A manager at a Hereford pre-school won a prestigious childcare award at a national ceremony earlier this month.

Kate Shepherd, early years manager at Bright Sparks Pre-School won 'Outstanding Early Years Individual of the Year' at the Preschool Learning Alliance Conference in London on Friday, June 1.

Kate has worked at Bright Sparks for 22 years and attended the pre-school as a child.

She has won praise for her work over the past three years for lobbying councillors, schools and MPs to ensure Bright Spark's survival at Broadlands Primary School.

Celebrating her win, Kate said: “It has been so heart warming to know that my hard work has been recognised like this. Thank you to all my team at Bright Sparks and of course those little gems that make everyday fantastic.”

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Alliance, said: “We were so excited to launch our first-ever Outstanding Member Awards this year and the calibre of the nominations we received surpassed our high expectations.

“All across the sector, there are passionate practitioners – both paid and volunteers – working tirelessly to deliver quality care and education and provide vital support to local families, and it was such a pleasure to be able to celebrate this through our awards.

“All of this year’s winners and nominees demonstrated a commitment to the early years and a willingness to go beyond expectations to support children and families, and they should be very proud of what they have achieved.”

As reported in the Hereford Times, accommodation for Bright Sparks has now been secured at the Aylestone School.