Party time for top nursery
BUSY BEES CELEBRATE BEING THE BEST
Little bees were buzzing as they celebrated being Sunderland’s top nursery.
A celebration party was held at the Busy Bees Nursery in Doxford to mark winning a city competition.
The nursery, which is based at Glanville Road on Doxford Business Park, was delighted when it won Nursery of the Year 2018 in a competition run by the Sunderland Echo.
It beat competition from more than 40 other city nurseries. But, thanks to loyal families who took time to vote, the nursery clinched the top spot.
To mark the occasion, staff at the nursery, along with children and parents, went all out to celebrate.
Mayor of Sunderland, Coun Lynda Scanlan, along with her consort, Micky Horswill, went along to join the fun.
The Sunderland Echo launched the competition earlier this year and 46 nurseries in the Washington, Sunderland and Houghton area were entered.
Votes flooded in until there was a final 10, with Busy Bees Doxford taking top slot.
Dianne Hall, Deputy Nursery Manager, said, “We are all overwhelmed and absolutely thrilled to be recognised for our dedication to giving children the best start in life.” As well as party food and fun, Mr Windbags the Magician went along to the nursery to provide entertainment for the children.
Nursery manager Deborah Boulton said staff were “ecstatic” at the win and put their success down to the good relationship they have with families of the youngsters and members of the community.
Deborah, who has been at the nursery since 2000, said: “I am absolutely ecstatic. I am very proud of the whole team.
“It means a lot to win and I am so proud of the nursery to get that recognition for all the hard work that we do.”
She said the nursery has great partnerships with the parents, carers and grandparents and they are the ones who voted for them.
The nursery, which has been open since 2006, cares for 163 children aged between six weeks and five years old.
It has 29 staff, along with a nursery chef and house keeper, and parents travel from as far as Newcastle to take their children there.
Busy Bees Doxford underwent a refurbishment in September 2017 and features a landscaped garden and offers a huge range of activities.