REVIEWS from parents have resulted in an outstanding children’s day nursery in Durham being named as one of the top 20 in the North East – at the first time of trying.

Clever Clogs Day Nursery has been listed as a top 20 recommended nursery for 2022 in awards ran by the UK’s leading nursery review website, www.daynurseries.co.uk - this is based purely of parents who submitted ratings and comments over the 12 month qualifying period, resulting in the nursery receiving a perfect score of 10 out of 10.

This actually put it in the top five rated nurseries in the region.

Parents are asked to rate, on a one to five-star basis, a range of features, including overall standard of the nursery, its facilities, resources, learning, activities and food/nutrition and care. These are then used to calculate and overall score up to a maximum of ten.

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One woman who left a review which counted towards this year’s rating for Clever Clogs, which is rated as outstanding by Ofsted, said: “We relocated across the country with our son so starting nursery was a lot for him to take on. The staff are friendly, kind, caring and patient and every single one of them takes the time to talk to my son or myself when in the nursery.

“My son has settled really well and the communication from the nursery is fantastic. He has learnt so much and has become so confident and happy and a lot of that is down to the care and education he is given at nursery.

"I can’t thank them enough for being a part of helping us settle into our new life in County Durham.”

Another parent said: “We’ve always been so happy with my daughter’s development since start at nursery at nine months old. There is so much going on in the nursery for the children to learn and grow, with activities inside and outside.

“My child is so happy at this nursery and, as a parent, I couldn’t be any more settled knowing she is happy, this is all down to the time, care, love, and dedication all staff put into each child. They’re very approachable and have been so flexible for us. It’s a really lovely environment for any child to be in.”

And anopther parent added: “Our daughter has attended Clever Clogs Nursery since she was six months old and even though this is the only nursery she has attended I don't think that, as parents, we could have chosen better. The staff are amazing, so friendly, and attentive but not only that she has developed so much beyond her age, and I definitely need to give credit to the amazing staff here.”

Clever Clogs Day Nursery Manager, Sharon Lewis, said “This was the first year we have asked parents to review the nursery so to achieve a top 20 award at the first attempt is fantastic, and to do this with 31 five-star reviews in just 12 months is incredible.”

“The fact the award is based purely on the reviews of parents makes it extra special and we are delighted that our outstanding rated approach to early years education has been recognised by the people who matter the most, those who trust us to look after their children each day.

“We would like to thank all our parents for the support they give us, and we reserve a special mention for our staff who have made a massive contribution to achieving this award, through their hard work and dedication.”

Clever Clogs’ sister nursery, Little Ladybirds Day Nursery in Stockton, also achieved a top 2022 award, in their case for the fourth consecutive year.

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