Meet the Flying Start Childcare Team

Heini Jones leads the childcare team, focusing on implementing Flying Start guidance, sharing Welsh Government updates, and providing training to ensure high-quality early years practice.

Enfys John specialises in supporting Welsh-medium childcare provision. She helps settings identify areas for development, provides resources, and works with families to promote bilingualism.

Avril Chambers, Rebecca Woods, Aimee Davies, and Rachel Gledhill all provide hands-on support to help settings achieve and maintain high-quality childcare. They conduct regular visits, offer practical advice on everything from the learning environment to planning and assessment, and ensure settings meet national and local authority standards.

Meet our Childcare Team

Hayley Davies – Childcare Coordinator​
Hayley manages the allocation of childcare spaces for children within the original Flying Start postcode areas. She is responsible for overseeing seven Flying Start Local Authority settings, acting as the Responsible Individual under the Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) and ensuring staff ratios meet all regulations. Hayley also monitors childcare attendance across all providers and supports children who need intervention within any childcare setting.

Fflur James – Childcare Officer​
Fflur assists with allocating childcare spaces and monitoring attendance within the original phase of the Flying Start programme. She is also responsible for looking at ways to reduce wasted childcare funding across the entire programme.

Lindy James – Deputy Childcare Coordinator​
Lindy works alongside Hayley to ensure high-quality childcare is provided across the seven Local Authority settings, with a focus on meeting all CIW requirements. Her role involves visiting and supervising these settings, assisting with intervention support across the original Flying Start providers, and helping to monitor childcare attendance according to our shared Attendance Policy.​

Meet the Capital and Commissioning Team​

Sabrina Morris – Capital and Commissioning Officer
Laura Davies – Contract Monitoring Officer​
Lisa Davies – Contract Monitoring Officer​
Sophie Bamford – Capital Project Support officer​

Our team, led by the Capital and Commissioning Officer oversees Capital Projects and Commissioning Processes in Flying Start.​

Capital Projects​
We manage the Early Years Capital Programme, improving facilities to creating welcoming spaces for children and families. This also includes overseeing the Small Capital Grant Scheme, which helps childcare providers upgrade and enhance their settings.​

Commissioning
Ensure Flying Start services meet the needs of families and deliver good value for money. Our Contract Monitoring Officers work with providers to:​
​Oversee contractual agreements and service delivery.​
Monitor compliance with statutory regulations and contractual obligations.​
Support providers with the business side of childcare – offering guidance on good business practice, sustainability, and resource management.​
Work with providers to maintain quality and drive continuous improvement.​

Meet the Admin Team

The first point of contact for many, our dedicated Administration Team handles all incoming phone calls and general enquiries. They’re on hand to direct your questions to the right department and are responsible for accurately inputting the details of all registered children into our central database. The team ensures a smooth start for every family and provider.
Team Members: Russell Morton, Julie Morris, Dannika Evans

Meet the Claims Team

This team plays a crucial role in the financial operations of the service. They are responsible for meticulously checking and verifying the claims submitted by childcare settings to ensure they are accurate. As our project is funded by the Welsh Government, this is a vital function that guarantees compliance and proper allocation of grant funds. The team works closely with childcare providers to resolve any issues and ensure all claims are processed correctly.
Team Leaders: Sam Watkin
Team Members: Emily Challinor, Kyran Crowley, Kalan Hughes

Meet the Safeguarding Team​

Based within Carmarthenshire Flying Start are 2 Specialist Health Visitors for Safeguarding Children. They primarily provide daily advice and support to the Health Visiting Service. When highlighted they can also provide training to the wider Flying Start team, which includes the nursery provision.
Jane Morgan + Lynne Harley

Meet the Health Visiting Team

The Health Visitor team are qualified nurses or midwives with special training in public health. They focus on health promotion and illness prevention for families with pre-school children, from pregnancy until the age of five. They provide a universal service that includes a minimum number of home and clinic visits, developmental checks, and assessments to reduce health inequalities.
In Carmarthenshire, Health Visitors work with specific caseloads, either allocated by location (Flying Start) or linked to GP surgeries. They collaborate closely with other professionals, including GPs, paediatricians, social services, and therapists, to ensure families receive comprehensive care.
There are 5 Health visiting Team Leaders who manage the Health visiting Teams within Carmarthenshire. (Meg Davies, Bethan John, Philippa Jones, Karen Thomas and Sandra Morris.)

Meet the Parenting Team

The Parenting team are here for all things parenting and child development; we run lots of groups for parents/carers and some specifically for dads. We have our own mobile childcare team so the children can play & learn whilst you are in the group having a cuppa and a chat, whether it’s learning about brain development and what to expect, to how to handle challenges and looking after yourself as a parent. Children don’t come with manuals but we are next best thing! Our groups and information about groups can be found on the Flying Start App or on the Family Information Service website.
Donna Rowley – Parenting Coordinator (FS & FF)​
Amy Alfei – FS Senior Parenting Facilitator
 ​FS Parenting Facilitators – Lisa Bennett, Natalie Jones & Rhunedd Morgan
Parenting Facilitators (male) – Dads work – Jack Rees (FS) and TBC (CCG) 
Mobile Childcare Team – Catrin Williams, Emma Hughes & Joanne Morris ​

Meet the Speech and Language Team​

Our dedicated Speech and Language Team works to support the communication skills of children in Carmarthenshire. They provide tailored support to both families and professionals through a range of services designed to help every child find their voice.
The team offers a range of services, including:
Parent-Child Courses: Providing courses to empower parents with the knowledge and skills needed to support their children’s speech and language development at home.
Targeted Intervention: Delivering one-on-one or group interventions for children who need specific support.
Professional Training: Offering training to Flying Start settings to build the confidence and skills of practitioners. This includes the Talking Stars programme, which helps staff create environments that actively promote children’s speech and language development.
The team works collaboratively with parents and settings, focusing on prevention and early intervention to ensure children have the best possible start.