Co-operative Childcare – part of the Midcounties Co-operative – has scooped the 2018 award for Nursery Training and Development at the annual National NMT Nursery Awards.
The award is presented to nurseries or individuals who have made an exceptional contribution to childcare training. The co-op’s training team took home the prize for creating and implementing a learning and development programme across their network of nurseries.
The programme has resulted in a significant increase in performance, with the number of nurseries with an Ofsted rating of outstanding at an all-time high.
Co-op Childcare has also delivered training for all its nurseries to achieve Millie’s Mark, an accreditation that certifies that all nursery workers are fully trained in paediatric first aid and confident enough to put that knowledge into practice.
The co-op was also recognised in other categories – colleagues Karen Parker and Kelly Tindall from Sussex were finalists for the 2018 Nursery Indoor Learning Environment award. And Nicola Jones and Carly Burke from Newbiggin were shortlisted for Nursery Team 2018.
Babita Saroy, quality excellence manager at Co-op Childcare, said: “Consistently improving the service and care we provide to our children, as well as offering industry leading opportunities for the development of our colleagues is a top priority. I’m proud to be part of a group with so many outstanding colleagues, nursery settings, and training opportunities.”
Sally Mayer, chief operating officer at Co-op Childcare, added: “It’s the efforts of our colleagues across the country that have enabled us to secure the industry-wide recognition that we have. I want to say a big thank you to our learning and development team for winning Nursery Training and Development 2018, and for the work they do daily to help our nursery workers achieve their full potential.”
