Huddersfield-based Portland Nurseries is the first nursery group in Kirklees to have received the Investors In People long service award for 10 years commitment to investing in people. The group consisting of Portland House, Harlequin and Holly Bank day nurseries provide high quality care and education for children in the early years.
Commenting on the award, Rosemary Murphy OBE, the nursery proprietor said, “We believe that a well trained and motivated staff team is essential for the delivery of high quality childcare. We have a long term commitment to training and development and the Investors in People scheme has kept us focused. We take professional development very seriously and we offer qualifications ranging from L2 in childcare to Honours degrees and Early Years Professional Status. The staff are involved in reviewing the business plan and the team leaders have worked with IIP consultant, Robin Simpson to redesign the performance review systems.”
Carole Reid, Chief Executive of YHAL, the Investors in People Centre for Yorkshire and Humber said “This is a fantastic achievement for Portland Nurseries and I would like to congratulate the organisation and its people on their commitment to continuous improvement over the last ten years. At Investors in People Yorkshire and Humber we are committed to working with organisations to raise standards and improve performance through people. By offering a flexible, practical and easy to use business improvement framework, Investors in People is designed to help organisations and their people enhance performance and meet goals.”
With over 60 employees, Portland Nurseries has been an Investors in People organisation since 1999 and offers early years education and childcare for over 450 families. The first nursery Portland House was established in 1991, with Harlequin and Holly Bank joining the group in 1996 and 2001 respectively. The staff are always keen to demonstrate their expertise and as well as receiving good reports form Ofsted they have been awarded the NDNA quality assurance scheme, Quality Counts and the Kirklees Gold Healthy Eating Award.
