Having a chat with... Vilius and Dovile from East Wick Kids

We’re very excited to introduce our first commercial members, East Wick Kids!

Husband and wife team Vilius and Dovile have lived in Hackney Wick for 15 years, working at Montessori nurseries before setting up their own childcare provision to serve the local neighbourhood.

Now the duo are set to open East Wick Kids – East Wick and Sweetwater’s new nursery – at the beginning of 2022. We caught up with them to find out more about their plans, and also asked about the changes they’ve seen throughout the area in the last decade or so.

So, what’s the story behind East Wick Kids?

We’ve lived in Hackney for 15 years and we love it here. When we first moved, Dovile started working in childcare, then moved to a Montessori nursery.

After a few years of experience in Montessori education we set up a little home nursery with the help of an assistant. Vilius joined the business and became a registered childminder too and both of us have received Outstanding reviews from Ofsted.

The demand for childcare grew and grew and we’ve had a long waiting list for many years, so we started thinking about how we could grow the business and open the nursery.

We were looking for new and appropriate premises in the local area for around five years, but outdoor space was key, and we couldn’t find anything that matched our philosophy and business needs, until we came across East Wick and Sweetwater. The new nursery will be called East Wick Kids and we plan to be open by January 2022.

What type of learning do you use?

We both have backgrounds in Montessori and Forest School teaching principles, which encourage lots of outdoor learning. We’ll be combining these principles for a holistic learning approach within the new nursery as we don’t want to keep children inside all day.

We’ve got two great outdoor spaces at East Wick Kids, and we also hope to carry on running Forest School sessions in Wick Woodland.

We try to make our learning environment as sustainable as possible, with plastic-free toys and organic food, where we can, passing a message on to the children and their families about living in a more eco-friendly way.
We’re also developing plans to work with our neighbour, Mossbourne Riverside Academy, so our kids can use some of their playing fields for planned sports activities.

How do you think the area’s changed in the time you’ve lived here?

We’ve literally seen the buildings come out of the ground at East Wick and Sweetwater, whilst the entire Park has changed so much since the London 2012 Olympics.

The area has really grown and improved a lot over the years – thanks to the legacy of the London 2012 Olympics better transport links and major shopping centers have attracted lots of people here. We love the area because the people are very friendly here, we’ve made so many friends thanks to the amazing sense of community and it’s such a diverse and inclusive area.

As the neighbourhood and community at East Wick and Sweetwater grows, we might also be lucky to open a second nursery in Sweetwater. Lots of people are moving here now and we know that as and when more people come to the area, there’ll be more demand for quality nursery education.

Find out more or register your interest on eastwickkids.com

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