Devina Burun, MD of Summerside Tots: Turning passion into profession

Summerside Tots is an English medium Pre-Primary school and Nursery catering for tots from three months to five years of age. It currently has two campuses, in Quatre Bornes and in Curepipe. It provides tots with a sound foundation for their primary schooling. The Founder and Managing Director, Devina Burun, speaks to News on Sunday.

Married with two kids, Devina Burun embarked on her venture in 2008 and today, she also acts as an adviser to the Curepipe campus team. She holds a BA (Hons) in English from the University Of Mauritius and has taught English and English Literature to secondary school students. She has also attended training courses in education at the Mauritius Institute of Education. She has lived in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong where she learned about a wide range of ideas in teaching. 

“Our Nursery is registered with the Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare. This in itself is a mark of recognition, as high standards have to be met before a daycare license is granted. While we regularly consult the technicians of the Ministry to ensure high standards, we also map our programme with those from other countries such as the United Kingdom. In brief, our aim is to provide tots with the best childhood development curriculum. Our programmes are aimed at achieving developmental milestones through play and activities. They are targeted towards developing gross and fine motor skills,” says Devina Burun. “We lay a lot of emphasis on potty training, nutrition and overall wellbeing of our babies.”

The school is ideally located at Quatre Bornes, with easy access and is convenient for working mothers, as they can drop their kids on the way to work. The school operates a nursery and emphasis is on nutrition where the individual needs of each child are taken into consideration. Meals programme are prepared keeping in mind the daily nutritional requirement of kids. Due to high demand, Devina Burun decided to expand her school business and has recently opened another school in Curepipe. 

“The pre-primary years build on the education and development achieved in the formative years. The learning environment is highly interactive and children are encouraged to be inquisitive through play-based activities. Early literacy and numeracy are integral in the programme. Some teaching is also conducted in French language,” she explains. Summerside Tots Pre-Primary is also registered with the Early Childhood Care and Education Authority (ECCEA), which operates under the aegis of the Ministry of Education. “All our teachers and carers are well qualified. Some have been trained in Europe including the United Kingdom and Ireland. We understand that parents want a safe and secure environment for the development of their tots. We therefore endeavour to employ the best carers and teachers and we have constant staff training plans,” says Devina.  

Other facilities offered by the school include regular medical visits for the health and well-being of kids. It has a four-week meal planner adapted to kids’ taste. All kids, from nursery to preprimary eat at school. Kids are also acquainted with various cultural foods such as gujrati adapted thali with chapatti, sambar, soya chutney and rasmalai, etc. 

The complete development of the child is a primary objective. The school celebrates all events and festivals of Mauritius and this allows children to be inculcated with the necessary cultural values. Recently, the school also held its ‘graduation ceremomy’, where kids presented various plays and shows. Parents are strongly recommended to participate in school activities. “We do not pour in contents in children’s mind and we are not the only sources of information. The child comes to us with a set of already acquired ideas, values, skills, knowledge and attitude. We have to take all these into consideration when we are planning our school curriculum alongside thematic study. This is why at Summerside, we have a year packed with festivities, celebrations, special days planned ahead or sometimes done spontaneously, like the lunar eclipse day or International Peace day.”

Devina Burun has an ambitious plan: To grow her activities and after the second campus operating in Curepipe, she is planning a third outlet soon. The Curepipe branch has lush green surroundings set over one acre of land. “We are working to create a vegetable and flower garden to inspire kids to respect nature and educate them about the importance of protecting the environment from a very early age.” The compound is equipped with a play area. 

Devina heads the school with strong passion and commitment. She has always had a willingness to achieve and is a hard worker. As a woman entrepreneur, she knows how to face the challenges in her fields and she is also an avid learner. Working with children has always been her dream and she has this natural inclination to care for others.

Summerside Tots, 111 Malartic Ave, Quatre Bornes Tel 427 9415.

Morc Couacaud Lane, Notre Dame de Lorette St, Curepipe Tel 674 2386.

www.summersidestots.uk