Rachel previously worked at a bank before joining the Mid-Cheshire team 11 years ago. She is now the new Operations Manager for Mid Cheshire. Rachel has two children, Isabel and Matthew. They all love walking their family dogs, Maisie and Benji, and also going paddle boarding.
You will more than often hear Rachel’s happy, smiley voice at the end of the phone when you call the office and she is always more than happy to help!
Nici started working for us in 2007. After taking time out to have two of her three children, she was introduced to Puddle Ducks, starting as a Poolside Assistant, she soon qualified to teach at all levels and is now the North West Regional Technical Manager for Puddle Ducks Head Office! Nici loves sharing her knowledge, not just with the children and parents, but with all of our new Puddle Ducks teachers as she supports them through all their training, and beyond!
Nici also holds her Silver Cross in open water swimming and has three girls who love swimming too! In fact, one of her daughters, Sasha, is also a qualified Swim Academy teacher!
Gaz is our Facilities Manager, having worked at several other leisure facilities before joining Puddle Ducks in May 2022.
Outside of work Gaz likes to play football, go to the cinema, zoom down the rides at Alton Towers, and spend time with family.
Jude has been which since December 2021 and is originally from Sunderland, Jude spends her free time running her Brownies group.
A lover of walking, musicals, rugby, ice hockey and animals, Jude has dogs, also her own dog walking business on the side.
Lois joined Puddle Ducks as our Receptionist at Barons Quay when they opened in Aug 2021. Prior to that she was a Senior Receptionist at a Conveyancing Firm and then took a year off to have her little girl Bonnie who is now 4. When she is not welcoming customers or singing songs, Lois loves to visit the Lake District with her family.
Lucie has been with us for 2 years now at Barons Quay, working as a Poolside Assistant and Receptionist for both Baby and Preschool and Swim Academy.
Prior to this, Lucie worked as a recruitment consultant for 2 years, and before that as a nursery nurse, private nanny and childminder for 20 years! When the job came available at Puddle Ducks, Lucie jumped at the chance to work with children again and loves her role within the team.
Lucie has two children of her own, and in her spare time likes to ride horses, paddleboard and swim.
Lucie is great at handing out stickers, so make sure you ask her for one next time she is on reception!
Kirsty is a Mum of two little girls, and has been a teacher at Puddle Ducks for over ten years, after bringing her little girl to swimming lessons at Puddle Ducks and thinking what a brilliant job it would be!
She loves her role so much, she says it doesn't feel like work and she thrives on seeing the children progress and achieve so much under her brilliant teaching!
Kirsty says she has "the best job in the world!"
Mel decided to become a swimming teacher after being involved in competitive swimming from the age of 7. When she turned 16, she began her journey to gain her teaching qualifications and she hasn't looked back since!
She joined Puddle Ducks in March 2019 and she says it was the best decision she has ever made.
Mel says: "I love the community and family feel to the company and that support is provided at every part of the journey."
"My favourite thing about the job is seeing the happiness and surprise on a child's face when they realise they have achieved something which they never thought they could do!"
In her spare time Mel enjoys keeping fit, with her favourite activities being CrossFit and Climbing.
Over 13 years ago, Melanie moved in next door to her Puddle Ducks teacher, who persuaded her to become a teacher too, and she absolutely loves it! Her three daughters all swam at Puddle Ducks - two of whom have gone on to join swimming clubs and two who work at Barons Quay! Mel loves open water swimming and teaches many of our Baby & Pre-school classes here in Mid Cheshire!
Charlotte is an Aquanatal, Baby and Preschool, Swim Academy, and Elite Swim Academy teacher, meaning she can support your little swimmers from bump to beautiful breaststroke, and beyond!
Although Charlotte has a degree in journalism, she has always loved swimming, and after graduating, wanted to make a difference in the lives of young people. That's why there was nowhere better for her to join than the Puddle Ducks team, to ensure that all children learn to swim beautifully!
Dawn started with us as a Baby and Pre School teacher in 2011 and has taught so many of our Puddle Ducks families in her almost 15-year tenure! She currently teaches at Seashell in Cheadle Hulme on weekdays, and feels such enjoyment and fulfilment from teaching. Her favourite moments are witnessing a nervous little swimmer grow into a confident superstar who shouts 'more' when a jumping activity is coming to an end!
Ali returned to Cheshire in 2017 after 28 years working in a small fishing village, Maracaípe, in the state of Pernambuco, in Brazil!
Academically qualified as an Underwater photographer in Plymouth, Devon and PADI Professional (Divemaster), she was instrumental in setting up art and water therapy initiatives for children in Brazil. These sessions taught young people about the importance of defending the coral reef and mangrove environments, along with threatened species such a sharks, seahorses, and marine turtles.
Now she is back in the UK, Ali has been using those skills to inspire a new generation to respect and love being in the water through teaching with Puddle Ducks. She said: "Swimming is such an important life skill with so many great health benefits. I always try to work hard to in order to deliver fun and excellent teaching sessions!"
