This month, Tops Day Nurseries is celebrating its 24th Birthday. What an incredible milestone! We’ve received lots of congratulations on Linked In and by email, which has been lovely. One comment said: “24 months is a long time in business and 24 years more like a lifetime!” and at the other end of the spectrum someone optimistically suggested: “And another 24 years to go?”
It’s been an amazing journey – we’ve still got people working for Tops who started back in 1990 with me. We’ve learnt and developed alongside each other, and our aim is always to provide the best childcare we can for our own children and for the children of our friends, families and the wider communities we serve.
Tops has certainly been a way of life for all of my family’s lives. The last 24 years has seen all my children attend Tops as babies and young children. My daughter now works at one of our nurseries, and my grandson has just started at a Tops nursery. Tops and my own children have been the most important part of my life for the same period.
Yes, we’ve made mistakes along the way, but we always strive to not make the same mistakes again; to improve and adapt as we learn both first hand from parents and their children and through reflection, feedback, study and research. We’ve worked on our strengths and weaknesses, and coped as best we can with political and external opportunities and threats.
Changes in approach, toys and equipment, and even decoration of the rooms and the use of outside spaces have been significant over the period. So thank you to the person who suggested another 24 years to go – we’d certainly love to see another 24 years. I hope I’ll be working fewer hours by then – as I’ll be approaching 80 years old in 2038, and I expect someone in the next generation will have taken over the reins by then!
Cheryl Hadland, Managing Director of Tops Day Nurseries
