Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery Tunbridge Wells

The nursery is owned by local businessman Arlind Marku, who graduated from Middlesex University in 2007 with a BA Hons in Business Studies and Italian. Since graduating he has run a number of family businesses, always with the intention of returning back to his dream of owning a children’s day nursery. Arlind was always aspired “to own a nursery that is full of happiness and joy, creating an environment where children can thrive”.

He grew up with very strong family values where children’s upbringing and education was always paramount. “I believe that a child’s successful journey starts from very early education so it was extremely important for me to choose sites which provide the best settings for children to have enjoyable and fun learning experiences”. I enjoy using my business knowledge and passion for children to support our team and improve the opportunities for our children. I am a firm believer that children are our future and we must give them an understanding of how powerful, important, valuable and perfect they are.” I am now extremely excited to be embracing the challenge of opening our fourth nursery and creating another wonderful setting within the local community of Tunbridge Wells. Keeping children safe and happy alongside meeting and developing their needs will always be at the forefront of what we promote and value as a team.

“Our vision is to create a wonderful space where children will be safe, cared for, loved and happy. Our children and families will always remain at the centre of what we do. We will provide a space where children and our team can learn, grow and develop with support, encouragement and positivity being the keys to ensuring a high-quality provision.” Nick has previously worked for Asquith Nurseries where he began as a volunteer. He completed his Early Years qualification and worked towards becoming Manager of the company’s flagship nursery helping to achieve an Outstanding Ofsted grade twice and being held over 9 years. Nick’s passion is focused upon supporting both the children’s and the team’s development and helping to deliver the highest standards of childcare across all areas of the nursery. The best part of the day though is always seeing the smiles on the children’s faces as they laugh, learn and play. Nick is a huge sports fan, who especially enjoys football, tennis and cycling. He also loves watching films, reading, visiting the seaside and meeting up with friends over a good cup of coffee to help relax.

My favourite part of the day is when the children can be heard laughing and be seen to be exploring, developing their minds through their own imagination and creativity.

In my spare time, I like to relax with a good book or meet up with friends.

I am based at our Bromley branch but I also support our Orpington and Tunbridge Wells nurseries.

I have worked in Early years for over 10 years and I could not imagine doing anything else. I love being a part of watching the children develop and grow, supporting them to reach their personal milestones.

I have previously supported and led Ofsted inspections supporting nurseries to achieve Outstanding outcomes. I felt extremely proud that we had achieved the highest standards for our families and team.

I have had experience in a variety of different roles, I started my childcare journey, newly qualified as a bank member of staff. I was offered a full time position as a nursery nurse and not long after I became a Room Supervisor and began to develop my leadership skills.

A few years later I was given the opportunity to work as a third in charge in the nursery. This is where I gained more managerial skills and began the children and the teams across a range of ages. After a few years, I was a Deputy Manager where my passion for supporting children continued to flourish and I added the role of SENCO, supporting children with additional needs and further developing our inclusive practice.

I continue to support many children with additional needs, their families and our staff teams with children’s learning outcomes working closely with the local boroughs and relevant agencies.

As part of my role, I support with providing enabling environments and with the quality of teaching and learning.

In my spare time I enjoy spending time with my family and going on holiday to visit new places.

I am level 5 qualified and I am passionate about supporting children with SEN, I have previous experience in the role of Deputy Manager in an outstanding nursery. I love giving children the opportunity to explore natural and open-ended resources.

I began my early career as an apprentice, where I completed the Level 2 and Level 3 NVQ. I then went on to complete the Level 4 Montessori course as I have a great interest in how children learn, and I am really passionate about preparing children to be independent and have a greater understanding of the world around them.

I believe that the Early Years are the most important and formative years of life, and therefore, being part of a Nursery that shares the same vision as I is very important. I have previous experience as a setting Manager and I am passionate about staff’s own personal and professional development. I look forward to completing the Level 5 course, which enables me to further my skills and knowledge.