Dubai, UAE - February 18th, 2013. Hummingbird Early Learning Centre is now expanding its offering with a brand new and purpose built pre-school at the DIFC. The new branch will be serving the growing population of working parents who want to provide their children with the best opportunities during their early years in a caring, secure and stimulating environment. Both childcare and after school programmes are available at this first class childcare center. The pre-school center will open its doors in March and have started accepting applications.

The range of activities offered at the new Hummingbird Pre-School are carefully planned in line with the revised 2012 UK Practice Guidelines for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). The manager of Hummingbird Pre-School explains: "We believe in the total integration of care and early years education. Our children enjoy rich and stimulating learning experiences which help them develop their independence and their problem-solving skills"

The Hummingbird Pre-school is located in Limestone House business precinct, DIFC, the business hub of Dubai.

The Pre-School center is divided in 4 functional Zones, which covers all aspects of child development:

-      Creative Zone: Involving arts and crafts, music, dance and construction.

-      Science and IT Zone: The children will be guided to make sense of their physical world and community by offering opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment through investigation and discovery.

-      Quiet Zone: Here the children will experience a rich language environment and to speak and listen in a range of situations. A wide range of reading materials will be accessibly to aid their literacy development.

-      Gross Motor Zone: Children are helped to understand the importance of keeping fit by having ample opportunities to engage in physical activities in a challenging but safe purpose-built indoor play area.

The existing Hummingbird Nursery age group is accommodating children from 3 months to 2.5 years old, whilst Hummingbird Pre-School branch is for children between 2.5 to 6 years old.

Hummingbird Pre-School offers an after school programme which help and support children with their homework, provide special designed homework logs to help track children's homework progress, academic enrichment activities including book club, creative writing, science and technology and involvement in extra-curricular and age appropriate activities.

Louise Flanagan, a parent, explains what make them chose Hummingbird for her children over other nurseries: "Hummingbird Early Learning Centre offers excellent childcare. We looked at numerous other nurseries in Dubai and felt that the Hummingbird was of the highest standard; indeed, we felt it was of an even higher standard to that of the nursery our daughter was at in London. I work full time as a lawyer so finding a place in which our daughter is safe, happy, loved, cared for and stimulated with creative, fun educational learning tactics on a full day and every day basis was and is essential. We are delighted that our baby son will also benefit from the Hummingbird experience in due course. The team is fantastic and we are so pleased that our children are in such good hands".

Kieny Watts, General Manager of Hummingbird Early Learning Centre says "Hummingbird's highly qualified, western educated teachers and childcare professionals are well-known for being fully committed to continually provide outstanding levels of care and education, and this especially shows when the children are starting school. We receive feedback from the teachers in the schools telling us that they are impressed with our children's personal development and the level of skills and knowledge attained. Importantly, this includes social skills in interacting with their peers. We are proud to be able to offer this quality of service to more children and a wider age group".

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Media Contact
Ms. Lindi Malm, PR & Communication
Al Tamimi Investments LLC.
Mobile: +971 56 765 7193
Email: lindi@tamimiinvestments.com

About Hummingbird Early Learning Centre
Hummingbird Early learning Centre provides a carefully structured early learning programme, in line with the revised 2012 UK Practice Guidelines for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), which supports the individual developmental needs of each child. The EYES principles are based on the belief that each child is unique. It works to foster positive relationships, to provide enabling environments and to encourage learning and development at this crucial stage of a child's education. The centres nurture the seven areas of a child's development: personal, social and emotional development, communication and language, literacy, physical development, mathematics, understanding of the world, expressive art and design.

Hummingbird Early Learning Centre includes Hummingbird Nursery, which caters for children between 3 months and 2.5 years old, and Hummingbird Pre-School which targets an older age group between 2.5 and 6 years old. Conveniently located in the DIFC precinct, the two separate centres Hummingbird Nursery and Hummingbird Pre-School encourage children to play, explore, discover, learn and understand the world around them.

Hummingbird's Western managed team of highly qualified and experienced child care professionals are fully committed to continually provide outstanding levels of care and education for children, making Hummingbird one of the leading centres for early years education and development in Dubai.

For more information, please visit www.hummingbird.ae.

1.1 About Al Tamimi Investments

Al Tamimi Investments (ATI) is a diversified Dubai-based holding company with an extensive investment portfolio of successful businesses and partnerships that operate across the Arabian Gulf, the wider Middle East region and the United States of America. ATI is a dynamic company with a range of significant competencies, including Early Education, Support Services, Healthcare, Development Properties and Retail.

CSR and Social entrepreneurship are a key focus for ATI. As an impact investing company, ATI ranks social benefits and environmental sustainability as high as financial profit, in turn offering a unique answer to the problem of sustainability. Al Tamimi Investments fosters mutually beneficial and long-term partnerships with other strategically focused companies and institutions, with a primary intention of creating a measurable social impact, with the potential for financial upside.

Established in 2006, ATI's focus is on maximising each business opportunity that is presented to it, and creating mutually beneficial partnerships with like-minded companies and entrepreneurs, both in the Middle East and around the world. ATI works with its partners to create long-term business relationships, utilising their expertise, professionalism and networks. ATI also adopts an active, personal and dynamic approach in managing its business portfolio, and in this sense transfers its expertise, resources and practices to each business. Collectively, ATI companies generate over 1,200 jobs within the UAE.

For more information, please visit www.tamimiinvestments.com.

© Press Release 2013