Fairtrade Fortnight, Travel Discount, Matthews Green Launch & NDNA Awards
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Published 25 Feb 2022 in Phil's blog
Covid Update
As you may have heard, the Government announced on Monday that the remaining Covid restrictions in England will be lifted today. Whilst this is welcome news for many, with hopes of getting back to some form of normality, we appreciate there may be mixed emotions about the changing of the law.
Yesterday we communicated what these changes will mean for you, which you can read here.
Colleague Travel Discount Extended
Back in December, we announced that for a limited time, your colleague discount of 10% off holiday bookings, up to a maximum of £250 off in a 12-month period, has been increased to £500.
I’m delighted to announce that we’re now extending this enhanced discount up until our next pay day weekend - 14th March 2022. You can find out more about you Travel discount, and how to book your dream holiday by clicking here.
Fairtrade Fortnight
This Monday marked the start of Fairtrade Fortnight, an annual celebration led by Fairtrade Foundation that highlights the positive impact Fairtrade continues to make across the globe.
The theme for this year’s campaign is Choose the World you Want, highlighting the issues farmers are facing as a result of climate change, and how by buying Fairtrade products, you can support them.
For 27 years and counting, our Society has championed Fairtrade, and to encourage more of our members, customers and colleagues to make the switch, we’ve got 20% off all Fairtrade hot beverages in our Food stores throughout Fairtrade Fortnight. You can find out more about our offers and the difference Fairtrade makes by clicking here.
Wine with a Difference
There’s a massive range of excellent Fairtrade wines at our stores and I always make sure I choose a Fairtrade option because I know the farmers are benefitting from the Fairtrade Premium.
The difference the Premium makes is really significant. For example, La Riojana wine comes from an Argentinian co-operative where the Premium brought fresh running water to their members and workers living in the village of Tilimuqui. It has also funded a secondary school and a medical centre is now being built to serve 10,000 people who currently don’t have access to healthcare.
I’d invite you to make the switch to Fairtrade this weekend, not just because of the good it does but because the wines really are top-notch.
Matthews Green Store Launch
This week has seen our long-term Society investments continue in Food, with the opening of the Matthews Green store in Wokingham, creating 20 new jobs for the local community.
Continuing our trading area expansion, the store joins last weeks newly launched Twigworth store in Gloucestershire. A warm welcome to Store Manager, Darren Brabon, and our new colleagues. I look forward to visiting very soon.
NDNA Awards – Little Pioneers
I’m delighted to announce that our Childcare business has a number of nominations in this year’s NDNA (National Day Nurseries Association) awards, as this year we go for gold and recognise our Childcare colleagues who have gone above and beyond to provide consistently high-quality care during very difficult circumstances.
These prestigious nursery awards acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across the nursery sector, highlighting the fantastic work of nurseries and practitioners in supporting children and their families. They are the only sector awards to ask for votes from parents so truly are a fantastic chance to seek the support of our members and colleagues.
To find out more about our wonderful nominees and how to vote, please click on the boxes below…
Nursery of the Year
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Three of our North East Little Pioneers nurseries (Newbiggin, Newcastle & Hetton) are finalists in the category of ‘Nursery of the Year’ for a myriad of fabulous work
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Korrine Armour from our Hetton nursery said ‘As a nursery we endeavour to create a setting that is outstanding and inspirational, that’s driven by our colleague team who are creative, knowledgeable and dedicated so it’s fabulous to be nominated for this award even more so as its voted for by our families.’
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Nicola Jones from our Newbiggin nursery believes that much of their success comes from listening and acting on member feedback to add value beyond the nursery walls, ‘We have regular parent workshops and information sessions on parenting topics. Our families know we listen to them and nurture their children’s learning and development, as a result of this we get a lot of parent recommendations through word of mouth so we’re hoping for lots of votes’
Practitioner of the Year
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Sian Edwards, our Nursery Manager at Burton nominated Helen Potts as a very worthy recipient of the Practitioner of the Year award, Helen has been part of the nursery team for 11 years, starting as an unqualified practitioner, Helen has worked hard and progressed her career through Midcounties through training, qualifications and experiences enabling her to become a valued member of the management team today.
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Sian notes that Helen has been successful through the hard work and commitment she delivers daily as a pivotal member of the team. Helen inspires her team to flourish in their own practices and has been a driver for the nursery’s intergenerational care program. Good Luck Helen!
Healthy Nursery of the Year
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Walcot Nursery are recognised for embedding the practice of healthy living and looking after yourself and the world everyday at nursery. Children play an active role in physical activity every day from boogie mites sessions through to tending the growing garden and the nursery put the children’s voice front and centre. Children play an active role in owning their own emotional development and Walcot are praised for teaching children how to manage their emotions and their own wellbeing.
Voting for the NDNA awards closes on 14th March, and I would urge all colleagues to get involved and make sure our colleagues in Childcare are recognised for the amazing work they have done and continue to do:
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Nursery of the Year – Vote Here
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Practitioner of the Year – Vote Here
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Healthy Nursery of the Year – Vote Here
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