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Head Office
1B Lyndwood Parade
St Lukes Road
Old Windsor
Berkshire
SL4 2QX
Rekha Bassi
Director/Owner
Rekha created The Gap Club in 2001 when faced with all parents challenge of balancing a career and family in a manner that would not deprioritise these crucial parts of life. She especially wanted to keep her children as her priority whilst ensuring her career and work could grow in a way that could benefit others too. Her remedy to the childcare conundrum was to create her own high quality home from home out of school childcare provision, and so The Gap Club was born! Word of mouth recommendation and a consistent drive for perfection has seen The Gap Club grow to what it is today.
Rekha is a passionate and strong supporter of children and young people feeling at secure, confident, happy and safe with the support of skilled practitioners to encourage each individuals imagination and curiosity. She is proud to be a part of the journey of children becoming rounded independent young citizens.
It has been a privilege to work so closely with all our families and children over the years earning us the caption of being ‘More than just a Service’ by many.
She is highly skilled, qualified & experienced and enjoys sharing her knowledge of play and early years practices with all members of her team. She has over 30 years leadership and management experience and is qualified to Level 4 in Early Years.
Outside of work Rekha enjoys spending time with her family and friends, her four children and huge lovable dog, as well as doing her bit for the community and charity work.
Rekha loves music, especially 80’s pop music, and spending time with friends and family. She loves to give and help others complimenting her other passion – her medical background in pharmacy. She relishes her personal development journey and is always looking at ways to improve herself and be of service to others.
Favourite thing
Rekha’s favourite thing about working at Gap: the children and their humour, the staff and their dedication and loyalty, the parent’s and their friendship and support.
Nel Punter
Finance Manager
Nel joined the company in 2011 as a playworker while also working at one of our local partnership schools. She quickly progressed to be Supervisor and has managed a number of our settings with her current Supervisor position being based at our setting in Wraysbury. During her time with The Gap Club she has completed her Level 3 in Childcare and joined the Head Office team in the role of Finance Manager with a particular focus on customer accounts and bookings.
Nel enjoys seeing the children grow into independent well rounded young people who know their own minds. She believes that at The Gap Club we can help children become more resilient, confident, caring and independent, whilst enabling and encouraging children to socialise with a variety of age groups, backgrounds and cultures. She strongly supports and believes that these early childhood experiences help children gain the confidence within themselves to achieve positive outcomes in the future.
Nel likes to get to know the families that she is working with so that she can use this knowledge to support the children within her care as much as possible. She is known for being a calming influence with the children and always looks at ways in which she can further experiences by taking the lead from the children.
Outside of work Nel enjoys reading, spending time with her family and friends from the community that she lives in, and her dogs. She also enjoys the occasional shopping trip especially prior to going on holiday!
Fun Fact
Nel has 5 grandchildren including a set of twin girls.
Favourite thing
Nel’s favourite thing about working at Gap: Nel loves being with the children and enjoys the teams that she works with.
Leah King
Operations Manager
Leah has been working in childcare since 2012 when she started as an unqualified playworker. In 2016 she gained her Level 2 & Level 3 in Children and Young People’s Workforce. Following this, Leah was promoted to Deputy Manager with a specific responsibility for planning and behaviour management. Leah then spent two years working at SEN schools as an LSA and a TA; however, she decided to return to playwork as its her passion. Leah particularly enjoys leading sensory activities, outdoor games and cooking and has a keen interest in play and the benefits it brings to everyone.
Leah plans on using her experience as a playworker, LSA and TA alongside the knowledge she has gained from a variety of qualifications and training courses to fulfil her role as Operations Manager. In her spare time Leah likes to read fiction, listen to music and cook for her friends and family. Leah is also passionate about supporting mental health through sharing strategies, tips and advice.
Fun Fact
Leah spent 2 months travelling the West coast of India when she was 19!
Favourite thing
Her favourite thing about working at The Gap Club is the interactions she has with the children and watching them reach their full potential.
Rebecca Harris
Office Manager
Beccy originally joined the Gap Club in December 2019, as one of our Breakfast Club Supervisors whilst running her own beauty and massage business. Beccy completed her Level 3 Childcare qualification in 1998 and so The Gap Club was a way for Beccy to pursue her other passion of working with children. She has a variety of experience working with children including a background in working with children with special needs, children under 5 years old and as a teaching assistant. In 2020, Beccy went on maternity leave to have her little girl and rejoined the company in June 2022 as our Office Manager and is thrilled to be part of The Gap Club family again.
She has a particular interest in outdoor play including nature walks, den building, bug hunts and outdoor games. Beccy is a keen baker and enjoys bringing in treats for the office. Outside of work Beccy enjoys spending time with her friend’s and family, walks with her little girl and generally enjoying the freedom that life brings.
Fun Fact
Beccy’s childhood holidays were spent at Pontins, and she applied to be a Blue Coat when she was 17.
