A BASINGSTOKE nursery is celebrating its 10th anniversary next month.

Little Me Day Nursery in Skyline Plaza turns 10 in September, and is marking the occasion by looking back on the past decade which has seen it fight off numerous challenges including flooding, a ceiling collapse, and the coronavirus pandemic.

Little Me in Basingstoke is one of a number of nurseries in its family, with centres in Thatcham and Canada Water, and its most recent nursery opening in East India.

Owner Mandy Khaira is also an author of children’s books, and recently co-founded the MCKS Food Pantry which operates from Crown Heights in Basingstoke.

Talking about the nursery’s journey, she said: “I wasn’t specifically looking to open a nursery. I was in a stage of my life where I was a stay-at-home mum, had two kids and all that was running through my mind was nappies, bottles, feeding etc.

“Being at home didn’t suit me and I have a great business mind and a lot of creativity so needed to channel that. I saw an opportunity which was actually quite a big nursery for a first timer but I did the maths and went with it.”

Mandy said that one of the core principles of the company is that, by treating staff well, they go to work happy and do a great job.

“We treat people how we wish to be treated ourselves and this runs through everything we do from paying our bills on time to providing great childcare,” she said.

“I am proud of how the business was strong enough to withstand the financial pressures of closing in lockdown and then reopening with restrictions. However, the underlying factor behind any of my success is the amazing staff team. I am most proud of the loyalty and unity within the management team and I still get humbled by this every day.”

Mandy says that there is a “learning lesson in every action” when running your own business.

“One of the things I have noticed is that nothing can stay the same, everything moves in cycles but in an upward trend, so as the business grows, I grow, then my staff need to grow and develop with this change otherwise people get left behind,” she said.

“I don’t really think I’ve made mistakes, as everything has had a learning lesson to it.”

To celebrate the nursery’s 10th birthday, there will be a week of special events for the children and staff, but now Mandy is looking at the future of her business endeavours.

Her focus is currently on launching her series of ‘Dougie’s Diaries’ children’s books and merchandising the character.

She said: “The idea for the character and books grew organically, watching children learn and play at the nursery and also my own experiences with my children. The original character was part of my logo design for the nursery and I always imagined that one day he would have a family and come to life.

“I have liaised with an animation company to bring the characters to life in a short video and received very positive feedback from parents who have read the books to their children, various PR and media so hopefully I can pick the project up again in the future.”

In addition, she is continuing to work on her food pantry project.

“The Food pantry came about because the pandemic highlighted a need to give back,” she said.

“Many families and individuals were struggling and so the idea was born. In our food pantry in Basingstoke, members can join without having to be referred and they can remain members for as long as they like, many food banks limit clients to 2-3 visits.”

Little Me Day Nursery in Basingstoke currently has 94 children enrolled on a daily basis. Speaking about Mandy and her many endeavours, nursery manager Karen Brackstone said the staff describe her as “inspiring, energetic, supportive, loyal and a little bit crazy!”