Our Staff
Tom Thumb Kindergarten employ staff with a wide range of skills, qualifications and experience. All staff are encouraged to expand their knowledge and skill set, and have constant access to educational resources and training opportunities.
Marilyn Smith
As the owner of Tom Thumb Kindergarten, Marilyn oversees all aspects of operations for all services, ensuring that they are run with the high standard of personalised care that Tom Thumb has become renowned for.
Marilyn is widely recognised for her contribution to the Sutherland Shire community, most recently by winning the Sutherland Shire business person of the year award 2017.
With 4 children and a business to run, Marilyn completed her Associate Diploma in Childcare. She is, as such, extremely understanding of the juggle multitasking parents face! Finding it impossible to strike the perfect work / life balance in a traditional sense, Marilyn created an environment where her husband and 4 children could be actively involved, and her children and grandchildren could attend.
Carly Glasgow
With a Bachelor of Education - Early Childhood Education, a lifetime of experience in the family business, a certificate 4 in training and assessment, and two children of her own, Marilyn's daughter Carly is our Educational Leader.
Carly currently teaches our 3-5's classroom, whilst also organising and providing our staff with training and development opportunities.
Carly's passion for child and staff development is infectious. She is an excellent resource for both staff and parents with questions on anything from illness, to behaviour, to child development.
Vicki Purcell
After 30 years with Tom Thumb, Vicki is our resident “mum in chief” (to paraphrase Michelle Obama) , or specifically- the coordinator across all services.
Vicki started as a parent at our Milburn Road service, and is now an integral part of our business in so many ways.
Vicki oversees all aspects of the organisation with particular expertise in staffing, centrelink queries, and keeping us abreast of regulation changes.
You will find two of Vicki’s four children (all Tom Thumb alumni) coordinating our before and after school care and vacation care services.
Amber Murphy
Marilyn's other daughter Amber approaches the family business from a different perspective- offering a unique understanding of the implications of our industry and regulations, and the way that we can tailor our own policies to best suit the families in our care and the wider community.
She is a PhD Candidate at the University of NSW researching the way that social policy supports children and families to thrive, particularly within the first 5 years. Amber specialises in connecting ideas across multiple disciplines, to increase the real world impact of her work and research.
Amber's youngest child attends Tom Thumb, adding a current parents perspective to our staff team.