Smallwood Nursery Scoops National Design Award
December 1, 2008
Smallwood Manor Nursery School has scooped top honours for the innovative design of its new facilities at the prestigious 2008 NMT (Nursery Management Today) Nursery Awards.
Smallwood Manor’s nursery won the Nursery Design Award together with a limited edition trophy at a glittering award ceremony that took place at the Hilton Metropole Hotel in London.
The NMT Nursery Awards were launched six years ago to recognise and reward excellence in the nursery industry. To win the Nursery Design category, Smallwood Manor Nursery needed to demonstrate how its design addresses health, safety and security issues, appeals to and stimulates children and meets staff needs. The entry was also supported by a testimonial from a parent.
Smallwood Manor impressed the judges with how they had managed a tight budget to transform the Grade II listed Quadrangle to meet the needs of teachers and children. The school, which was officially opened by the Bishop of Ely in November following a £200,000 refurbishment programme, has been designed with children in mind. It features a secure outdoor hard play area at its heart, a purpose-designed kitchen and special learning zones have been designed for each of the six areas of learning recommended by the Early Years Foundation Stage Document.
The colour scheme maximises light to create a bright colourful space and the layout ‘flows’ ensuring staff’s line of sight is never compromised. This is further enhanced through the innovative use of mirrors which allows staff to supervise children at all times without them feeling inhibited because they are being watched.
Speaking about Smallwood Manor Nursery, Chris Banner, publisher of Nursery Management Today, which organises the NMT Nursery Awards, said:
‘The judges chose Smallwood Manor Nursery because they managed to work within and keep to a relatively tight budget while keeping the character of the Grade II listed buildings. The judges liked the idea of the curriculum learning areas described as ‘Learning Stations’, which allow children to understand exactly what they will be taught in each area. Smallwood Manor Nursery had demonstrated that everything had been designed with the children themselves in mind, whilst also taking into account sustainability issues, such as insulating ceilings when they were lowered. The standard of entries has been extremely high this year, but overall they really stood out as the 2008 Nursery Design winner.’
Speaking about winning the award, head teacher Christopher Cann, said:
‘Everyone here at Smallwood Manor Nursery School is delighted to have won the prestigious NMT Nursery Design Award. Winning this award is testament to the hard work that has been undertaken by all the Nursery team to ensure that the design creates a safe and secure environment where our children can learn, develop and make friends.’
