Surprise celebration hosted for pre-school worker who has dedicated 25 years to future generations
A surprise celebration was hosted for a pre-school worker who has dedicated the past 25 years of her career to nurturing future generations.
Eleanor Belcher, the deputy manager and SENCO leader at Bellinge Community Pre-School, was taken by surprise last Friday (April 4) to mark her career milestone.
Pre-school manager Anabela Da Silva spoke to the Chronicle & Echo and praised Eleanor as having a lot of integrity and being known as a fair person.
Anabela says Eleanor ensures every child is taken into account and nobody is missed, and this has been the case since she joined the pre-school as a key person back in 2000.
She was then made deputy manager in 2008 and SENCO leader in 2010, which increased her responsibility to supporting other staff members and making referrals for students with special educational needs and disabilities.
“Eleanor has made an amazing difference,” said Anabela. “She is really well-respected and well-known. She takes parents’ views into account and has a positive reputation among the professionals she makes referrals to.
“She helps every child get the opportunities they deserve and have the best start in life. They leave pre-school without being missed.”
The children and their families give “very positive feedback” about Eleanor, and many come back to visit after they have moved on to keep the team updated with their progress.
It was important to Anabela to organise last week’s surprise celebration as she wanted to acknowledge how much hard work her colleague puts in – and has done since the beginning.
“She has shown a lifetime of dedication to the job,” said Anabela. “There has been hard work, tears and frustration, and it is important to celebrate that.”
Around 50 families were in attendance to celebrate Eleanor, including her son, daughter and two grandchildren.