-time and is our Senior Nursery Nurse with our 3 & 4 Year olds and our setting SENCO, she has a lovely gentle nurturing nature and is a brilliant addition to the team here at Grafton.
Lara is Level 3 & 5 qualified and is one of our 1st Aiders.
All of Lara's spare time is taken up looking after her pet Pug.
Natasha Dempsey - joined the team in September 2016. She gained her Level 3 Diploma in Child Care and Education in 2009 and has worked full-time with children ever since, so joins Grafton with a wealth of experience and some wonderful ideas.
Natasha is one of our Nursery Nurses with our under 2's and one of our 1st Aiders.
In her spare time she enjoys traveling up to North Devon to visit her family.
Natasha is one of our Nursery Nurses with our under 2's and one of our 1st Aiders.
In her spare time she enjoys traveling up to North Devon to visit her family.
Angela Evemy joined us in March 2013 as our Early Years Teacher, she works three days a week with our Preschool Class alongside Lara.
Angela is simply amazing at seizing those teachable moments and constantly listening and looking out for occasions when our children show an interest, so that she can build upon that spark to ignite their curiosity, deepen their knowledge, and extend their learning.
In her spare time she enjoys long walks with her husband and pottering around in her garden.
Angela is simply amazing at seizing those teachable moments and constantly listening and looking out for occasions when our children show an interest, so that she can build upon that spark to ignite their curiosity, deepen their knowledge, and extend their learning.
In her spare time she enjoys long walks with her husband and pottering around in her garden.
Zoe Northcott joined us in August 2012 and completed her Level 3 in Early Years right here at Grafton and in now a vital part of our team working mostly with our 2 year olds, but also leads our weekly cooking and baking sessions with our 3 & 4 year olds.
She is also in charge of our Going Home Book and Maths Bag Library and will make sure that any returned bags are swopped over swiftly each week ready for the children to enjoy a new one at home.
In her spare time Zoe enjoys walking her dog and is also a very keen baker and creates the most amazing celebrations cakes and cup cakes for friends and family.
She is also in charge of our Going Home Book and Maths Bag Library and will make sure that any returned bags are swopped over swiftly each week ready for the children to enjoy a new one at home.
In her spare time Zoe enjoys walking her dog and is also a very keen baker and creates the most amazing celebrations cakes and cup cakes for friends and family.
Gracie Terry joined us in July 2021 is one of our new Level 3 Early Years Apprentices. She is a vital cog here as she covers our lunchtime breaks and lends an extra pair of hands when we are enjoying our messy play activities as well as our weekly Woodlands Experiences Days at Decoy Woods. She is also one of our 1st Aiders.
Khara Mitchell joined us in July 2021 and is one of our new Level 3 Early Years Apprentice. She is another vital cog here working two days a week with our 2 year olds and 2 days a week with our under 2's.
Meg Toms joined our team in September 2020 and is already three quarters the way through her Level 3 Early Years Apprenticeship with us here at Grafton. She is also one of our 1st Aiders.
She is just amazing, unflappable and pretty much always smiling. She has the most gentle, nurturing nature and will go far in her career with children. She spends two days a week with our under 2's and two days a week with our 2, 3 and 4 year olds.
In her spare time she enjoys ballet and dance.
She is just amazing, unflappable and pretty much always smiling. She has the most gentle, nurturing nature and will go far in her career with children. She spends two days a week with our under 2's and two days a week with our 2, 3 and 4 year olds.
In her spare time she enjoys ballet and dance.
Jonty Tupman joined Grafton in February 2016 and has worked 2 or 3 days a week for us ever since. He is brilliant with all of the children, but comes into his own when he is outside in the fresh air, he is also one of our 1st Aiders.
Jonty also does the very important job of keeping Grafton clean and tidy and can often be found at the end of the day with a vacuum or mob and bucket cleaning up to keep the place spick and span for the following day.
When he's not at work he will be playing cricket for South Devon Cricket Club, cycling or running around Newton Abbot.
Jonty also does the very important job of keeping Grafton clean and tidy and can often be found at the end of the day with a vacuum or mob and bucket cleaning up to keep the place spick and span for the following day.
When he's not at work he will be playing cricket for South Devon Cricket Club, cycling or running around Newton Abbot.
Schnitzel von Krumm - joined our staff team in September 2014, the photo was taken a few days before his 1st Birthday in June 2015, so as you can see he's a fine figure of a black and tan Smooth Haired Miniature Dachshund.
Strudel von Hund - joined us in November 2015, he's a beautiful shaded red Smooth Haired Miniature Dachshund.
Pretzel von Biscuit - joined us in August 2016, he's a beautiful chocolate and tan, Smooth Haired Miniature Dachshund and he completes our Dachshund pack.
Schnitzel, Strudel and Pretzel all live and work on the premises, they are in charge of night time security a position they take very very seriously they will sit at the lounge window of an evening watching the cars coming and going up and down and barking if they thinks they are going a bit fast or if they spot somebody on their mobile!
Then once we are off to bed they are under the duvets as quick as a flash and will let us know when our neighbours and family arrive home for the evening and won't settle until all of the family are home and in bed.
During the day they can be found either asleep in their gated Kennel area outside the kitchen or at the side of Phil or Denise as they are working. They love the children to bits and are always very interested to hear about their stories, they are such good listeners even if they have told them the same tale many times before.
During their spare time they enjoy sleeping, long walks around Decoy County Park and sleeping some more!
Strudel von Hund - joined us in November 2015, he's a beautiful shaded red Smooth Haired Miniature Dachshund.
Pretzel von Biscuit - joined us in August 2016, he's a beautiful chocolate and tan, Smooth Haired Miniature Dachshund and he completes our Dachshund pack.
Schnitzel, Strudel and Pretzel all live and work on the premises, they are in charge of night time security a position they take very very seriously they will sit at the lounge window of an evening watching the cars coming and going up and down and barking if they thinks they are going a bit fast or if they spot somebody on their mobile!
Then once we are off to bed they are under the duvets as quick as a flash and will let us know when our neighbours and family arrive home for the evening and won't settle until all of the family are home and in bed.
During the day they can be found either asleep in their gated Kennel area outside the kitchen or at the side of Phil or Denise as they are working. They love the children to bits and are always very interested to hear about their stories, they are such good listeners even if they have told them the same tale many times before.
During their spare time they enjoy sleeping, long walks around Decoy County Park and sleeping some more!