Favourite thing
Beccy’s favorite thing about The Gap Club is the positive culture and its people. She finds them a phenomenal group of people to work with and Beccy is so happy to be back with them all.
Lucy Stevenson
Recruitment Manager
Lucy joined The Gap Club in 2009 and has worked for The Gap Club over a number of years in between having her two daughters. In 2018 she re-joined the Head Office team on a permanent basis as our Recruitment Manager and supporting senior member of staff across all of our clubs.
She has a Level 5 in Childhood Studies as well as a Level 2 in Counselling and has a keen interest in supporting children and young people’s mental wellbeing. Lucy originally chose a career in childcare as she wanted to be involved in watching and supporting children grow and learn as individuals; thus, her qualifications support her in being well placed to do this. She enjoys the challenge and experience that working with children brings, which is incredibly rewarding.
Lucy’s drive and determination to make a difference for children and young people, her longevity with The Gap Club and qualifications and experience ensure that she has a clear vision for what she is looking for within her recruitment role for the company. This supports the company in ensuring our staff are high quality practitioners who share the same vision, ethos and passion as we do, as well as ensuring we are child centred at all time.
Outside of work Lucy enjoys yoga, horse riding and various other forms of exercise, cooking and baking, visiting her family in Yorkshire and spending time out and about with her daughters.
Fun Fact
Lucy used to be a lifeguard and her first ever job was riding race horses.
Favourite thing
Lucy’s favourite thing about working at Gap: The comradery between the staff and the friendly atmosphere.
Meet the Head Office Team
Grace Aldridge
Planning Assistant and Level 3 Apprentice
Grace joined The Gap Club in September 2020 as a Playworker, having previously worked in a nursery, and has since started her Level 3 Apprenticeship in Early Years. In the office Grace is our Planning Co-Ordinator and creates all of the planning for our Breakfast, After School and Holiday Clubs ensuring it meets the needs of the individual clubs and children within them.
Grace enjoys working with our younger children as she likes to watch them reach their developmental milestones. She especially believes that the first few years of a child’s life are some of the most important, especially for emotional and social development.
Grace finds the interaction of the older and younger children within our settings fascinating as the older children thrive when helping younger children learn, socialise, play and have fun!
Outside of work Grace likes to spend time with her family, friends and pets. She also enjoys good food and loves to go out to eat.
Fun Fact
Grace loves plants and likes to help rejuvenate weathered neglected plants.
Favourite thing
Grace’s favourite thing is to read Greek Mythology
Robyn Lukins
Quality Assurance Assistant and Club Supervisor
Robyn has worked in childcare for 5 years and prior to this she has worked alongside schools in a variety of volunteer roles. She joined the Gap Club team in 2019 as a Playworker working in Holiday Clubs and during this time she completed her undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Studies at the University of Chichester. Having graduated in 2021 as a qualified level 6 she moved back home and then joined the team full-time as a Quality Assurance Assistant in the office and a Club Supervisor across After School and Holiday Clubs.
Robyn is keen to use her knowledge learnt at university with The Gap Club across all elements of her role and, where time allows, in volunteer settings or placements as well. Her passion and dedication to working with children and The Gap Club led her to continuing her career in childcare and stepping into a management role. She has a particular interest in the legislation surrounding safeguarding and the impact childcare roles can have on a child. While at university she specialised in this topic during her final year focusing her dissertation on how local schools upheld their safeguarding procedures and legislation changes during the lockdown period.
Outside of work Robyn loves to spend time with her family and friends, going for walk adventures which quite often includes her dog Koko. She also likes to spend time continuing her volunteer work when she can.
Fun Fact
Robyn studied Art in college for three years and before switching to working fully with children.
Favourite thing
Robyn’s favourite part of Gap Club is watching how play aids a child’s development. She particularly enjoys participating in cooking activities with the children.
Ellie Stewart
Recruitment Assistant
In 2020, Ellie started working in a Special Educational Needs school as a 1:1 with children that have a primary diagnosis of Autism. During this time, Ellie gained a breadth of knowledge regarding Applied Behaviour Analysis and the different functions of behaviours. She worked predominantly in lower primary with a focus on independent living skills and communication, gaining lots of experience using AAC devices. Following her passion of childcare and working with children, Ellie then began studying part time for a degree in Educational Studies: Primary via The Open University in 2021. She later joined The Gap Club in July 2022 as a Holiday Club Playworker and began her role as a Supervisor in an after school club and Recruitment Assistant at Head Office in September 2022.
Ellie particularly enjoys working with children that have additional needs and finding new ways to support and help them thrive. Specifically, she enjoys sensory play and physical activity.
Fun Fact
Ellie used to study musical theatre and was in Joseph and The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat in the West End when she was in high school.
Favourite thing
Ellie loves exploring the different types of play and their benefits for children.