Bethany is a familiar face to those who swim at our Macclesfield pool! Prior to joining Puddle Ducks, she worked in a nursery, but it was her love of swimming and her love of working with children that made her take the Puddle Ducks swim teacher job as the perfect combination! Bethany says "I love to watch the confidence the children gain and the progression they make, it makes the job so worthwhile". Outside of work, Bethany has two little girls and a dog that keep her busy and entertained!
Joe began his Puddle Ducks journey as our first ever Apprentice back in 2023. He has now finished his course, and is a fully-fledged, and very valuable, member of our teaching team! Joe wanted to have a job where no two days are the same, and where he could make a difference in the lives of young people, and being a Puddle Ducks teacher suits him perfectly!
In his spare time, Joe also teaches skating to children of all ages, and is a huge Manchester United fan, going to as many games as he can every season!
Jen's Puddle Ducks journey has been a wonderful whirlwind, as she trained to teach both Swim Academy and Baby and Preschool in her first two years with us! She is amazing at both, and teaches across many of our pools, including at Delta Hotels by Marriott - Manchester Airport!
Jen is amazing at building lasting bonds with her swimmers, and is always looking for ways to help them progress and build their confidence. In her spare time, Jen loves spending time with her dog Echo, as well as her four children, especially when she gets to watch her sons play rugby, and her daughter play netball!
Sasha is another one of our teachers whose mum also works for Puddle Ducks, so she has been able to learn from the best - our Head of Teaching, Nici! Sasha has just finished her degree at the University of Leeds, and has come back home to teach her wonderful Swim Academy superstars at Barons Quay and Brooklands!
Sasha is an incredibly talented artist, and loves to travel when she can, her favourite trip being when she visited Japan several summers ago!
Charlotte began her Puddle Ducks journey when she started bringing her daughter Beatrice to our lessons, and realised what a wonderful job us teachers have! As she was already a qualified swimming teacher, specialising in working with children with SEN, she quite literally jumped straight into the water with us, and hasn't looked back since!
Charlotte teaches at Seashell on Saturdays, and has both Baby and Preschool and Swim Academy classes in the wonderful Hydro pool! She is always looking for ways to support her swimmers with their learning, and is so thrilled when a skill just 'clicks', and her swimmers are off swimming beautifully and independently!
Chloe is one of our wonderful Baby and Preschool teachers, who also teaches our Aquanatal classes, so you and your baby can get to know her before your little one even appears earthside! She is known for her infectious smile and fun-filled lessons at Barons Quay, and she absolutely adores every one of her fabulous little ones - and their grown-ups too!
Chloe has two children of her own, both of whom are brilliant swimmers too! She loves spending time with her family, especially in the great outdoors!
Lilia has Puddle Ducks in her blood, as her mother has worked for us for over 10 years! Lilia herself has worked as a Poolside Assistant at Seashell from the age of 16, and she has now completed her training to become a Swim Academy teacher! She already has a wonderful bond with all her customers, and is loving seeing her little ones at Seashell and Brooklands grow into beautiful, confident swimmers!
Julie is another one of our teachers who kept Puddle Ducks in the family, though she followed in the footsteps of her daughter instead, the lovely Kirsty! Julie has been loving teaching her Baby and Preschool classes in Macclesfield, and watching her little swimmers grow and develop each and every week!
Meet our dynamic Saturday Poolside Assistant and Receptionist Katie. Katie has just finished her A levels and will be going off to Uni soon.
Katie's hobbies are gymnastics and she loves competing in competitions.
Helen is our fabulous Poolside Assistant on weekdays at Seashell in Cheadle Hulme. She joined us in 2020, and experienced the excitement of moving to Seashell's brand new pool in 2023!
Helen is a long-standing member of Rock Choir, and loves performing at various events around Greater Manchester. She also enjoys watching musical theatre, and spending time with her two girls and two cats.
On working for Puddle Ducks, Helen says "I love greeting our customers when they arrive for lessons. My day is full of smiles, what more could you want?"
Greta is one of our fabulous Poolside Assistants at Seashell, and is always ready to greet her swimmers with a friendly smile - and a sticker to boot, of course!
Dan is one of our most recent additions to the Barons Quay team, and he has been loving getting to know each of the swimmers really well in his role as a Poolside Assistant! Dan is currently at college studying for his A-Levels, and balances out his time spent with his head in the books with time spent getting splashed (affectionately, of course!) by all his little swimmers!
Millie is one of our newest Poolside Assistants, but she has jumped into the role with so much enthusiasm! She loves greeting customers at Seashell, and is always ready to help with whatever you or your little one may need - especially if that involves a sticker!
Charlotte is currently studying at university, but still pops back in to see us in Mid Cheshire during her holidays! She has enjoyed swimming all her life, and she used to swim competitively for Northwich Centurions, where many of our fabulous swimmers move on to when they graduate from their Puddle Ducks journey!
On working at Puddle Ducks, Charlotte says "I really love how welcoming and supportive Puddle Ducks is, teaching here is so much fun!"
Alicia is currently away on a long well deserved break after finishing her A-levels. She has swam competitively her whole life, and even swam at Puddle Ducks as a child! Alicia loves spending time with her friends, family, dog and going to the gym. Of working at Puddle Ducks, Alicia says "It's so enjoyable and rewarding seeing the swimmers smiling and learning, I find myself looking forward to every shift!"