Jumeirah International Nurseries - Villanova

Jumeirah International Nurseries (JIN’s) provides a child-centered approach to early childhood education with wellbeing at its heart. Our curriculum is based on the British Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework, along with International Preschool Curriculum, and elements of The Curiosity Approach and Reggio Emilia. It is enriched further with our “Positive Education” culture to ensure the wellbeing and character and holistic development of every child. As an industry leader with over 40+ years of expertise, JINS has won numerous awards in childcare and early education in Dubai and boosts brain power in children aged 45 days to 6 years.

To establish ourselves as the top Preschool & Nursery chain in the UAE and Mena, and then further afield in Europe, Asia and the Subcontinent
To provide the best early education, childcare & edutainment facilities
To continually invest in state-of-the-art infrastructure & human resources

Passionate about best quality childcare and the rights of children and their families to receive the best possible holistic care and education
Committed to working in partnership with parents and recognising the uniqueness of the learning communities we work with and building relationships that encourage long term sustainable best practices
Committed to keeping up to date with current research worldwide regarding child development

We’re loved and trusted byparents and have serviced over 12,000+ happy families in the UAE since 1981
JINS is part of the Fortes Education Group with a rich 40+ year history of excellence & innovation
JINS follows an enriched EYFS British Curriculum with principles from Reggio Emilia and The Curiosity Approach, and is further enhanced with principles of STEAM and Positive Education
We nurture each child’s unique qualities and potential – through project-based learning and extensive planning and innovative learning programmes such as Brain Gym, Wow Words and Accelerates Maths
We have 9 Vibrant Branches located throughout Dubai in the thriving communities of The Greens, Al Safa, Downtown Dubai, Jumeirah Village Triangle, Mirdif, Villanova, Ibn Battuta Mall, JBR and the Palm Jumeirah.
Our Strong Affiliation with the Top Schools in Dubai (Regent International School, Sunmarke School, Clarion and NLCS) allows for seamless transitions into EYFS and Primary School
We’re proudly guided by our Master Educators and Dynamic Early Years Leaders
We boast Highly Qualified & Certified Early Years Practitioners
JINS offers wrap around care & Flexible Weekly Hours for our families (7:00 am – 6:00 pm, 5 days a week, including Fridays)

Mrs. Shakuntala Mankani

Founder
Mrs. Mankani is the Founder of Jumeriah International Nurseries (JINS) and has also been instrumental in setting up Fortes Education’s various schools.

An educator at heart, Mrs. Mankani’s career has spanned teaching positions in the classroom to headship posts. Her guiding principle as an educator has always been to provide children the means to achieve excellence and to realise their full potential. Mrs. Mankani’s wealth of experience has enabled JINS to provide practical solutions to the challenges of delivering, assessing, monitoring, and evaluating early years’ curricula in all our Centres.

Mrs. Mankani works closely with a range of stakeholders (Nursery Managers, Early Years Educators & Practitioners, as well as children and parents) at each nursery and school to craft and implement both development and strategic plans. Mrs. Mankani ensures high standards of student conduct and academic achievement, as well as excellence in curriculum delivery, administration, governance and operations.

Mrs. Katrina Mankani

Managing Director, Jumeirah International Nurseries
Member of Board of Directors, Forbes Education
Katrina Mankani is the Managing Director of Jumeirah International Nurseries (JINS) and is responsible for strategy, marketing, and human resources development at JINS.

Mrs. Katrina Mankani’s heart remains with young children, which led her to develop a career in early childhood education and childcare. Mrs. Katrina Mankani found her calling in the classroom, spending several years teaching in JINS before moving to Regent International School.

Mrs. Katrina Mankani is a committed educationist with over a decade of teaching experience. She brings passion, innovation and an indefatigable spirit to developing JINS, as well as an intellectually deep fascination of how the minds of young children develop.

Mrs. Katrina Mankani holds Masters in Education (M.Ed.) in Private School Leadership from Columbia University and a Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) from Moscow State University, she also holds a PGCE and CACHE Level 3 certifications from the UK.

