Local nursery group achieves national recognition

The Bristol-based Mama Bear's Day Nursery and Pre-School group is at the top of national league tables for another year running.

The latest figures released by Nursery World, the leading publication for the early education community, show that the family-run group has not only expanded its services to more families within Bristol and the South West, but remains at the forefront of high quality care, based on Ofsted ratings in the last year.

In the Nursery World table of top 25 nursery groups in the UK, Mama Bear's places at number 11 – an impressive jump from number 17 this time last year. The move comes as the nursery opens two brand new 80-place setting on Whiteladies Road, Clifton and Wells Road, Totterdown.

Quality was the other important factor, with Mama Bear's coming 8th in a table of the top nursery groups, based on Ofsted reports.

Over a quarter of the Mama Bear's Day Nurseries across the South West have gained an Outstanding Ofsted rating, the highest accreditation given by the inspectors and another seven nurseries were awarded a 'Good' grade. 

The business, run by husband and wife team Tony and Bev Driffield, has head offices in Hanham and settings across Bristol, Somerset and Devon.

 Tony said: "We are thrilled with our rankings in this year's national league tables. For a modest family-run business we are competing with some big organisations but it's our commitment to outstanding care that best meets the needs of local families and it is this which is driving our growth.

"With the opening of the setting on Whiteladies Road, as well as the upcoming opening of The Bush at Totterdown, we are offering high-quality, affordable childcare to more families across Bristol.

"We are dedicated to giving the best possible childcare and early education to children at our settings and our fantastic recent Ofsted results reflect that. We're looking forward to expanding more in the future and continuing to create our home-from-home environments across the region.

"Of course, in addition to this, we are proud to be creating jobs within the local community."

The children's nursery sector has grown more than the economy over the past year and Mama Bear's is particularly keen to get more two-year-olds into early education using a recent government initiative.

Tony continued: "All two-year olds who are eligible for government funding can receive free sessions with us, so we hope more families take advantage of the help on offer."

Mama Bear's Day Nursery is a family run childcare organisation which was established in 2002 with the aim of making high-quality, affordable childcare available to families living, working or studying in the South West.

The Day Nurseries aim to provide children with their first vital level of education to give them a head-start when they start at primary school.

More information on Mama Bear's Day Nursery can be found at www.mamabear.co.uk.