Chamber Member Wind in the Willows Childcare has been awarded Gold status in their recent
Investors in People Accreditation.
Investors in People is a standard of people management which is awarded to organisations that demonstrate a commitment to both the learning and development of staff.
Having gained their first accreditation over 20 years ago, with the support of the Chamber, Wind in the Willows has striven to achieve the next level of accreditation, achieving Bronze Status in 2012 and most recently, Gold.
Established by Ginny and Neil Taylor in 1993, Wind in the Willows is a private childcare provider that is committed to delivering high quality childcare.
Ginny said: “The Investors in People accreditation is all about the values and behaviours within an organisation and the values put on people’s skills and knowledge.
“Holding the accreditation is also valued by Ofsted as it demonstrates that you value your people and invest in their continued professional development.
“Whilst applying for Gold status, we took a detailed look at how as a company we are leading, motivating and supporting staff, which are all standards for the Investors in People.
“I also carried out evaluations and gathered feedback from staff on their thoughts and feelings about the value they add to the organisation.
“The Investors in People Assessor then came in and conducted face-to-face questions with staff about their development and views of the organisation.
“It’s been a very useful exercise for me as you can get a feel about what staff think of the organisation and the input they have.”
Ginny has continuously worked to establish a high quality organisation not only for the children in their care, but also for the staff and has invested time and energy into upskilling her employees.
Ginny added: “Over the years I have invested in the further development of several members of staff, I have supported three of my nursery managers to achieve their early years degrees from foundation to BA, another two members of staff are signed up to start their early years initial teacher training in September.
“We also work closely with the University of Liverpool working on projects in respect to early years, one project we are working on at the moment is mathematics based and the other speech and language.
“Investing in staff is very important to me. When I first started the nurseries my children were very little and came to nursery with me. I didn’t get my degree until I was 40 and it was a matter of continually developing professionally. I got my Master’s degree four years ago.
“It’s important to invest in your staff so they have the qualifications and advance for their future professional development.
“The main advantage of investing in staff is it is also improving the outcomes for the children and their learning and development – and that is our end goal.”
To find out more about Wind in the Willows Childcare visit their website www.witwchildcare.co.uk
For more information about the Investors in People Accreditation www.investorsinpeople.com
