Our Managing Director Denise Gwizdak has always had a passion for caring for children, coming from a large family with younger siblings she has a natural talent with babies and young children. In 1996, with two young children of her own, she made the big move from hotel management to childcare and opened Pye Nest Day Nursery, transforming what was once a former Methodist Chapel, into a spacious and inspiring nursery.

Her vision was to create a space where children were cared for, respected and more importantly, where she could ignite a joy for learning.

Denise personally discovered her life-long joy for learning as she embarked on her BA degree in Childhood Studies, followed by the Early Years Teacher Status and a PGCE in Adult Learning. She is currently studying for a MA in Early Childhood Education at the world-renowned Centre of Research in Early Childhood (CREC) in Birmingham. She also attends many training courses and spends time reading and researching and is particularly interested in and inspired by approaches such as, Reggio, Respectful Infant Educating (RIE), Steiner and High Scope, threads of which are embedded by Denise and her teams in to the practice of both settings.

Growing up, Denise’s two daughters have always been involved in the nursery, working part time and during the holidays as they both completed their degrees.

Other family members, including Denise's sisters and niece have also been part of the team. In 2009 Denise’s elder daughter Bethany joined the team at Pye Nest full-time after achieving her degree in Childhood Studies, soon to be followed by Denise’s second daughter, Olivia after the completion of her Psychology Degree.

With repeated Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ assessments under her belt and a successful and well-respected setting, Denise and her daughters opened her second nursery Creative Learning Elland in 2015. Both daughters were involved in the opening of Creative Learning Elland, Bethany as manager and Olivia is a practitioner in the baby room. Like Pye Nest, their passion for childcare and education is evident in the ethos of the nursery and their interest in exploring art and creativity can be seen in the children’s artwork displayed around the building - which wouldn’t look out of place in a modern art gallery.

Denise takes a hands-on approach in both settings and is actively involved in the care and education of the children and that of her practitioners. She is a strong and inspirational leader and values the training and progression of her teams very highly. This was recognised most recently in the ‘outstanding’ Ofsted judgements awarded in 2016.