Meet the team

Meet the friendly team of trained childcare staff at Buttercups Nursery and Pre-School. The whole team welcome you to visit the nursery…

Hazel Scott

Owner/Manager

I am married to Dave and I have two grown up children Helen and Clare and have lived local to the area since 1976. Sadly, in March 2005 my eldest daughter Sharon died from breast cancer.

I have been working with children aged between 3mths to 4yrs 6mths for the last 24 years. In June 1998 (in partnership with my daughter Helen) I set up Buttercup’s Nursery School in Whiteley. The last 20 years have been a tremendous learning curve for me both personally and professionally and by working as a partnership with my daughter, Buttercups Nursery School has now become very successful and popular. I have 4 grandsons, Oliver (Helen’s son) and his brother Jack and my youngest daughter Clare has two children Louis and Freddie.

My role at Buttercups is to manage the day to day running of the nursery and to work as a co key person to all the children at Buttercups.   

Helen Akerman

Owner/Manager/Designated Safeguarding Lead

I am married to Dan and have two sons Oliver and Jack.

I have been working with children aged between 2yrs 9mths to 4yrs 6mths for the last 29 years. During this time, I have gained lots of experience and knowledge about child development and education. I opened Buttercups in June 1998 and have been successfully running the nursery ever since.

My role at Buttercups is to manage the day to day running of the nursery and ensure that all staff deliver a broad and balanced curriculum, enhancing children’s development as they progress through the Early Years Foundation Stage. As the setting EY-ELSA I am responsible for working with children to support their emotional health and well-being by implementing individual or small group activities. My training is on-going; I regularly attend training days to develop my knowledge of child education and business management.

Since becoming a mother myself I feel I have my own experiences to share with the parents and can sympathise with how difficult it is to let your child take those next steps in to pre-school life without you by their side.  

Rachel Wilson

Supervisor/Designated Safeguarding Lead/Key person

My name is Rachel Wilson, I have lived in Whiteley since 2006 and I have two younger sisters.


I have been working at Buttercups since 2007 and during that time I have gained my Level 2 certi cate in pre-school practice and more recently my NVQ Level 3 in Early Years Childcare & Education.


My training is on-going; I regularly attend training days to further develop my knowledge of childcare and education. 

Paige Saunders

Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO)/Ladybird Group Leader

My name is Paige Saunders and I have worked at Buttercups since 2013. I live in Portchester with my fiancé George and our two dogs Caesar and Cylus.

In 2022 I completed my BA Hons in Early Childhood Education, completing this allowed me to gain invaluable knowledge which has positivity shaped my practice and teaching in Early Years.

Alongside my role of the Ladybird group leader, I am also the setting’s SENCO. I have a strong passion in working alongside children with SEND and continue to further my knowledge by attending regular SENCO training sessions.  

Megan Lever

Speech and Language Lead/Bumblebee Group Leader

My name is Megan Lever and I have worked at Buttercups since 2016. I live in Whiteley with my Mum, Dad and brother Ben and I am proud to say both my brother and I are Buttercup’s Graduates.

In 2021 I completed my BA (Hons) in Education Studies. This has allowed me to further my knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and furthered my passion for Speech and Language Development.

Alongside my role as the Bumblebee Group Leader, I am also the Speech and Language Coordinator. This involves working closely with children who are experiencing speech and language delays and ensuring the environment positively supports the language development of the children in our care. 

Dawn Moody

Key person

My name is Dawn Moody, I live locally in whiteley. I am married to Dave and have a teenage daughter Erin.

Prior to working at Buttercups, I have worked for a number of years predominantly in retail and customer services, taking a career break to stay at home with my daughter, during those first and formative years, whilst she attended Buttercups.

Having initially helped out at Buttercups in a parent capacity, I formally joined the team in 2013. To date, I have worked in a variety of different roles within the nursery, leading me to retrain and gain a formal qualification in childcare, an NCFE level 3 Diploma for the early years workforce. 

Studying for an NVQ level 3.