Hello, I’m Shay Orr, and welcome to my story — a journey shaped by both motherhood and my work in early years and inclusion, and the vision that became Barking Riverside Explorers.
Barking Riverside Explorers began when I became a mum and started searching for the right preschool for my own child in order for me to return to work.
I was looking for a place that felt nurturing, inclusive, and truly understood children as individuals — somewhere that supported not just learning, but confidence, communication, and overall development.
But I couldn’t quite find it.
Through running baby and toddler classes whist on maternity leave, I began meeting more and more parents who felt exactly the same. Families who were searching for something more — a setting that truly got their child, not just a place to send them.
At the same time, through my work as a SENDCo/LSEN specialist I could see why. There were great elements in different places, but nothing that fully brought it all together.
So Explorers was created to be that place.
A preschool where children are supported as whole individuals, where inclusion is part of everyday practice, and where families feel part of a genuine, supportive community.
A place that I would have wanted for my own child (and now second child) — and one that now exists for yours.
What started as a one-person journey has grown into a fully formed team, all connected by the same vision and purpose. Today, the organisation is led by myself and my husband as business partners — building this side by side as a family, for other families. It’s become something bigger than us, but it has never lost its heart: care, connection, and a shared belief in doing things properly for children and the people who support them.
