Samantha Ross

Samantha Ross (36) from Aberdeen applied to NESCol to study PDA Childhood Practice on a day-release basis in 2020 while working full-time as Assistant General Manager at The Bridges Nurseries. This challenging two-year course is designed for people already working in the childcare sector who are lead practitioners or managers and those who wish to progress to those positions.

She said, “We only had a couple of sessions in the college before face-to-face teaching was changed to online classes during the pandemic. I also became pregnant during the course which made studying more challenging.”

With the support of her tutors and classmates, Samantha managed to complete the first year. She said, “I started the second year of the course when my baby was just nine weeks old and I was still on maternity leave. This was a whole new challenge as I was dealing with feeding, teething, sleepless nights and, sometimes, a sick baby whilst studying and handing in coursework. It has definitely been the hardest and most challenging two years of my life but also the most rewarding in so many ways. I’ve even gained a new group of friends in my classmates – we still keep in touch after finishing the course in the summer.”

In the future, Samantha plans to continue working for The Bridges Nurseries and has taken on the role as named manager at the Bridge of Don Nursery.