Praise for childcare and nursery education

At a recent awards ceremony the County Council formally recognised early years settings that achieved exceptional inspection standards and professionals who have achieved top qualifications.

To qualify for a County Council "Building A Future Together" award, nurseries or childminders have to achieve Ofsted's highest assessment category '“ outstanding. Those individual child care professionals who achieve the Early Years Professional status also qualify for an award.

At the ceremony at the Winter Garden in Eastbourne Cllr Keith Glazier, Lead Member for Children's and Adults' Services and Cllr David Elkin, Lead Member for Learning and School Effectiveness presented awards to 18 nurseries and child minders and 19 individuals who have achieved Early Years Professional status.

Cllr Glazier said: "This is our opportunity to say thank you for all the hard work that goes into giving children in East Sussex such an excellent start in life and the sound base they need to develop in positive and achieving young people and adults.

"There has never been a more important time to celebrate these achievements and hard work in the early years. Stories about achievements, literacy and numeracy levels, of pre-school aged children have increasingly featured in the media and the spotlight increasingly focuses on the childcare sector."

Cllr David Elkin added: "We have to strive continually to improve outcomes for our young people from their very early years and onwards all the way through their education. These awards show how hard and effectively we are working in East Sussex to provide our county's children with the best possible foundation in skills and education."