Staff Profile
Name
Ian & Sheila Higginbotham
Joined the Nursery
May 2004
Job Title
Directors
Qualifications
Life!
Notes (By Sheila...)
I was born in Milton Keynes, the youngest of 6 children. I met Ian in 1988 and joined him in his business, a franchise in Amtrak Express Parcels, in 1989.
Ian’s career initially started off as a Navigation Officer in the Merchant Navy, working on all types of ships all around the world. During this time he also worked as a ski instructor and windsurfing instructor.
In 1991 we embarked on a journey to Siret in Romania. We arranged our own convoy of three lorries of supplies and ended up taking 33 tonnes of aid to an Orphanage in the northern most point of Romania. This had a profound effect on both of us.
In 1992 we married and continued to work together. During this time Ian was a Retained Fire fighter for Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service for seven years and was often called out at all hours of the day and night.
In 1993 we sold the business and in July 1994 Glenn was born. When Glenn was 3 months old we discovered I was pregnant again and in August 1995 Laura was born.
I stayed at home with the children and Ian went to work for Norman Data Defense Systems Ltd. He became Managing Director and ended up running offices in the UK, Czech Republic and Dubai. This was a time when Ian was away from home a lot and although we got to have some lovely holidays we found that we missed the family values of being together very much.
Ian was made redundant in 2000 but was head hunted to set up a new division for Symantec in Dubai. We were all geared up to move to Dubai but unfortunately September 11th saw the bottom fall out of the IT security industry and Ian’s offer of employment was withdrawn.
I became a Magistrate in 2000 and worked on a very busy Milton Keynes bench. In 2001 I became the Chairman of a Foster and Adoption agency in Banbury.
Ian took a job as Chief Executive of Rainbows Children’s Hospice in Loughborough. We found that the daily commute from Milton Keynes to Loughborough was again affecting the quality of our family life so in 2002 we moved to Smisby. Having accomplished a huge amount in a short time Ian left Rainbows in May 2003.
We heard that the Nursery was up for sale and in May 2004 we took over the reins.
I continue to work as chairman of a Foster Panel and as a JP on the Ashby bench sitting in Coalville court. Since moving to the area I have been studying and have now qualified as a Counsellor and Psychotherapist and therefore a lot of my time will be taken up fulfilling this role. I have also completed my Chairmanship training for the Magistrates Court.
Ian is the main man in the nursery and is in charge of everything. I am fondly referred to by the staff as ‘The Purse’, mostly due to the fact that if they ask for it, I buy it! Obviously due to my other work commitments and two teenagers I am not a permanent fixture in the nursery but I do the daily school runs for the after school club and manage all the financial accounts.
Both Ian and I enjoy our work at the nursery and our aim is to provide a caring atmosphere for all those who come through our doors, children, parents and staff. We pride ourselves on providing our staff with a family environment in which to work and help them progress themselves through training.
We both look forward to staying at Smisby Day Nursery until our retirement and hope to continue to be a positive part of so many children’s lives.