Grandir UK has six finalists in the NMT Nursery Awards 2024!

We are celebrating with our six day nurseries and pre-schools who have been selected as finalists in the 2024 NMT Nursery awards! This is a tremendous achievement for our nursery teams, nursery managers and the Grandir UK nursery group.

At Grandir UK, we regularly nominate our team members for awards, such as the NMT awards and Nursery World awards, to recognise those within Grandir UK who are going above and beyond to provide the very best childcare within the early years education sector!

We are ecstatic with these nominations! Our hope is that this reflects the quality of care we provide, not only to our staff and families, but to the early years community as well.

About the NMT Awards

NMT, or Nursery Management Today, is a publication that works with and provides content for day nurseries, preschools and nursery groups that work within an early years accredited setting.

The publication is widely read by those in the childcare sector from Northampton to Horsham, West Sussex. Their publication covers a broad range of topics that targets nursery mangers, nursery practitioners and others in the early years sector.

As an organisation, they aim to spread awareness of relevant early years childcare news like changes in defence children services, hot topics such as the benefit of farm school nurseries, interviews with leaders in areas such as teacher-led early years practices and more.

In addition to their publication, they hold an annual awards ceremony called the NMT Awards which sets out to recognise individuals, independent businesses and large companies who are taking strides to be the very best in the early years industry.

These awards celebrate everything from nursery environments such as Forest School and Beach School settings, to the people who are making an incredible impact within their role such – as Nursery Manager of the Year or Nursery Chef of the Year.

Who are our finalists?

We are thrilled to be nominated as finalists in six categories this year. These categories were entered into by individual’s colleagues and people within our Support Office to recognise others wonderful achievements within our day nurseries.

Meet our finalists:

Annie Griggs, Kiddi Caru Day Nursery & Preschool Hitchin

Apprentice of the Year

Annie joined the Kiddi Caru day nursery in Hitchin straight from school at just 16 years old! Annie has shown exceptional enthusiasm, dedication, and growth since joining the nursery and exemplifies the qualities of a remarkable apprentice and has a true passion for childcare.

Annie is looking forward to completing her Level 2 Apprenticeship and would like to continue to develop her knowledge and understanding of early years by progressing straight into a Level 3 qualification. She has a passion for working with SEN (Special Educational Needs) children and aspires to be involved in an area like speech and language therapy.

Danielle Moran-Tomkins, Dicky Birds Day Nursery & Preschool in Queens Road, Surbiton

Newcomer of the Year

Danielle Moran-Tomkins became part of Grandir UK in April 2024. She now acts as the Assistant Nursery Manager at Dicky Birds Day Nursery & Preschool in Wimbledon, Queens Road.

Due to her wealth of experience, she is known for bringing her team together to work towards delivering outstanding childcare and a high quality of education. She has shown a massive dedication to our Dicky Birds day nurseries by commuting to multiple close day nursery school within our network to help improve their environments.

Within a few short weeks, the Dicky Birds day nurseries have come alive! The whole of the Dicky Birds team have been so glad to welcome her on board.

Rebecca Few, Kiddi Caru Day Nursery & Pre-chool in Caldecotte

Nursery Manager of the Year

Being based in early years, Milton Keynes Northamptonshire, Rebecca has worked within childcare in the area since 2008 and has a degree in early years education, showing her true passion for the sector! She has been commended by her team for always looking to expand her knowledge and implement different approaches to learning within their day nursery.

Rebecca is passionate about ensuring the wellbeing and happiness of her team, and is always available to help support them. With her incredibly positive attitude, Rebecca can tackle any issues with calmness and resilience, which keeps her team highly motivated.

In her position as Nursery Manager, Rebecca acts as an excellent role model to her team. This nomination is well deserved!

Amy Clark, Harpenden Day Nursery & Preschool in London

Nursery Room Leader of the Year

Since becoming the Room Leader of the preschool room, Amy has embraced her new role with confidence and competence! She has successfully navigated the increased responsibilities and challenges, demonstrating her readiness for leadership.

Amy excels in working collaboratively and effectively with other team members and fosters a supportive and inclusive environment, encouraging open communication and teamwork. Her ability to engage and motivate her colleagues ensures a productive team.

Nursery Group Awards

Not only have our employees been nominated for the NMT Awards, we are also proud to announce that as a nursery group, Grandir UK is a finalist for two awards as well!

Nursery Group (Large)

As we strive to be one of the best organisations to provide excellent childcare and education, and to be one of the best employers. This group award showcases everything we have to offer to attract new and talented staff, and show our parents that we provide the best childcare in their area.

That’s why we are proud to be a finalist for the Nursery Group (Large) award, and demonstrate that being a large organisation is not a disadvantage, but that we offer some of the best day nurseries, with the good early start nutrition and great opportunities for our staff.

Apprenticeship Scheme of the Year

At Grandir UK, we are striving to be the most desirable organisation to complete an early years apprenticeship through due to the wonderful environment, real world experience, and excellent education and childcare.

Our apprenticeship scheme is designed to cultivate a new generation of passionate and skilled professionals who are dedicated to providing high-quality care and education for young children. At the core of our programme is a commitment to fostering a learning environment that empowers apprentices to develop their knowledge, skills, and confidence. Our goal is to empower them with the skills and knowledge to excel.

As we are passionate about growing our own and have many cohorts of apprentices each year, we are thrilled to be nominated for this award!

Lydia Hopper, CEO of Grandir UK:

“I’m so proud of everyone across our nursery group who has been chosen as a finalist for these prestigious industry awards!

Applying for awards like the NMT Awards and the Nursery World Awards reaffirms our dedication to recognising and rewarding our day nurseries and the hard-working nursery practitioners, managers, chefs, all of our staff that make our nursery group thrive!

Working in early years isn’t just a teaching job, it’s a career choice where you shape the next generation of thinkers, leaders and influencers to make a difference in the world. It’s challenging but rewarding work; and that’s why it’s important to recognise and reward those who give their best every day!

Every year one of our team members becomes an awards finalist or wins an award. Not only is this a huge milestone for them, but it gives confidence to the rest of the larger team within our learning tree. Nursery school awards brings to light the best of our team and inspires others to make Grandir UK a top nursery group.”

We can’t wait for the NMT awards ceremony!

The NMT awards ceremony will take place on Saturday 30th November, in the ExCel, London, and we are looking forward to joining other organisations such as Little Barn Owls Forest School, Willow Tree Nursery School, The Old Station Nursery Group and Acorn Early Years foundation for this nationwide pre-school and day nursery event.

To keep up to date with everything that is going on before and after the event, follow Grandir UK day nurseries and NMT on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. Good luck to all the NMT finalist of 2024!

If you are interested in any teaching jobs at our children’s centre and day nurseries, take a look at our Careers Page and find out more about joining the Grandir UK family. Each nursery school and pre school has an early years educator’s handbook with their own bespoke curriculum – great for learning opportunities and starting your career. Some follow an explorers forest school curriculum, others Montessori, and more. If nurtured childcare is your passion, Grandir UK is for you.