Mrs. Samina Khanyari

General Manager
Samina Khanyari is the General Manager at Jumeirah International Nurseries (JINS).
Mrs. Khanyari’s core belief is that “every child deserves the best start in life”, which has helped guide her into developing an accomplished career in early years education. Mrs. Khanyari is an educator par excellence who has a wealth of over 18 years in Early Years Education. Her strong leadership skills and remarkable determination supports the vision of the group.

Mrs. Khanyari is an inspiring leader who is extremely solution-focused and energetic in running the academic and operations of the nurseries for the group. She manages a large team of senior leaders and teachers. Working with international educators across the Fortes group. Mrs. Khanyari ensures that our understanding of early childhood education is continually connected to the most up-to-date research and thinking worldwide.

Mrs. Khanyari has been at the forefront of developing JINS into one of the best nursery brands across the U.A.E. She has a hands-on approach with children, parents and staff, motivating everyone to continuously deliver an outstanding education and the very best childcare to the children. Through her passion, determination and strategic outlook not only does Mrs. Khanyari strive for the very best for the families of JINS, but she works tirelessly within the group to improve the outcomes for the Early Years.

Mrs. Khanyari holds a double master’s degree; One in Educational Leadership (MSc EdL) from the University of Leicester UK and the other in Business Administration (MBA) with the core focus on Management.

Mrs. Carol Oliveira

Head of Curriculum
With over 16 years of experience working within the education sector in Dubai and overseas, Mrs. Oliveira is passionate about providing young children with high-quality early education and care. She advocates that the Early Years are one of the most important stages in a child’s development and she is committed to working in partnership with parents to ensure that each child receives the support their need, from an early age, to reach their full potential.

In addition to a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies, Mrs. Oliveira has completed her CACHE Level 3 Diploma for the Early Years Educator and CACHE Level 5 Diploma in Childcare Leadership. Her diverse cultural background and experience living in different parts of the world – including the UK, Italy, Brazil, and Vietnam – have enhanced her ability to support children and parents from various cultures and backgrounds too.

She is committed to creating a learning environment where all families feel welcome and valued.

Ms. Jade Penketh

Head of Early Years at JINS Villanova
Jade Penketh is the Head of Early Years at Jumeirah International Nursery, Villanova.

Ms Jade has over 15 years of successful nursery experience in UK and Dubai in the Early Years sector. Ms Jade has been consistently recognised for her excellent performance and contributions to the success of the Early Years management in all her previous works. Ms. Jade has the Level 5 certification in Leadership and Management of Child and Young People and the Level 3 in Health and Social Care.

Ms Jade is passionate about partnership and collaborative working with parents and the development of her staff team to ensure that each child has the best quality of education throughout their journey at JINS.
She believes that each child should be given endless opportunities to learn and grow through sensory and physical play. Ms Jades places great emphasis on the learning and development of each individual child and supports her team to ensure each child’s individual learning experience is unquie. Her approach to management is to ensure parents are listened to and communicated with as they play a vital part in their child’s development. Together, she strives to support parents with their child’s development at home as well as the nursery setting.

Ms. Jade has an open door policy at the nursery and is available to meet with parents at any time for questions, support and advice.

Ms. Jade prioritises and places emphasis on the continuous professional development of her entire staff team to ensure they are updated regularly regarding any curriculum updates or changes to ensure they have all the tools nessecary when educating your little ones.

She is excited to be part of your child’s individual learning journey and welcomes all parents to come and take a look at the child focused environment of her nursery setting and to get an opportunity to meet her experienced team in VIllanova.

All JINS branches are Reggio-inspired with:

Large, bright classrooms
Interactive learning spaces
STEAM exploratory spaces
Zig Zag Zoom – Discovery Centres
Outdoor Planting Areas
Water Play Area

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Jumeirah International Nurseries – Villanova

Mrs. Shakuntala Mankani

Mrs. Katrina Mankani

Mrs. Samina Khanyari

Mrs. Carol Oliveira

Ms. Jade Penketh

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