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Meet the team

We are proud of the high standard of care and experience we provide.

Each child has a key person who helps them settle in and form attachments, who monitors their progress throughout their time at the Pre-School and makes sure parents feel involved in their child’s development.

Newdigate Pre-school Staff

Nicky Clark – Deputy Manager – SENCO – Early Years Practitioner

Nicky has been working at Newdigate Pre-School since 2012. She enjoys undertaking creative activities with the children, especially helping them to use their imagination to create something individual to them and to independently problem solve. Nicky loves to bring attention to the natural world and loves sharing activities outdoors, such as mini-beast hunts, planting and making bird feeders.

  • Senco & Early Training Boost talk 
  • City and Guilds Level 3 Diploma for the Children’s and Young People’s Workforce – Early Learning and Childcare Pathway 
  • Paediatric First Aid (including Epi-pen)

Angela Walsh – Early Years Practitioner

Angela has worked at Newdigate Pre-School since 1993. She has 3 grown-up children of her own and joined the Pre-School after originally being a parent helper. Angela enjoys getting to know the children’s individual characters and especially likes to read stories to them, introducing them to gardening and teaching them essential maths skills.

  • CACHE Level 2 in Children’s Care, Learning & Development
  • Paediatric First Aid (including Epi-pen)
  • Level 2 Food Safety & Hygiene

Michele  Whiltshire- Early Years Practitioner Assistant

Michele previously worked as a SEN support and alongside the ELSA lead in our sister branch St Michael before joining Newdigate Pre-school team in 2025. She particularly enjoys scaffolding the Children’s learning during imaginative play and roleplay activities and planned their next steps to help them grow.

  • Safeguarding training
  • ADHD training

Caroline Strudley – Manager & DSL

Caroline has been working in childcare for over 20 years in various nursery settings  in the UK and the Middle East. She has gained experience as a nursery practitioner and held a deputy and manager role in both her previous nurseries before joining us in January 2021. Caroline  particularly enjoys arts and crafts and coming up with exciting games and circle time activities.

  • Advanced Safeguarding in Surrey
  • Paediatric First Aid (including Epi-pen)
  • City and Guilds, Early Years Care and Education, NVQ Level 3 
  • SQA Child’s Play and Development