My name is Joana, and I joined Building Blocks in September 2020. I'm a naturally caring and bubbly person and working with children and playing alongside them brings out the best in me, which allows for me to create a fun environment full off fun mess, laughter, experiences and memories. The children’s pure hearts and cheekiness make working with them worth it and it’s an overall rewarding job. Whilst at Building Blocks, I have not only bettered my practice over the years but I have also achieved my Level 3 in Childcare! I have recently been promoted to Room Lead for September 2024 which I'm super excited about and ready to take on the new challenges ahead and better myself further. 2024 has been a super exciting year for me, not only have I achieved new steps towards my career but I have also given birth to a beautiful baby girl! Spare time no longer exists in my world as I'm busy being a full-time mummy, however I'm enjoying every moment and enjoying going on trips, spending time with friends and family and just creating beautiful memories.

My name is Ava Mehta and I am an immensely inspirational and experienced teacher having qualified as a primary school teacher at Loreto House, Calcutta India and gaining a distinction in primary and early years teaching. I then mentored teachers at the Teachers Centre India and worked both in my holidays with Mother Teresa’s children’s schools and barefoot children leading best practice in education. When I arrived in the UK in 1983, I worked in a variety of prestigious prep schools in central London mainly as a full-time reception and year one form teacher. I then had my own children, 2 girls and whilst raising them single-handedly, I did a CACHE diploma in teaching and was awarded excellence by the mayor of Merton. I worked as an early years teacher at both a Merton local authority nursery as well as independently, where I gained my Early Years Professional status (EYP) and subsequently, my qualified Early Years Teacher status. I also completed an Honours Degree (2:1) in Early Years Teaching from Kingston University. I tried to recently be assessed for the QTS assessment only route, but a personal battle with breast cancer made that achievement difficult. This then took me onto a different but very successful new achievement, and I have just illustrated and written my fourth book for children, Feathers, Scales and Mighty Persian Tales! ‘
Whilst doing so much I am proud to say my own little girls made me so proud achieving their own successes such as gaining entry into Oxford and Cambridge/ Warwick university to follow their own dreams.I also have four-legged little Rosa whom I love going on long walks.

My name is Vanja Koprcina, and I come from Croatia. I have been with Building Blocks since 2004 as a part of my work placement while I was doing my NVQ Level 3. In 2005, upon completing my studies, I was offered a full-time job. I started at the Kingston Road setting and have loved being here ever since. I have worked within the Premier Preschool, Nursery School and Kids Club. I have enjoyed working with each of these groups. I absolutely love working with children and expanding their knowledge and imagination in every aspect of their development. You could easily say that children are my passion as I absolutely love being with them, talking to them, listening to their views and learning from them as much as they learn from me. I have attended and completed many courses and seminars over the years with Building Blocks that have helped me with my understanding of children and their development. I am a qualified First Aider. I completed a course in Management and Leadership in August 2016. My family and friends are very important to me. And, I love spending time with them. I am a fairly optimistic person. I love nature, people, animals, food and colourful world we are blessed to live in! In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my friends, sightseeing in London and beyond, learning something new about different cultures, watching foreign films, especially a vast range of Indian films and many languages/cultures that they are blessed to have. I love cooking and learning new words from a range of languages that I may come into contact with. And, I am an avid reader.

My name is Megan, and I joined Building Blocks in May 2022. During my two years here, I have gained my NVQ level 3 in Childcare. From this I have gained a vast amount of knowledge and skills and am already putting it into practice. I enjoy being creative with the children and always quick with new ideas. I also have a BA hon in Textiles and mix media, from this I gained lots of new techniques which I can share with the children. For example, techniques from print making to dyeing fabrics. I enjoy walking through nature and always encourage the children to be out in the garden or take them out on a nature walk. I also love to get the children to participate in gardening and to grow fruits or vegetables. I feel this is important to the children so they can understand how fruit and vegetables grow, but also to teach them how to look after what they grow.

My name is Georgia, I joined Building Blocks in November 2024. I have always wanted to build a career in childcare and believe I have found the best place to make this possible. I have previously worked in retail for the last 2 years, developing my skills in customer care. My previous experience in childcare was as a Learning Support Assistant in 2 different settings, supporting children in a mainstream nursery aged 3 to 4 years old. The second setting was a SEN school, working with children aged 3-6 years old with various different levels of learning and abilities. I hope to share and put into practice my skills I learnt at Building Blocks. In my spare time, I enjoy reading as well as any crafty thing.

My name is Shazia, and I joined Building Blocks in April 2023. I am a passionate Early Years Educator with 8 years of experience of working as a childminder and as an Agency member of staff, in a number of nursery settings. I cared for children aged 4 months to 10 years of age. I am proactive in managing various tasks within a busy nursery. I am an enthusiastic, self-motivated, flexible, reliable, excellent time keeper, who works hard. I have achieved these skills through my previous experience and I hope to enhance them even further, as I begin my career with Building Blocks. I am continuously looking at ways to improve my performance and thus move forward in my career, ensuring this is in line with the growth of the company I work for. I enjoy working with companies who encourage innovation and new ways to expand. In my spare time I enjoy reading, creativity, sports, baking, shopping and spending time with my friends.

My name is Tina, and I joined Building Blocks in December 2023. I have been working in childcare since 2017. I have a certificate in preparation for childcare and a Bachelor of Science with Honours Degree in Public Health and Health Promotion. I previously worked as an agency member of staff at Building   Blocks, caring for children aged 3 months to 5 years of age. What is important to me is showing love and affection to children, doing different activities, especially art and singing songs to them. In my spare time, I enjoy cooking, dancing and spending time with my family.