A nursery manager was invited to attend the Prime Minister’s reception thanking individuals from the early years sector for their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Laura Jacques, centre director at Busy Bees Mardley Hill in Welwyn attended the rose garden reception alongside colleague, Hayley Collins, early years educator and senior room manager at the company's nursery in Chatham.

The pair were among 30 nursery practitioners from across England invited to last week's event.

%image(15634130, type="article-full", alt="Laura has said she has never been more "proud of our team and our role in society"")

Laura was handpicked to attend the Downing Street reception for her dedication throughout the pandemic. During the early days of the pandemic she helped to establish ‘hub’ nurseries to support front line families in need.

Laura Jacques, centre director at Mardley Hill, said: “It was an honour to receive an invite to Downing Street to celebrate the efforts of early years practitioners from all over England. The last 18 months have been extraordinary but there is no other job I would rather be doing.

"Our priority has and always will be to provide children the best start in life in a safe and nurturing environment, and although we’ve had to adapt to the changes along the way I’ve never been more proud of our team and our role in society than I am today. I’m so grateful to have been able to represent Busy Bees at the Downing Street reception for simply doing the job I love alongside my amazing team.”

Operations director Anita Wilden said: “We’ve always felt incredibly lucky to have Laura as part of our Busy Bees family. In March 2020, we were faced with a situation that no-one had experienced before, but Laura’s natural patience, kindness and calm approach to changing times were the perfect attributes to lead her team during the pandemic.

"Parents instilled their trust in Laura to care for their children in extremely uncertain times and her team trusted everything she shared with them and the practice she guided them in."