My name is Alex, and I have been working at Building Blocks since March 2011. I first joined as a Nursery Assistant at our Teddington site and have worked my way up to Early Years Manager. I have obtained and achieved my NVQ Level 2 and 3 in childcare during this time and enjoy putting theory into practice. I have also achieved my Level 3 in Management and hope to extend this to a Level 5. During my time here at Building Blocks, I have worked in every room and been the room leader of all rooms except Top Toddlers in our Teddington site. Throughout my time at our Teddington site, I am proud of being part of the team achieving the NDNA ‘Nursery of the Year’ for the South of England in 2017. I moved over to be the Wimbledon Kids Club Early Years Manager at the end of August 2018 after being the Deputy Early Years Manager of Kids Club in Teddington for 1 year. During my time as Early Years Manager of our Wimbledon Kids Club, I am proud of achieving an Outstanding OFSTED inspection. I have now been managing our Dundonald Road site since May 2020. I have a real passion for childcare and providing excellent childcare to all children. I have three children; my youngest has just joined the nursery, I have one in primary school and one in secondary school. I enjoy spending time with them and my partner on the weekends.

Hi, I’m Tahmina. I joined Building Blocks in December 2007. I have a degree in Education Studies from Roehampton University. I have previous experience working with children in schools and after-school clubs before joining Building Blocks. I am extremely passionate about working with children, managing my room and my programme and working alongside my team and parents to best cater for our children. I have worked within all positions, starting from a nursery assistant right through to my role today, alongside all ages ranging from 18 months - 10 years. During this time, I have obtained a CACHE NVQ Level 3 in childcare and have had a great deal of training and experience in Special Educational Needs and Safeguarding. I have a passion for developing children’s needs and extending their learning, and I am always researching current affairs regarding child development. In my spare time, I enjoy socialising with my friends and my family, who are very important to me. I love being outdoors, I like to connect with the natural world and be part of it by going camping, going for long walks, having outdoor picnics and taking part in survival skills activities. I enjoy taking photos of scenery. I am a big foodie and I absolutely love exploring different cuisines and trying out new recipes. I like travelling to different countries to absorb different cultures. I am interested in different languages and can speak my home language, Bengali, fluently. I also understand Urdu and Hindi. I have two children, my eldest now in a local primary school, and my youngest is in the nursery.

I started working at Building Blocks when we first opened in 2001. I originally joined as a kitchen assistant, supporting the chef in the kitchen before moving into the classroom to give one-to-one support to children with Special Educational needs. I then worked within the Kids’ Club/After School and Holiday Club based at Dundonald Congregational Church for 9 years. In January 2020, I moved to become the Deputy Early Years Manager at Nursery School. I am very proud to say I have developed my professional role and have achieved an NVQ Level 2/3 in Childcare, a CACHE Level 3 Diploma in Play Work and a Level 3 in Management. I am also trained as a paediatric first aider and an adult first aider. I am now based fully within our Kids Club and Holiday Club programs, working in close partnership with Alex and the local primary schools. My Hobbies include reading, writing stories and watching films. I love my family and love spending time with my daughter and grandson.