Meet the team
We have a dedicated and enthusiastic team of professionals that use years of experience to deliver a wonderful experience.
You can find out more about Tigers Day Nurseries here
Alison Huntley
Owner and Founder
Right from the beginning Tigers has delivered outstanding care in a happy, friendly and loving environment, always working in partnership with parents, keeping them informed and involved.
As our business has expanded, our exceptional standards have always remained and we are justifiably proud of our dedicated, knowledgeable and caring staff. All members of our management team share our passion for quality childcare and together we provide the leadership, training, resources and environment for our nursery staff to excel at what they do and to keep Tigers at the forefront of nursery care. Many of our team have been with Tigers for several years, giving continuity and a unique family atmosphere to our nurseries.
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Tigers’ ethos is and always has been to provide the best possible experience for each and every child in a safe, stimulating environment supported by loving, friendly staff – something we hold dear to our hearts.
Cara Few
Operations Manager
Hello, my name is Cara, I have recently joined Tigers as an Operation Manager.
I have a background in Education, specialising in Early Years. I have always been drawn to Early Years, primarily as Early Years teacher, Leader and Manager of Nurseries, Montessori and mainstream schools. I have a wealth of experience that I draw on constantly, from being a Forest School Leader, Inclusion Officer and a Signalong Tutor.
I am extremely passionate about our youngest children. I enjoy learning new skills, constantly researching new way to teach and support children, training and supporting other practitioners to ensure we meet each individual child’s needs to become independent learners.
I am super excited to have joined Tigers, to be part of this wonderful team here.
Nicola Barkhouse
Senior Nursery Manager
Hi, I’m Nicola Barkhouse, Senior Nursery Manager of Tigers Day Nursery.
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I came to Tigers as a placement as part of my NNEB training in 1997 and joined the company in 1999 when I finished my qualification. Since then I have completed my level 4 and level 5 childcare qualifications.
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Over the years I have worked with all age groups as a nursery nurse and room senior before becoming a manager. Stepping away from running my own room was a big decision but in my role now I have the best of both worlds as I am able to spend time with the children but also show new parents around the nursery and support the staff to achieve the high standards of care and teaching we offer at Tigers.
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One of my roles is the nursery SENDCO and I really enjoy this role as I strongly believe that every child deserves the absolute best start in life and the opportunity to attend Nursery.
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In my spare time I enjoy spending time with my five nephews and friends and family.
Vicky Attard
Nursery Manager Theale
Katie Sopp
Nursery Manager Swindon
Julie Matkin
Training Centre Manager
I am the Manager of Tigers at Theale Day Nursery. Our nursery has a lovely village, community feel and I am proud to be the Manager, working closely with my Deputy Becca and the rest of my staff team.
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I qualified as a Level 3 Nursery Nurse in 1998 and completed the Level 4 NVQ in childcare in 2009. I am originally from Manchester but moved to Reading when I met my husband, and joined the nursery soon after. I started as a Nursery Nurse and gained experience with all age groups and in my Managers role I am passionate about the highest quality of care and education for ‘our’ children. I enjoy working closely with parents to ensure we meet the needs of all our families and believe a personal touch goes a long way to establishing good relationships with our families. We work hard on staff training, ensuring our staff have ample opportunities to extend their knowledge and understanding of all aspects of childcare.
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When I’m at home I enjoy crafting, reading and spending time with my husband.
Hi, I'm Katie Sopp the Manager at Tigers at Swindon Day Nursery.
I love showing prospective families around our bright and fresh nursery and I'm really proud of the facilities and our team. We all work really hard to give the best care and education to all our children, from the smallest babies to our 'big' children who will soon be off to school.
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I qualified as a Level 3 Nursery Nurse in 2008 and believe in continuing to add to my knowledge and understanding of children's needs, recently just completing the Level 5 childcare course accessed at Tigers Training Centre.
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I joined Tigers at Theale in 2016 and worked my way up to Deputy Manager before I was promoted to Nursery Manager in January 2023 and am loving every minute! Tigers at Swindon is a fantastic nursery and we are constantly striving to ensure our children have a great range of opportunities and experiences so nursery is a wonderful place for them to spend time. As a parent to a young child myself I know how important positive partnerships are with the people entrusted to care for your child so that it a big focus of mine, making parents feel welcomed and comfortable in the nursery.
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In my spare time I like spending time with my little family making special memories, shopping, kickboxing and going out for dinner.
Hi, I’m Julie Matkin and I run the Training Centre at Tigers and have done since it opened in 2011. I was invited to join the team after working previously with Tigers and have always been impressed with the focus on quality in terms of care and training for new and existing staff. I am immensely proud of the standards we achieve which is recognised through our funding provider West Berkshire Training Consortium and CACHE, our Awarding body. We are responsible for training staff from lots of local settings which I feel is an endorsement of the quality of the teaching and qualifications we complete at all levels. We are constantly striving to offer different levels and variations of qualifications to ensure we meet the demand for the highest quality childcare in the area.