THOUGH some may think it an easy career, Emma Pittam knows the hard work it took to rise through the ranks from nursery assistant to manager.

The 35-year-old from Kidlington has just been named “operations manager of the year” at the Nursery Management Today Awards.

She joined The Old Station Nursery Group, which runs a number of nurseries across Oxfordshire, as a nursery assistant. Thirteen years later she is operations manager, overseeing 90 staff.

Yet, she said, there were misconceptions about the profession and the hard work it involved.

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The mum-of-one said: “Sometimes people under-estimate what we do. It is very hard to recruit quality nursery nurses; you want to get the training right.

“It is hard to find the right people. Plenty apply for the jobs but not many are the right candidates.

“Some people see it as the easy route – ‘I will go and look after children’. They think it can’t be that hard looking after children. It is hard, it is tough.”

Mrs Pittam, married to chef manager Stewart, 42, and mum to Maggie, six, said: “It is harder now to be a nursery nurse. There is responsibility and pressure and more expectation. People who don’t dedicate and make commitment to the job don’t last very long.”

Meeting health and safety requirements and expectations of the official inspectorate Ofsted are among her responsibilities.

“It can be challenging. There is a big drive in early years to up-skill teams to be better in English, especially with the Government drive to have better educated staff.”

Each worker needs their own tailored management so those who need “support and encouragement” can grow, she said.

The Hazel Crescent resident attended Kidlington’s Gosford Hill School and Oxford’s Oxpens College, now City Of Oxford College. She worked first at Cygnet and later Skips nurseries in her home village.

After picking up her award at a ceremony in London last month she said: “I feel brilliant. I am so proud, it is a real achievement after all the years.

“I always loved being on the floor looking after the children but I had a passion to make a difference. I knew I had to be higher up to do that.”

The company was founded in Faringdon by Sarah Steel in 2002 and has nurseries in Filkins, West Oxfordshire; Watlington; Henley; Innsworth, Gloucestershire; and Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire.

The Faringdon and Filkins nurseries were rated outstanding by Ofsted after visits in September and October respectively.

Mrs Steel, who nominated Mrs Pittam, said: “She was my second employee and she has just been absolutely fantastic.

“She is really passionate about pre-school children; she is not a manager who wants to be in the office.”

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