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Beavers Lodge Playgroup

Meet our Staff

  • Sonali Mukherjee
    Manager

    Sonali Mukherjee

    I am an Early Years professional, successfully managing and leading an Ofsted 'Outstanding' Early Years setting in the London Borough of Hounslow for the last 12 years. I also share knowledge and experience to train and get the Foundation Degree for the aspiring Early Years Practitioners from Kingston University. I am also recruited as a 'Mentor' and 'Expert' by DfE ( Department of Education) and work with a few of the London Boroughs to upskill practitioners working in this sector. I am accomplished with an extensive experience in the implementation of a wide range of international practices with particular interests in inquiry, assessment, documentation, and the development of multi-modal communication skills in Early Years, I am passionate, resourceful and a goal-driven professional educator with a commitment to the social and academic growth and development of every child. A qualified and experienced teacher, I have the leadership quality to develop inspiring hands-on lessons necessary to capture a child's imagination and breed success. My proficiency in three different languages ( English, Bengali and Hindi) helps the children and the parents/ carer to communicate and establish an ongoing easy relationship with us in the most professional way.

  • Salimah Merchant
    Deputy Manager/SENCO

    Salimah Merchant

    I have been working in the Early Years sector for over 19 years and I am currently working at Beavers Lodge Playgroup. I started working at Beavers Lodge Playgroup as an Early Years Practitioner and have been a Deputy Manager/SENCO for 10 years. I am also the Language Lead at the Playgroup and have been instrumental in acquiring accreditation to the Let's Talk to Together Programme. As we are an accredited setting, I work with and monitor all staff to make sure that we continuously use positive interaction strategies which are important to develop children's language & development. As a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO), I have gained a wealth of experience working with many children with a variety of Special Educational Needs from mild to very complex Needs. This has required me to develop links with outside professionals as well as supporting Parents whist their child remains at the Playgroup. I have a level 3 SENCO qualifiaction from Eatern partnership which has help me to further enhance my practice so that I can support staff to help all children with SEN to acheive high quality outcomes. Currently I am completing a Professional Development Program which is offered by the Department for Education. This program has further developed my knoledge and understanding of the three prime areas of the EYFS as wel as introduce new ideas to improve children's learning and development.

    I have had the opportunity to be a guest speaker during a Level 4 and Level 5 foundation degree course at West Thames College. As a guest Speaker I have shared my knowledge and years of experience as a SENCO with the degree students.

    To support my work I have also gained a qualification in using Word for Windows, Excel and Powerpoint from Pitman training.

    I can speak English as well as basic Urdu and Gujarati, which helps to support Parents and children.

    Voluntary Work

    I am also very committed in providing voluntary service within the Ismaili Community, to which I belong. I have been providing this service in many capacities over 20 years. In the I have been volunteering at a management level which has helped me to further develop my managerial and leadership skills. Currently I am helping to manage and co-ordiate an Early Childhood Development session in my faith community. This involves, registering parents, making sure communications are sent out in a timely manner, buying resources, attending meetings and managing the sessions. Currently I am the Early Childhood Development Co-ordinator which involves recruitment of helpers, booking rooms, sending out communications in a timely manner, helping to run the sessions and also imparting knowledge to parents. My voluntary work has allowed me to work with people from different walks of life as well as further develop my interpersonal skills and gain new knowledge.

  • Lenka Mikesova
    Early Years Practioner

    Lenka Mikesova

    I have been working in Early years for about 17 years. I started at Beavers lodge playgroup about 10 years ago. Previously I worked for Sure Start Hounslow as an early year practitioner and toy library coordinator and also delivered some Peep session to parents. At Beavers lodge playgroup I am a Forest school leader having a recent training in young children, the outdoors and nature. I also run PALS and Skills for school sessions with children. Apart from English language I speak Czech and Polish language.

  • Sasikala Subramanium
    Early Years Practitioner

    Sasikala Subramanium

    I have been working at Beavers lodge Playgroup for the past ten years. I started as an inclusion support worker and gained lots of experience working with special needs children. I am competent in using a variety of strategies to support children who have special educational needs.Past 8 years Iam working as Early years educator supporting chidren in their development. At the Playgroup I am one of the language lead .Iam competant in delivering an early communication skills session and listening & attention groups each term to support children to develop language through play. I have been instrumental in delivering a healthy eating workshop,toilet raining workshop over several weeks, for parents. I am fluent in speaking. reading and writing both English and Tamil.Recently I completed Professional development program which was run by Dfe.I have also received training in delivering early maths sessions, as part of the ONE Project which is a reserch based programme from OXford University. Through this program i implemented various targets that our playgroup is currently working on.

