Here at Tops, we are delighted to announce we have won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development! We have become one of the 226 organisations across the UK to be recognised with a prestigious Queen’s Award.
We were recognised for our excellence in Sustainable Development, and because we have provided inspiration and are genuinely driving change to our sector. Our founder and Managing Director, Cheryl Hadland, challenges industry norms, for instance in tackling the huge range of disposable items and one-use plastics, such as nappies, gloves and glitter normally used in the sector.
Cheryl said “We are truly delighted and proud to achieve this award, despite suffering the crippling impact of Covid, and even worse, the under-funding of early years provision in this country in recent years. Nursery colleagues and parents are paying the price of the under funding from their own pockets, despite early years being one of the best investments anyone could make. Early years educators provide the foundations for todays children to be able to run the country tomorrow, and we believe that an essential part of that is showing our empathy and respect for our environment and all people, animals and plants within it, showing the best example we can for our children to follow. Words are not enough, all our decisions must embed sustainability and we must continue to learn ourselves. We welcome this award to celebrate what we have achieved so far, but also to encourage us to continue our sustainability journey and to encourage more nurseries, parents, businesses, and schools to join us, in trying to safeguard our children’s future health and happiness.”
Now in its 56th year, the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious business awards in the country, with winning businesses able to use the esteemed Queen’s Awards Emblem for the next five years. So keep an eye out for ours!
Find out more about the Queens Award here.
Providing happy, nurturing childcare for the hours you need, across over 30 nursery settings in: Babbacombe, Plymouth, Bournemouth, Charminster, Copnor, Fawley, Gillingham, Corfe Mullen, Havant, Lakeside, Lymington, Taunton, Newport, Poole, Portsmouth, Salisbury,
Southsea, Wareham, Wimborne, Winchester, and Yeovil.
