Pear Tree Nursery: Haddington nursery scoops the best in Scotland prize at national awards

The Pear Tree Nursery on Church Street in Haddington has won the top prize at Friday night’s NDNA award ceremony.

The National Day Nurseries Association hold an annual award ceremony recognising the best nurseries across the UK.

The Pear Tree not only made the shortlist of the Scottish Nursery of the Year 2022, and then won, but made the last five in the Nursery of the Year UK – the only nursery in Scotland to do so.

Excited staff turned up to the award ceremony held in Warwickshire to find they had been victorious.

Nursery manager Charlotte Goode was delighted with the result, telling the Edinburgh Evening News: “All of the staff at Pear Tree Church Street are so excited and grateful to have won.

"We would like to thank all of our wonderful families whose votes helped us get to the final.

"The staff team work very hard and each and everyone of the deserve the accolade.

"The nursery is just over two years old and the team have worked so hard to get us to where we are and I couldn't be more proud and thankful for the team we have developed.”

The Church Street branch is one of three Pear Trees in Haddington, and opened just on the brink of the pandemic.

The nursery can hold 60 children in a day and has 22 staff members at the moment.

Ms Goode explained: “We follow the children's lead in all their learning and extend their interests as they arise.

"We do a wide range of activities from baking, sensory play, fires, outdoor play and walks into the community.”

The NDNA state: “Our prestigious nursery awards acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across the nursery sector, highlighting the fantastic work of nurseries and practitioners in supporting over one million children and their families.

“Our judging process takes into account the ratio of votes to numbers of children, the submission itself and quality of comments to create a fair system for all nursery sizes.”