The Family First children’s nursery group is continuing to flourish with the addition of two more nurseries this summer to its Little Garden portfolio.

Grace’s Day Nursery in Perry Hill will become The Dulwich Day Nursery and Pre-school while Katey’s Nursery is being renamed as The Roehampton Nursery and Pre-School.

Family First CEO Ollie Humphries (pictured right) said: “We are thrilled to welcome two lovely nurseries in the London area to our group as we continue on our mission to become one of the leading providers of high-quality childcare in the UK.

“Both nurseries have an appreciation of the natural world and have a strong synergy with our five existing Little Garden nurseries.

“This brings the total number of nurseries within the whole Family First group to 19 and we will be working closely with our new managers to ensure a smooth transition, with plenty of exciting career development opportunities for all our team members.”

Michelle Gregory will take the helm as Nursery Manager in Dulwich with Keeley Rolph as her Deputy. The nursery provides childcare for 73 children. It has a stunning indoor environment, encouraging children to grow and develop through child-centred play.

The 50-place Roehampton nursery will be led by Nursery Manager Adella Bernard. The nursery embodies Little Garden’s ‘Nurture, Care, Inspire’ ethos, and prides itself on creating a calm and nurturing environment, empowering the children to grow in confidence as they progress through their early years’ journey.

7 May 2021 Family First is delighted to announce the appointment of Ollie Humphries as our new CEO, to oversee our growth and continue our focus on bringing the best quality employees to our team.

Ollie, 41, from Cambridgeshire, is bringing his senior level experience from the retail and hospitality sector to support Family First’s ambitious plans to become the number one quality childcare provider in the country.

Ollie said: “I’m so excited to be joining an organisation which shares my own ethos for attracting the best staff, with a vision to move newly acquired nurseries from Good to Outstanding and provide exceptional quality childcare.”

Married to Dana and with two young children – nine-year-old Mylo and seven-year-old Scarlett – Ollie is highly supportive of the drive by Family First to provide excellent quality in everything the organisation offers to children, their parents and carers.

The Chairman of Family First, Andy Morris, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Ollie to our team, with his experience of working in large organisations going through transformation and his focus on attracting the most talented staff to work for us. We chose him because he’s a great people person.

“We’ve grown to 17 nurseries since acquiring our first nursery group in June 2019, now offering more than 1,000 childcare places within a 35-mile radius of London. We’re on target to reach 30 nurseries by the end of August. It was therefore crucial that we found the right person to maintain our fantastic momentum.”

Ollie was previously Managing Director of restaurant chain Frankie and Benny’s, and formerly a Divisional Director at William Hill with accountability for the people and P&L of 1250 branches. He has also been a Franchise Operations Leader for over 600 KFC restaurants. In his spare time, he enjoys competing in duathlons, skiing and coaching the local U7s football team.

31 March 2021: Family First has expanded into Buckinghamshire and Berkshire, bringing our total number of nurseries to 17 in our first 22 months of operation. We have bought the six Poppies Day Nurseries and are on target to owning 30 nurseries by the end of August.

Family First Chairman Andy Morris says: “Poppies Nurseries are very well-run and are at the heart of their local communities. We are the perfect match as we share the same ethos when it comes to providing excellent quality childcare implemented by skilled members of the team with years of experience between them.

“Providing a safe, high-quality environment for our staff and children is our number one priority. Acquiring these day nurseries is a perfect example of how our joint expertise can make a positive impact on the staff and children in our care.”

The Poppies nurseries, providing almost 400 nursery places and employing over 100 staff, are in Bourne End, Marlow, Beaconsfield and Holmer Green in Buckinghamshire, as well as Maidenhead and Old Windsor in Berkshire. The group was founded in 2006, and all are rated by Ofsted as Good, apart from the most recent, Maidenhead, which is awaiting inspection. Family First has also acquired the 54-place Kiddies Academy Day Nursery in Beaconsfield, which is also rated Good by Ofsted.

Family First Director of Operations and Quality Dianne Lumsden-Earle added: “These nurseries are known for their exceptional, nurturing staff who have provided a safe, progressive environment for the children in their care, especially throughout Covid-19. Each nursery has a relaxed yet stimulating environment with plenty of educational play and activities provided on a daily basis and fits perfectly with our own ethos of providing the best possible start for all of our children.”

The latest acquisitions mean that Family First now offers more than 1,000 childcare places within a 35-mile radius of London.