Local children and their families are being welcomed with open arms to a brand, new day nursery, Monkey Puzzle Sevenoaks, owned by local businessman Arlind Marku, located in the heart of Sevenoaks and only 5 minutes from Sevenoaks train station.

After a 14-week refurbishment on the site of a previous nursery, the Monkey Puzzle team are delighted with the finished setting, hosting a launch event at the end of September, which was attended by several key figures in the local council, and proved to be a memorable time for the team to pause and reflect on all their hard work and dedication.

Arlind expressed his enthusiasm for the new nursery: “The building has served the community for decades, including its history as the former Riverhead Infants School founded by Lord and Lady Amherst, who were local residents. We’re thrilled to continue its legacy of community service. The launch event allowed us to introduce our Monkey Puzzle family to the local community, and it was a fantastic day! Everyone worked tirelessly to build a safe, welcoming environment where children can thrive, and we’re very excited to welcoming and support families here for years to come.”

Alice Riches, the nursery’s Deputy Manager who arranged the celebration shared, “We were so excited to showcase the new nursery to local families and to announce our arrival to the beautiful community of Sevenoaks.”

The nursery’s Operations Manager, Nick Huddart also shared his passion and excitement regarding the refurbishment where a vision was placed on transforming the former site and placing a real emphasis on creating a cosy, relaxing and nurturing space for all children.

“Our ethos centres on our beliefs and values of creating the very best environment for our children and fantastic team to thrive, whilst placing engaging relationships with our families as key to positive outcomes for all. 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.”

Alice has been fully involved in helping to create the amazing spaces for the children, families and team using her vast experience in Early Years. With the nursery having welcomed many children and families already, Alice shared her pride in the journey so far, “I am extremely proud of supporting the team and bringing the vision of the nursery to life. It has been wonderful to see how well the children have settled and their enjoyment of exploring the spaces, with plenty of laughs and smiling faces each day. We aspire for the children to thrive through curiosity, investigation and independence, through many fun filled days, seeing them grow into their own little characters in this crucial part of their early years development.”

 During the personal tours of the nursery their families have loved the setting with some wonderful comments and feedback, particularly focused on the attention to details of the team in placing the children at the heart of what they do and the wonderfully spacious outdoor environments which have been created.

Lucy Grant, the Nursery Manager shared her excitement for the future, “We can’t wait to welcome new families and team members over the next few months and continue to develop our relationship with the local community.” Lucy is particularly passionate about listening to the children’s feedback and utilising this alongside Alice to further adapt their nursery plans together in continuing to enhance their curriculum.

The Sevenoaks setting is part of the nationwide Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries group, which boasts over 70 locations up and down the country. For Executive Chairman David Hancock, the launch of Sevenoaks comes at an exciting time for the brand. “We’re really excited to see Arlind continue expanding successfully. The launch of his setting comes at a time when we are ramping up our expansion plans to stay in line with growing demand. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s in store for us over the rest of the year and beyond.”