Anniversary celebrations for award winning Peterborough nursery

On Saturday staff and children at Anna-Ca-Soo day nursery in Eastfield Road marked the special occasion with a covid-19 secure celebration.

The staff and children gathered in the garden in their ‘bubbles,’and enjoyed a party style buffet, made their own party hats, and celebrated with their peers.

The staff gathered separately to raise a glass to Anna and Mick, the nursery owners.

Nurserp manager Louisa Aschettino said: “Over the twenty years that Anna-Ca-Soo has been open, we have seen OfSTED change their guidance, and raise the goal posts on numerous occasions. We have seen the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum change and raise their goal posts on numerous occasions. The expectations and pressure put on Early Years childcare has grown so significantly, it would be unrecognisable to many who left the profession twenty years ago.

“Yet as expectations rose, unfortunately Government support did not… funding did not.

“It has been a battle to remain financially sustainable for many years now, with Early Years underfunding being the main factor.

“We have seen many childcare settings close over the years, who could not sustain the financial pressures any longer.

“We hope that one day the Government will see the crucial role we play in a child’s early development, and hope one day they will fund child care properly.

“But, until then, it is even more important to celebrate every mile stone, every achievement, and to praise the ever loyal staff who have come to be part of the Anna-Ca-Soo family.”

Louisa gave a special mention to Joanne Stokes, who was one of the very first employees 20 years ago, who is still at the nursery today. Kirsty Bryant, and Leanne Howard, who both have been at the nursery for 16 years and Denise Chadwick and Rachel Symonds, who have both been there for 11 years..

Without this type of loyalty, without this high calibre of staff, we would not be where we are today, and we are extremely grateful of the journey our staff have joined us on.

The nursery has won a number of awards, including the 2018 ‘Nursery of the Year,’ as voted by the readers of the Peterborough Telegraph, and in . January 2019 they were awarded the ‘Nursery of the Year, in the Midlands category in the National Nursery Recognition Awards. the following year they won the ‘Best Independent Nursery’ in the same Awards.

Louisa added: “Thank you to all of the families who chose to use Anna-Ca-Soo Day nursery to take care of their children. Thank you for trusting us, thank you for believing in us, and thank you for your continued support.”