Enter our Nursery World Awards 2024!

The Nursery World Awards are a chance to highlight the work of dedicated individuals and their teams, as well as initiatives and resources that support children, families and the wider early years sector.

Our glittering awards ceremony will take place on Saturday 21 September at The Brewery in London.

Entries are open to everyone who is involved in early years education and childcare in the UK and Ireland.

Nursery World Award judge Helen Moylett offers some pointers for nurseries thinking of entering our prestigious Nursery of the Year Award category.

‘So many nurseries are doing a wonderful job providing really good care and education for our youngest children,’ she said.’

‘However, to be in the running for Nursery of the Year, it is not enough to have a good inspection report. You need to be going above and beyond. You should have developed your philosophy and practice beyond statutory guidelines into something unique and special for your children, families and community.

‘Any photos you provide should illustrate this amazing pedagogy in action, not empty rooms, the building or your Ofsted grade. The award usually goes to well established nurseries. If you have only been open a short time it is unlikely that you will have developed  your care and education sufficiently but there are lots of other awards to apply for.’

There are 25 awards to enter for individuals, organisations, initiatives and resources.

In addition, each year Nursery World honours an individual with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Last year's winner was Dr Stella Louis. 

You will find the criteria and questions for each of the categories, providing guidance and information on what our judges will be looking for on our dedicated Nursery World Awards website.

The deadline for entries is Friday 10 May 2024. You can edit your submitted entries up until this closing date.

If you have any queries about entering the awards, contact awardsteam@markallengroup.com

More information on sponsorship opportunities is available here

The full list of categories:

Organisations:

• Nursery of the Year
• Nursery Group of the Year
• Pre-School of the Year
• Early Years in School Award
• Childminding Business of the Year

Individuals/teams:

• Nursery Manager of the Year
• Nursery Operations/Area Manager of the Year
• Nursery Practitioner of the Year
• Individual Childminder of the Year
• Trainer of the Year
• Outstanding Contribution
• Early Years Apprentice of the Year
• Early Childhood Graduate of the Year
• Lifetime Achievement Award

Initiatives

• Health & Wellbeing Award
• Enabling Environments Award
• Eco-Friendly Early Years Award
• Working with Parents Award
• Working with Babies and Twos Award
• Business Development Award
• Team Development Award
• Nursery Food Award
• Inclusive Practice Award
• Community Support Award

Resources

• Online and Social Media Award
• Professional Book of the Year