TWO Bradford nursery chains have been recognised as among the best in the country in the latest Nursery Awards.
Both chains were honours in the Top 20 Medium Sized Nursery Chains prize, with five nurseries in the district also being named in the 20 best nurseries in Yorkshire and the Humber.
This means that in a region of more than five million people covering almost 6,000 square miles, Bradford accounts for a quarter of the region’s best early years settings.
Honoured in the Top 20 Medium Sized Nursery Groups section are Kinder Haven and Cliffe House Day Nurseries.
Kinder Haven runs nine sites with seven of them based in Bradford - in Sticker Lane, Westgate Hill Street, Stone Hall Road in Eccleshill, Pasture Lane in Clayton, Town Gate in Wyke, Wakefield Road just outside the city centre, and in Halifax Road.
It also has sites in Pudsey and in Horsforth, with every nursery rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted except the Eccleshill site which is yet to be inspected.
Menston-based Cliffe House Day Nurseries has sites in Baildon, Burley-in-Wharfedale and Shipley, as well as in Pudsey, Horsforth and Bramhope.
They are all rated Good or Outstanding apart from Pudsey which is yet to be inspected.
Danielle Dixon, who runs Kinder Haven, said it’s the sixth year in a row the nursery group has won the award.
“It gives everyone a well deserved boost given all their hard work over the last 18 months,” she said.
“We’re absolutely ecstatic to receive the award, it’s been a very difficult year and this goes to show the hard work from the whole team was worth it.
“We’re really pleased and proud and we’re really thankful to everyone who voted for us, there’s no better vote than that of our parents.
“It’s been a tough year, it’s hard to comprehend what’s happened but we’ve just maintained our high standards of care and put our children first.”
Both nursery groups also have sites honoured in the individual awards for Yorkshire and the Humber.
Three of Kinder Haven’s nurseries - in Halifax Road, Sticker Lane and Westgate Hill Street - make the top 20 list for the region, as well as the Cliffe House Day nursery in Burley-in-Wharfedale.
Also included are Dracup Lodge Day Nursery in Great Horton, Cavendish Lodge Day Nursery in Keighley, and Esscroft Day Nursery in Burley-in-Wharfedale.
The annual Nursery Awards are run by daynurseries.co.uk, and are decided based on reviews from parents/individuals responsible for a child who attends the nurseries.
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