All of our staff are either NNEB (National Nursery Examination Board) or equivalent, or participating in the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in Early Years and Childcare.
Our ratio of highly qualified staff exceeds that of Ofsted requirements.. All of our staff are trained in First Aid.
Sheena Patel
Owner and Director
My name is Sheena Patel. I am a dedicated mother and qualified physiotherapist. Through my career and family life I have developed a passion for nurturing, teaching and supporting children. I am very familiar with the competing demands of work, young children and the stresses of finding the right childcare.
I understand first hand the important role an excellent nursery plays in a child’s development.
During my career as a chartered physiotherapist, I have worked with children of all ages, spending time in paediatric departments and neonatal baby units. More recently, I have treated children and adults with muscle and joint injuries. My profession has required me to develop excellent skills in teaching, caring for, and motivating patients and their families.
Becoming a mum 6 years ago made me reconsider my career aspirations. I watched my children develop and grow and found myself constantly amazed by the spirit, tenacity and creative ability of young children. My experience has been incredibly rewarding and ignited a passion within me for early years learning.
As a mum, I aim to provide a loving, stable and nurturing environment to support my children’s social and emotional development. Young children thrive on care and attention. When you are part of this positive experience they give so much love back. It is this personal experience that I combine with the skills and learning gathered from my clinical career.
I understand the importance of health and safety and its role in ensuring the well being of our precious children. Together, with my team, we strive to create an environment that delivers the highest quality care. The design and standards of care of our nursery are child-focused and thought out with my own children in mind.
I promise to give you the peace of mind that your little ones will be cared for in a loving, safe and fun environment, where they can learn, develop and thrive. It is a place I would have wanted my children to come.
Joanna Benko
Nursery Manager
My name is Joanna and I am the manager of West Norwood Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery. I love early years childcare. I am very passionate about children and committed at delivering high quality care for children enabling them to reach their full potential.
I have over 10 years experience working within the Early Years Sector. I am a dedicated approachable manager, who aims to ensure high standards of care and education. Through these high standards I support and inspire my team to make a difference to the lives of the children in our care.
I am here to ensure your child is happy, safe and well cared for, please feel free to come and speak with me.
Qualifications:
- BA Honours in Early Years Teaching and Learning
- Continuous Professional development
Melissa Benjamin
Deputy Manager
My name is Melissa Benjamin, I am the deputy manager here at monkey puzzle West Norwood. I am a professional, qualified Nursery Practitioner with over fifteen years experience. I am passionate about children and enjoy working with all age groups. I am a motivated individual who is able to work in a busy environment and produce high standards of work. I am enthusiastic, self- motivated and a creative person who is always up for new challenges. I am a firm believer of Oscar Wilde’s quote that “ The best way to make children good is to make them happy”. Please feel free to come and speak with me at any time.
Kamara Johnson
Active Bugs Room Manager
My name is Kamara Johnson, I am the Room Manager in the Active Bugs Room. I have a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Children and Young Peoples Workforce. I am passionate about safeguarding children and providing children with learning experiences that positively shape the first few years of their development. I am a mother of one. Having a child has shown me that I expect nothing less than a nurturing, supportive environment to stimulate my child’s development. That top quality of care I expect, is nothing short of the excellent care I would provide for another parent’s child, after experiencing the worries and challenges as a parent.
Louise Harris
Little Explorers Room Manager
My name is Louise Harris, I am a qualified practitioner and I am very passionate about my job. I have been working within childcare for over 9 years. I find it very fascinating watching the children grow and develop new skills whilst at nursery. I enjoy working with the under 2’s as I get to witness the babies begin to crawl, walk and run for the first time and see their individual characters start to blossom.
Bella Patel
Toy and Reading Director
Age 6
Qualifications:
Particular Interests:
Maya Patel
Arts and crafts Director
Age 4
I have always loved colouring. At age 2 I decided to draw all over mummy’s friend’s living room and I have never looked back. I spend hours drawing pictures for mummy to put up in the nursery. I have blown the budget on paper, colours and craft material. I will be doing a monthly inspection to check that everything is fully stocked up.
Qualifications: Innate ability to draw, much to my mummy and daddy’s surprise (as they cannot draw, although daddy thinks he is an expert at everything). My recent art work has been selected and is being exhibited at the Royal College of Art.
Career opportunities
Monkey Puzzle is committed to providing great career opportunities for its entire staff. We are very keen to ensure that our team of staff participate in training at all levels. Our policy is always to recruit and/or promote internally if at all possible.
Please see our Current Vacancies below:
Level 3 Nursery Practitioner
For more information on the roles and responsibilities, please click below:
If you think you have what it takes and would like to be a part of our exciting new team, please send your CV to info@monkeypuzzledaynurseries.com
