2022 has been another year filled with new challenges for the early years sector, however I continue to be impressed and proud of the achievements and advancements we have made as a business.
As a sector, we continue to face under-funding from Government (and Local Authority) along with constant and irrational changes to our operating and legislative guidelines. This doesn’t only affect us as a business but also impacts the affordability of our service for the parents who rely on us to work. Back in March, we stood up against the Government and joined forces with hundreds of other providers to have our voices heard. We continue to lobby our local MPs and Government to properly support early years so that it is affordable for families and sustainable for those that operate within the sector. I am pleased to see some early signs of recognition and change for the sector, however this is still far from where it needs to be to make early years care and education affordable for everyone.
Thinking about our achievements as a business, many of our nurseries had their Ofsted inspections this year and I am pleased to share that our high standards have been maintained. The reports we have received have been testament to the hard work of our Early Years Educators and their inspirational Leaders. Some of the feedback I am particularly proud of includes:
“Children are keen to explore and investigate in this well-resourced nursery. Children are supported by staff to develop a sense of responsibility and to keep the environment safe. Children of all ages thoroughly enjoy playing in the garden. Babies show that they feel happy and secure at the nursery. They play alongside their friends, giggling and laughing at each other. Babies develop strong relationships with their key workers.”
“The staff focus on supporting the communication skills of all children at the nursery through high- quality interactions. Staff build children’s self-esteem. They offer words of encouragement, so children persevere. Staff help support children’s growing mathematical and literacy skills. Leaders provide staff with regular professional development opportunities, alongside targeted training to further develop their skills.”
Our hard work and contribution has been recognised and rewarded by the sector too. This includes Cherubs Edwinstowe being recognised as a Top 20 Nursery in the East Midlands by DayNurseries.co.uk, Cherubs Nurseries winning Community Support at the Nursery World Awards and being shortlisted for Nursery Group of the Year at the Nursery Management Today Awards. We held our own awards ceremony in July too, seeing the return of our Excellence Awards following a 2-year break due to covid-19. It was a wonderful evening filled with celebration and recognition. Our best event yet and one I will remember!
Speaking of community support, our nurseries have continued to make our communities better places to live, work and grow up in. I have been pleased to see many of our residential home partnerships resume – something I really champion all our nurseries to do. The mutual benefit for both the children and the residents is amazing. In addition to this, we have managed to raise £8,000 for our 2022 charity partner, Nottinghamshire Women’s Aid. This wouldn’t be possible without the support and generosity of our parent community – thank you. We look forward to confirming our 2023 charity partner in due course.
We have continued to grow our Head Office and Central Support Teams to deliver on our commitment to excellence in early years. This includes additions to our Social Media and Marketing Teams and the introduction of Early Years Excellence Coaches, who will support our Head of Early Years Provision and Practice to ensure consistent quality and education across all nurseries. We are already seeing the benefit of this investment and the feedback from our teams has been positive around the support they are receiving. We also reviewed our nursery structures and have already introduced some Early Years Teachers to our Pre-School rooms to support in the delivery of high-quality early years education and preparing children for their next step, heading to school. We will continue to recruit Early Years Teachers throughout 2023.
Many of our nurseries have also received upgrades and refurbishments this year including new outdoor environments at Cherubs Kimberley and Ruddington Day Nursery and completing on our full nursery refurbishment at Cherubs Longdale. Our plans for next year include a full refurbishment and the re-opening of Cherubs Vale View (soon to be called Cherubs Bulwell) along with indoor refurbishments at Cherubs Sutton in Ashfield and a new Baby Unit at Cherubs Kimberley.
In November, we held our annual Parent and Staff Satisfaction Surveys. Whilst the results and summaries are yet to be released, I am incredibly proud to share some brief statistics friom our Parent Satisfaction Survey including:
98% of our parents agree their child is happy at Cherubs Nurseries
98% of our parents think their child’s nursery is welcoming
97% of our parents trust us with their child’s safety and wellbeing
89% of our parents think their child’s nursery is well-maintained
88% of our parents agree their child is getting a head start at Cherubs Nurseries
There are also some areas that we have already identified that we can improve on. Thank you to all parents who took the time to share their feedback. We are committed to making positive and progressive changes in response to the feedback provided.
Unfortunately, this year we had to say goodbye to two of our nurseries – Cherubs Ladybrook and Cherubs Mansfield Woodhouse. Whilst this wasn’t an easy decision to make, both were essential to ensure business stability and sustainability following covid-19 and the on-going impact the recruitment crisis is having on early years. I would like to thank the children, families and staff for making these transitions as smooth and positive as possible. Whilst Cherubs Ladybrook closed, we were able to secure the future of Cherubs Mansfield Woodhouse. I would like to wish the nursery all the success under its new ownership.
2023 will see us celebrate 30 years of Cherubs Nurseries. For a nursery group of our size this is incredibly exciting and we have lots of plans throughout the year to really put us on the map and share this milestone. We’ll also be celebrating with our teams in August at our very own outdoor festival – 30 Fest.
As mentioned above, we are committed to investing in our nurseries and look forward to continuing to do so throughout our anniversary year. We are also looking forward to launching our Learning Management System (LMS) which will provide our staff with on-demand training and CPD opportunities. Thank you to those who have been working hard behind the scenes to onboard and integrate this into the business.
As always, I would like to thank our parent community for continuing to support us and trust us as your childcare provider. We acknowledge the significant investment early years care and education demands but we hope we continue to exceed your expectations and give your children the best start in life. It goes without saying that a huge thank you is needed to our 300-strong workforce who continue to make great things happen, especially in challenging times. Here’s to you and your contribution in getting us to 30 years.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy, healthy and exciting year ahead. Happy New Year and here’s to 2023!
