The Principal of Enniskillen Nursery School is retiring from her role at the end of the month having educated more than 1,400 early years pupils since the School opened under her leadership 18 years ago.
Miss Jenny Boyd, whose dedication and professionalism earned her an MBE in 2009, developed the School from scratch when she was appointed to the role. When she got the job in May 1999 there was not even a telephone or any furniture or equipment in the building. Out of the eleven staff working there, over a third of them are original members of the team that was there when it opened in September of that year. 
In her time, 1,404 children have come through the doors of the Nursery School, flourishing under the teaching that allows them to develop in their crucial early years. “Watching children blossom is just wonderful,” she commented. 
Originally from Lisburn, Jenny Boyd attended Friends’ School in the city. “I was influenced by my father who was a Presbyterian Minister who was very, very interested in education,” she said.
She studied at Stranmillis College, where her training included PE, fostering her interest and commitment to physical education. She taught in schools in Lisburn, Belfast and Bangor, and was appointed Head of Infants. She moved to Enniskillen to become reception teacher at Enniskillen Model Primary School, later to be appointed the first Principal of the Enniskillen Nursery School.
In all, she has spent 38 years in teaching. Reflecting on the development of Enniskillen Nursery School, she said: “I am proud that the school has served the community without having the word integrated in our title. All nursery schools, not just mine, are integrated because they do not have any church ministers on the Board of Governors. We have children who have English as an additional language. It is wonderful to see friendships which started in Nursery School come back together at secondary school. A lot of children leave here to go around the county. If a young mum is living outside Enniskillen but is working in Enniskillen, she may want the child to be near to be accessible to her, so we would have children coming in from all over the county and they tend to go back to their own community [for primary education]. We would be sending children off to up to ten schools throughout the county. There is an organic integration,” she said.
“I firmly believe that communities must work together for the good of the children. We are only the caretakers,” she added.
The School is known for ensuring the outside areas are used as an extension of the classroom. “I am very proud that we are an outside school. We have wet suits and the children go out every day. That hasn’t just happened either. That is something the staff have developed. They want the children to be out. It is an outdoor classroom, it is not just a playground. There is a water feature, the sand house, we have planting, growing, we have art outside, bikes. Whatever goes on inside, can go on outside,” she said.
The physical play outdoors is significant for young children’s development. “What has been forgotten in education is the importance of physical development, not just for their health, but it stimulates their brain. So much research has shown children who experience difficulties with some forms of work maybe have not crawled enough,” she said.
She is an advocate of giving children choices in a safe environment. “Four year olds can make choices if they are given options. Not a lot of children are given options to make choices. If they are not given these experiences in early years, when are they going to do it? So, we have buffet style food. They choose what to play with, following their own interests. That is where a professional staff step in. If they are making the same choice day after day, good professional staff may try and get them to try and consider something else, developing a little bit more. There is a value in repetition too and is very comforting for a child. They need that as well,” she said.
The school also has a shared education strand to its learning alongside Enniskillen Integrated and Holy Trinity Primary Schools.  “It is introducing them to a different environment and other children. It is also about bringing parents together. Children go visiting and then it culminates with a Pirate Night for them all,” she said.
Parents are offered support through new initiatives such as the Big Bedtime Read and Learning Ages and Stages for children to develop their physical and language skills.
She is keen to underline the impact her staff has had on the school’s success. “I am really, really proud of my staff. Any good Principal is only as good as their staff and I have got wonderful staff. And that is the entire school community -- the caretaker, the secretary, the classroom assistants and the teachers and the special needs assistants. It is all those people. In all our inspections we have been commended for team work,” she said. She paid further tribute to original Board member and Chairman of the Board of Governors, Derrick Nixon, whose commitment to education has been commendable. 
After her retirement, she hopes to enjoy more travel, catch up with friends and family and as a keen golfer, to get out on golf courses more often. 
She added: “Children don’t understand about retirement. So I am telling them it is now time for Miss Boyd to go travelling. I am going to eat some pizza in Italy and I might look for a golden bridge”.