Angmering nursery in bid to become early years training excellence centre

Beech Tree Childcare, based in the grounds of Worthing Rugby Club, is in the process of becoming CPD accredited and is currently recruiting apprentices to join the team.

Heather Harmer, owner and manager, said: “We stayed open full time throughout lockdown to provide care and education for keyworker families and vulnerable children.

“We are so proud of the team who have all worked throughout as key workers themselves and always keeping smiling for the children.

“Throughout lockdown, we also were able to provide care for families whose own nurseries had closed.”

In the past six years, the nursery has worked with universities nationally and local secondary schools to raise awareness of the importance of the early years profession and promote men as educators in the early years sector.

It has also trained early years professionals locally and nationally on managing and leading an early years setting.

Some of the team are working on university degrees in education and early years, and they ensured their studies continued by completing assignments through online learning while the universities were closed.

Since June 1, Beech Tree Childcare has been open to all families and parents have been able to take virtual tours or book a visit out of hours.

Heather said: “We are so proud of what we have acheived throughout lockdown, being able to support our families so that they could go to work as key workers.

“We are now welcoming new families to Beech Tree Childcare and have limited spaces available from September.

“We had a socially distanced open day last Saturday for our families and also for new families looking for childcare, ensuring government guidelines and our own Covid-19 policies and procedures were followed.”

The nursery celebrated its sixth birthday in May with a visit from Peppa Pig.

Heather said more than 150 children had been supported to be school ready since the nursery opened and 15 apprentices had been trained and mentored to gain their level 2 and level 3 in early years education.

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