Tops Day Nurseries, a day nursery chain with 12 nurseries across Dorset, including nurseries in Wimborne, Gillingham, Corfe Mullen and Wareham has been honoured with a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Sustainable Development.
Tops is one of 226 organisations nationally to be recognised with a prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise. Announced today, Thursday 21 April, Tops has been recognised for its excellence in Sustainable Development.
Employing 750 people, Tops Day Nurseries was set up in 1990 and operates 32 nurseries across the South Coast, educating and caring for children in their early years. The award was given to Tops because it has provided inspiration and is genuinely driving change in its sector. The Founder and Managing Director, Cheryl Hadland, provides thought leadership and challenges industry norms, for instance in tackling the huge range of disposable items and one-use plastics, such as nappies, gloves and glitter normally used in the sector.
Cheryl Hadland said, “We are truly delighted and proud to achieve this award, despite suffering the crippling impact of covid, and even worse, the under-funding of early years provision in this country in recent years. Nursery colleagues and parents are paying the price of the under funding from their own pockets, despite early years being one of the best investments anyone could make.
Early years educators provide the foundations for todays children to be able to run the country tomorrow, and we believe that an essential part of that is showing our empathy and respect for our environment and all people, animals and plants within it, showing the best example we can for our children to follow. Words are not enough, all our decisions must embed sustainability and we must continue to learn ourselves. We welcome this award to celebrate what we have achieved so far, but also to encourage us to continue our sustainability journey and to encourage more nurseries, parents, businesses, and schools to join us, in trying to safeguard our children’s future health and happiness.
Now in its 56th year, the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious business awards in the country, with winning businesses able to use the esteemed Queen’s Awards Emblem for the next five years.
Tops Day Nurseries are a family of eco-sustainable day nurseries across the South & South West, with 12 in Dorset, including; Tops Bearwood, Tops Boscombe, Tops Bournemouth, Tops Charminster, Tops Christchurch, Tops Corfe Mullen, Tops Gillingham, Tops Parkstone, Tops Poole, Topsie Gillingham, Tops Wareham and Tops Wimborne. Tops have an outstanding reputation in delivering top quality early years education to children aged 3 months to school age, as well as before, after-school and holiday clubs for children up to 11.
For more information use the links below:
https://www.gov.uk/queens-awards-for-enterprise.
www.topsdaynurseries.co.uk