November 4, 2011
ECE Leader Jenny Yule wins Hawke’s Bay Business Person of the Year
Founder and Managing Director of PORSE Jenny Yule is Hawke’s Bay’s Business Person of the Year.
From primary school teacher and nanny tutor to education entrepreneur, Jenny has become a formidable figurehead in both
influencing and leading a shift in perception about early childhood education and care across New Zealand.
Accepting the Award at the Westpac Hawke’s Bay Chamber of Commerce Business Awards last night, Jenny acknowledged the
thousands of in-home educators working across the country helping to give children the best start in life.
Jenny founded PORSE 17 years ago based on a two-fold mission to give families the choice of a nanny in their home to
support the vital role of parenting, and to offer nannies an organisation that supported and valued their career
pathway.
Today PORSE is the country’s largest provider of in-home childcare, education and training, with 42 area offices
employing 273 staff nationally with a network of over 5000 in-home educators and students, and delivering Star/Gateway
programmes in 290 secondary schools.
PORSE has nearly 40% market share in the sector with more than 7000 children enrolled, and is credited with
significantly contributing to the popularity and growth of in-home childcare in New Zealand, which has doubled in demand
in the last five years.
Jenny has been challenging the status quo of large group childcare for children under three, with evidence that babies
need to be raised in one-on-one secure attachment relationships.
“Societies benefit when babies are raised in stable home environments during the critical stages of early brain
development,” she says.
In 2010 Jenny was a finalist in the Veuve Clicquot New Zealand Business Woman Awards, and in 2008 she won Her Business
Most Outstanding Business Leader and Business Woman of the Year. In2003 the Franchise Association of NZ awarded her a
National Business Leadership Award.
PORSE was named Hawke’s Bay’s Supreme Business of the Year in 2007, just eight years after winning Hawke’s Bay’s Best
New Business Award.
This year, PORSE opened its third Hawke’s Bay office, in Hastings, where its grassroots began. Over 1400 educators,
families and staff form the PORSE network in Hawke’s Bay, making it a major contributor to the growth of the regional
economy.
Key facts:
• PORSE is the country’s leading provider of in-home childcare and educator training
• PORSE stands for Play, Observe, Relate, Support, Extend
• PORSE has 42 Area offices nationwide
• PORSE has more than 7,000 children enrolled
• PORSE has more than 5,000 educators and students nationwide
• PORSE is a registered and approved NZQA accredited provider of unit standards and courses to secondary school
and tertiary students of all ages.
To find out more www.PORSE.co.nz.
ENDS