Two Blackpool nurseries are top for child care

Happy Tots on Egerton Road, North Shore, has achieved a gold grade and Baines Children’s Centre Nursery on Penrose Avenue, Marton, received silver after completing the Blackpool Better Start quality mark standard in excellence.

The initiative was introduced last year and recognises the commitment of early years nurseries to providing high quality services to Blackpool’s youngest children.

Julie Bryan, of Happy Tots, said: “The quality mark process has given us the opportunity to analyse our practices and audit our procedures to ensure we have a more collaborative approach.

“We are thrilled to have achieved a gold grade, and we are now looking at how we can measure the impact of these improvements with our families.”

Rebecca Duckworth, of Baines Children’s Centre Nursery, said: “We have worked closely with our parents to get a better understanding of what they feel we do well and what we could do to improve our provision.

“As a direct result we have created behaviour drop-in sessions for parents to attend, and although early days, we are seeing a difference in the behaviour of children at nursery.”

Sarah Lambert, development manager at Better Start said: “The quality mark gives early years providers the confidence to scrutinise their practice against a set of standards.

It also supports them during Ofsted inspections as it highlights a drive and desire for continued improvement.”