Who We Are​

Founded in 1960, Dolphins is a long established, family-run Pre-school which has served generations of families based in and around Hove
Dolphins Pre-school is committed to an open access policy and is fully inclusive. We are not linked to any religious organisations nor are we affiliated with any particular schools, although we do have excellent working relationships with all primary schools in our local community.  

Our mission
To provide a friendly, happy atmosphere to bridge the gap between home and day school, gently introducing children to community life; to know every child in our care and to fulfil every child’s individual needs. Underpinning every area of the Dolphins aims and objectives is the recognition of the child’s right to play.

Staff
Principal
Mrs Sheila Gavan  
Deputy Principal/SENCO/EYP
Mrs Marita Farrant BA (Hons), PGCE, EYPS
Head of Operations
Peter Farrant BA (Hons)
Additional
Dr John Keegan BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD, FEI, EYPS
Lucy
Steph
Claire C
​Lynda
Jo
Claire
Ria
Teresa
Dolphins is a long established Pre-school and most of our staff have been looking after children on a professional basis for many years. For the various roles that they perform, each member of staff has appropriate qualifications, training, skills and knowledge. The Dolphins provides a staffing ratio which is generally always better than the minimum welfare requirements of the EYFS. By doing so, we aim to ensure that all Dolphins children have sufficient individual attention to guarantee high quality care and education.

We carry out checks on staff through the Disclosure and Barring Service/Criminal Records Bureau in accordance with statutory requirements. 

Each Dolphins child is assigned a "Key Person" - this is a named member of staff who will meet the individual needs of the child by responding sensitively to each particular child's feelings, ideas and behaviour and through developing a genuine, close bonding relationship.

A small, family-run Pre-school, the strategic direction of the Dolphins is set by the Steering Group - a triumvirate of the Principal, Deputy Principal/SENCO/EYP, and the Head of Operations. The practice is led by the Early Years Professional. However, the Principal as sole proprietor and the registered person has overall responsibility. On a day-today basis Dolphins staff operate as a team with the session supervisor nominally in charge of daily operations.