On Saturday 14th January, Children 1st @ Breedon House Nurseries
celebrated an outstanding 2011 for the company, recognising the
efforts made by its 393 strong workforce at their annual conference
held at the Doubletree Sheffield Park Hotel.
It has been a fantastic year for the East Midlands based
company, after winning the prestigious Business of the Year award
for Nottinghamshire and Excellence in People Development award for
Derbyshire, presented by the Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire
Chamber of Commerce (DNCC) and from this, going from strength to
strength at their nurseries.
Four nurseries received glowing reports following recent Ofsted
inspections gaining an 'Outstanding' in all areas rating for their
excellent nursery care and education. Grantham, Main Street and
Toton nurseries were awarded the outstanding grade, with Ofsted
reports commenting on the exceptional staff and excellent levels of
care provided to children in their care.
Late last year, Children 1st added to its growing number by
acquiring 2 Stoke based nurseries, Meir Park and Acorns, which
takes the family run nursery group to a total of 15 settings
throughout Derbyshire, East Midlands, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire,
Leicestershire and now Staffordshire. Due to the consistent
training and development of its teams, Jacqui Mason Managing
Director said, 'We are able to grow our group knowing that
our ethos, culture and passion for providing the highest quality of
provision and learning experiences continues to be embedded in our
every day practice by our long serving childcare and management
teams. Children 1st are passionate about their people and support
them to be the best they can.
The conference kicked off with inspirational speeches from
Margaret Mason, Executive Chair & Founder and Jacqui Mason -
praising the efforts of everyone for their hard work and commitment
in making 2011 a success for the company. Parents representing our
nurseries were in attendance, sharing their experiences with the
staff and thanking them 1st hand for their fantastic work and
support throughout the year.
They were delighted to have a few representatives from their
partnerships attend the conference and helped give out important
awards to the Staff. Paul Henshaw from Derby College was on hand to
give staff their training certificates gained through their
association with the college. Karen Faux from Nursery World
presented the Nursery Nurse of the Year for the North award whilst
Sue Churchill from Nursery Management Today presented the Nursery
Nurse of the Year for the South award. Other guests attending were
from Redwoods Dowling Kerr, Paul Miller CEO, Andrew Stein MD and
Lucie Wright Sales Manager
Sarah Champion from Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice gave our
staff a heart-felt talk about the work Bluebell Wood do to help
Children & young adults with a short life expectancy. Children
1st have done numerous fund raising activities throughout the year,
in supporting Bluebell Wood and in recognition of our partnership;
Jacqui Mason, Managing Director, Margaret Mason, Founder &
Executive Chair along with our nursery managers from Sheffield
presented Sarah with a cheque for £1000 for the charity.