Priyanka and Gourav Batra

The Business Owners

In 2015, The Ark Mytholmroyd embarked on a new chapter with the arrival of Priyanka and Gourav Batra, who brought a clear vision and a deep commitment to providing outstanding early years education and care. Their goal was to redefine the standards of high-quality childcare, ensuring that every child receives the best possible start in life.

Under their leadership, The Ark has grown into an award-winning nursery, recognised for excellence in early years care. Today, the Ark Experience has expanded to include three additional nurseries – The Ark Littleborough, Les Enfants Darwen, and Little Lambs Bolton – each delivering the same high standards of care, learning, and development. Priyanka and Gourav are passionate about fostering a nurturing environment where children thrive, staff feel valued and motivated, and parents have complete confidence in the care their child receives.

“The expansion and commitment to children’s development is a shared goal for us and our team, and we are incredibly proud to have been able to achieve it. It has been a privilege to contribute to the growth of so many children and to support their families along the way.” – Priyanka Batra

At The Ark Experience, our unwavering dedication ensures that every child is given the opportunity to grow, learn, and flourish in a safe and inspiring setting. This is where their magical adventure begins.

Joanne Crowther

Head of Operations

As Head of Operations, I oversee the strategic and day-to-day running of our nurseries, ensuring consistency, quality, and compliance across all settings. I work closely with our Senior Leaders and Nursery Managers to support high standards in teaching and learning, staff development, and operational practice. I am passionate about creating environments where children can thrive and where teams feel supported, valued, and motivated to deliver the very best care and education.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family, getting involved in community activities, and supporting children and young people beyond the nursery through my volunteer role at as a Squirrel Scout Leader.

Donna Hubbard

Area Manager

I have been part of The Ark Experience for over 15 years, starting my journey as Childcare Manager at The Ark Mytholmroyd. I am now proud to work across three nurseries as an Area Manager, where I focus on maintaining high-quality provision, ensuring Ofsted readiness, and supporting and leading our nursery managers.

My role involves working closely with each setting to monitor standards, mentor and develop leadership teams, and ensure consistent, high-quality practice across all nurseries. I provide guidance, support, and strategic direction to help our teams deliver safe, nurturing, and high-quality provision and care for every child.

I am passionate about continuous improvement and strive to ensure every nursery delivers the very best outcomes for children and families.

Tanya Thornley

Area Manager

As an Area Manager for The Ark Experience Nursery Group, I lead and support the management and staff teams across three nursery sites, ensuring our commitment to exceptional childcare is consistently embedded across all settings. Within my role, I oversee practice and audit provision to maintain high standards of care, learning, and development. I work closely with Nursery Managers to support continuous development and quality improvement planning, providing coaching and professional guidance to strengthen practice, drive consistency, and uphold safeguarding and quality standards.

With over 21 years of leadership and management experience within Early Years education, I have built my career around a genuine passion for providing high-quality childcare and improving outcomes for children, with a strong belief in the importance of creating positive, nurturing environments where every child can thrive.

Maria Piper-Cotterill

HR Manager

I have recently joined the Ark Team, but I have been a part of the experience as a grandparent for many years. My role is all about people. I am lead for all matters HR and making sure our fantastic workforce are well trained, skilled and settled in their roles.

I assist all the nurseries in managing their workforce and offer each Manager the support and guidance they need to maintain a healthy and positive staff team.

Karen Dillon

Business Admin & Health and Safety Manager

I have been part of The Ark team since 2010, beginning in administration and marketing. As the company has grown, my role has evolved to administration and health and safety across all six nurseries.

I ensure that our systems and processes run smoothly and are of a consistent high quality, supporting both staff and parents, while also making sure we remain fully compliant with all nursery health and safety requirements. I support and work alongside the staff in all the nurseries and strongly believe in the value of teamwork, where co-operation and understanding are essential: a positive attitude makes a real difference and helps achieve the best outcomes for everyone.

Jade Kershaw

Assistant SEND & Inclusion Manager

I have been part of the Ark since 2012 where I started work at the Mytholmroyd site in the baby and toddler room. Over the years, I have progressed through roles including Practitioner, Senior Practitioner, Area Lead, Deputy Manager, and Nursery Manager. I have always had a passion for SEND & Inclusion and this developed early on within my career. I have completed my Portage Training and I am currently completing my EYSENDCO Level 3.

I work closely with each setting looking at the needs of the children, the support they are receiving internally and externally, and ensuring that inclusive practice is being delivered to a high standard and in line with compliance and regulatory requirements. Alongside working closely with the children and their families I also contribute to staff training, developing the knowledge and understanding of the teams.

Katie Harrow

Assistant Learning and Development Manager

I began my journey with the Ark as an apprentice, where I completed my Level 3 Childcare qualification. Now a senior member of staff, I work closely across all settings, supporting curriculum development, enhancing learning environments, and contributing to staff training and professional development.

I work in line with compliance and regulatory requirements to ensure that all environments are safe, effective, and of a high standard. I am passionate about spending time in the rooms and value interacting with the children, as this allows me to support their development and ensure high-quality learning experiences.

Philip Verstappen

Forest Phil – Forest School Lead

I’m Forest Phil, and I joined The Ark Experience, Mytholmroyd, in 2017 as an Early Years Practitioner. Although I loved working in the nursery, I’ve always had a passion for the outdoors, and the incredible opportunities nature provides for children’s learning and development.

Shortly after the COVID-19 lockdowns, I trained as a Forest School Leader. It was the perfect time to help children reconnect with the outdoors, giving them the freedom to explore, play and learn in nature after such a challenging period. Since then, our Forest School has continued to grow, and the forest team now visits all our nurseries on a regular basis, bringing outdoor learning experiences to even more children.

As Forest School Lead, my aim is to create safe, inspiring environments where children can discover their own abilities, follow their curiosity and learn at their own pace. I believe that nature offers endless opportunities to build resilience, confidence, independence and strong social skills through exploration and hands-on experiences.

Getting outdoors and exploring the natural world is what Forest School is all about. I love encouraging children’s curiosity, helping them develop a lifelong appreciation for nature while continually looking for new ways to improve and enhance the experiences we provide.