  • Gurpal Kaur
    Early Years Practitioner

    Gurpal Kaur

    I have been working at Beavers Lodge Playgroup for the last seven years. In total, I have 20 years of experience working in the early years sector. I have worked in several nurseries and children's centres. I am the physical literacy lead which involves planning and organising activities for childens' physical development. I am also a forest school assistant and I help to plan Forest school activities which involves using resources from the natural environment. I am fluent in speaking English, Hindi & Punjabi.

  • Humera Zain
    Early Years Parctitioner

    Humera Zain

    I am working at Beavers Playgroup lodge for more than nine years now. I professionally qualified as a Level 3 Early Years Educator. I started my journey as an Inclusion Support Worker. I have experience working with special needs children and I am competent in using a variety of strategies to support them. Currently I am an Early Years Educator and this position has helped me to develop my interpersonal skills. I have gained experience and knowledge in developing children's communication & language as well as running small group invtervention strategies such as early communication and chatter time. I have been trained to run a dental hygiene samll group session, using props and stories, to help children to understand the importance of oral health. I have used my creativity and experience to enhance the learning and development of all children. I am fluent in speaking English, Urdu and Punjabi. Our setting is particitipating in a research project on early mathematics skills, reasoning and executive functioning of the brain and I am glad to be a part of that project and training.

  • Monika Aggrawal
    Early Years Practitioner

    Monika Aggrawal

    I have been at Beavers Lodge Playgroup for the past 7 years. I started my journey working as a volunteer and am now working as an Early Years practitioner to support children with special needs. I am professionally qualified as a Level 3 Early Years Educator. At the Playgroup under the guidance of the SENCO my work also focuses on training and developing inclusion support workers through provision of strategies and support where and when needed. I am also the lead in delivering sensory rhyme’s times session’s which helps children develop and understand their senses and regulate their emotions. Furthermore, I use my creativity and experience to enhance the learning and development of all children. I am fluent in speaking English, Hindi and Punjabi.

  • Jelena Lanina
    Early Years Practitioner

    Jelena Lanina

    I started working at Beavers Playgroup in November 2024. With 12 years of experience in early years settings, I remain charmed and challenged by observing how children develop, learn, and interact. I hold qualifications as a Level 3 Early Years Practitioner and have a passion for providing children of all backgrounds and abilities with the best start in life. I have extensive experience working with children who have learning difficulties and developmental delays. I am fluent in English and Russian, and I can understand Latvian, Polish, and Ukrainian. Recently, I completed a Professional Development Program run by the DFE and have been applying this knowledge in my work. Additionally, I received training in delivering early math sessions as part of the ONE Project, a research-based program from Oxford University. Currently, I am working with children to enhance their math skills.

  • Manju Kanapathipillai
    Casual Bank Staff

    Manju Kanapathipillai

    I have been working at Beavers Lodge Playgroup for the past 5 years. During these years I have gained experience working with children who have different special needs children I have received training to implement different strategies to support the needs of each child I have gained a lot of experience in building relationships with parents. I have also developed a deeper knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Curriculum through in-house training and development opportunities. I have used my experience to help settle many new children and have supported the staff in engaging the children. I am fluent in speaking , reading and writing English, tamil and Sinhala.

  • Shreya Bose
    Casual Bank Staff

    Shreya Bose

    I have been working in Beavers Lodge Playgroup for the last 3 years now.I started as a volunteer and eventually joined the playgroup as an inclusion support worker. I work with children with additional needs and support them to take part in various activities. I have undergone various professional trainings which has increased my knowledge and understanding of children with additional needs. I work one to one with children on their specific targets and implement various strategies to help them in their learning and development. I also run a multisensory story and singing group with children in the setting. I have developed a better knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Curriculum through the continuous inhouse trainings done in the playgroup. I can speak fluently in English, Bengali and Hindi.