Nursery practitioner from Hampshire shortlisted for prestigious award
Jesse, a Room Leader at Bright Horizons Andover Day Nursery and Preschool, is a finalist for the ‘Room Leader of the Year’ award.
She is one of only nine Nursery Room Leaders to make the final shortlist in this category of the 2023 NMT National Nursery Awards. These prestigious awards are open to everyone involved in childcare and education and highlight truly inspirational work.
Jesse has been praised by Ofsted when they came for their most recent visit to the nursery in 2022. They emphasised that she leads an ‘Outstanding’ baby room, and they stated that babies are offered extremely good care with there being a high focus placed on building a very strong relationship with their room leader.
Parents have noticed the positive impact Jesse has had at the nursery, one parent said: “In terms of my son’s development, a significant impact Jesse has had is that when he started, he wouldn’t eat any solid food, which made me so nervous to leave him. Within two weeks he was eating everything! Jesse collaborated with me and with the nursery chef and had so much patience, just letting my son go at his own pace. The welcome bag on our first settling session was such a thoughtful and unexpected gesture and it was nice to know that as a parent you are being thought about as well.”
Jesse continues to provide an inspiring environment and develop her skills and help children with special educational needs, through her weekly sign language videos that she does on Bright Horizons social media channels. Since obtaining her level 4 training in Makaton with The Makaton Charity, Jesse now consistently signs while speaking with the babies to provide them an opportunity to communicate non-verbally with their key person, enabling them to express their thoughts and feelings.
Jesse said: “I’m honoured to be nominated in this category. I feel passionate about working with young children and children with additional needs and ensuring all our children have the best experience and chance to develop at our nursery. I have been working at Bright Horizons for eight years and they have supported me to develop my skills and understanding around working with SEND children and getting to see the great impact we can have on each child.
“I want to inspire others so that we can keep supporting children to thrive and learn through an exciting and enthusiastic Bright Beginnings curriculum that cares deeply for children’s wellbeing.”
This is not the only award where Bright Horizons colleagues have been shortlisted. Other nominations include, Katy, a Preschool Room Leader at Bright Horizons Kingswood Day Nursery and Preschool for ‘The SENCO Award’, Danielle, Regional Director in the North for ‘Area Manager of the Year’, and Claire, a Nursery Manager at Bright Horizons Harpenden Central Day Nursery and Preschool for ‘Nursery Manager of the Year’. Bright Horizons have also been nominated for three awards including Apprenticeship Scheme of the Year, Nursery Group (Large) of the Year and Nursery Training and Development of the Year.
Winners of the NMT National Nursery Awards are chosen by a distinguished panel of expert judges and will be revealed at the ceremony in London on November 25th. If you are interested to find out more about Andover Day Nursery and all the fun and inspiring activities they get involved in, then you can find it all on their website.
