Some of Old Cleeve First School’s staff were looked after in its Teddy Bears Pre-school by Kirsty when they were young, and she also cared for many of the parents of current pupils.
During her three decades with Teddy Bears Pre-school, Kirsty has brought in more than £102,000 from fund-raising events she organised.
Kirsty, who lives in Watchet, was a teenager when she started at the pre-school and quickly realised she had found her niche in life.
The pre-school used to be teacher-led with Kirsty working alongside as she gained experience and took over during the Covid pandemic when it was decided to run under a different model.
For almost 20 years she has also chaired the school’s parent, teacher, and friends association, helping each year to organise fund-raising events such as summer, Easter, and Christmas fairs, quizzes, Christmas shopping, and visits to Santa.
The funds raised from the events went toward enriching the curriculum with play equipment and activities such as theatre performances, swimming, and trips.
Kirsty, who has worked alongside seven headteachers in her time, said: “I just started working in a very lovely small school with a really great community.
“I always saw the school as a family. Family is always at the heart of everything we do.
“Both my children have been through the school, and my nephews.”
The biggest change Kirsty has seen in her 30 years is that when she started there used to be a panel of people from social services, health visiting, and teaching who would vet applications from parents who wanted their children to attend the pre-school.
Today, she said all parents were entitled to send their children for 15 hours a week and most of the youngsters were from working families.