Alliance announces first annual Outstanding Member Awards

Oct 23, 2017

By Shannon Hawthorne

The Pre-school Learning Alliance has announced its first ever annual member awards to recognise the most innovative and committed providers of early years care and education and celebrate excellence across the sector.

The Alliance Outstanding Member Awards replace the previous annual Alliance Volunteer Awards, and are open to all Alliance members, including staff, volunteers, dynamic teams and exceptional new apprentices working in member settings.

Awards categories

There are four awards categories, each designed to reflect the range and dedication of early years practitioners:

Outstanding Early Years Individual of the Year;
Outstanding Early Years Team of the Year;
Outstanding Newcomer of the Year;
Lifetime Achievement Award.

Nominations must be submitted by Friday 9 March 2018 and can be completed online at . Shortlisted nominees will be invited to a special celebration at the Alliance’s annual conference in central London on Friday 1 June 2018, where the winners will be announced.

"Wonderful, vital work"

Commenting on the new awards, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Alliance said: “The early years has some of the most incredible, dedicated people working in any sector, and yet, all too often, providers can end up feeling undervalued and underappreciated. That’s why we’re so pleased to be announcing our new Outstanding Member Awards: to celebrate the wonderful, vital work our members do every day, supporting local children and families – whether as volunteers or staff members.

“With a growing number of private providers and childminders joining the Alliance as well as voluntary-run settings, we wanted to ensure that our annual awards reflect the quality early years provision offered by all Alliance members types. This will, of course, still include volunteers, who continue to play a vital role in our member settings.

“These are challenging times for the sector but we hope that by celebrating the best and most innovative practice across the early years sector, our new awards will serve as a timely reminder that the service that all our members, regardless of provision type, deliver is an absolutely vital one.

“And of course, there’s a great business case for entering the awards too: getting shortlisted – or better still, winning an award – is a fantastic way to demonstrate to local parents and families the first class care and education that your provision, staff team or volunteers provide.

“Whatever your motivation, I’d encourage everyone to nominate an outstanding member, be that an individual or team, and join us in celebrating the excellent care and education that our sector provides.”

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