Entering Awards and Celebrating Success

Entering childcare and nursery awards is a great opportunity to showcase your excellence, build reputation, and gain recognition. 

To maximise your chances of winning, you need a thoughtful, strategic, and compelling approach. Here are our top ten tips to help you enter (and win) nursery and childcare awards:

Choose the Right Awards and Categories

Match your strengths: Don’t enter every category—focus on ones where you genuinely excel (e.g., Best Outdoor Learning Environment, Team of the Year, Inclusivity Award).

Check credibility: Enter awards that are respected in the sector, such as Nursery World Awards, NDNA Awards, or National Nursery Recognition Awards.

Carefully Follow the Entry Criteria

Read guidelines in detail: Award judges disqualify entries that don’t follow instructions.

Word limits: Stick to them. Be concise but impactful.

Evidence required: Make sure you include all supporting materials—photos, parent testimonials, Ofsted comments, etc.

Tell a Strong Story

Narrative matters: Go beyond facts. Tell the story of your team, your challenges, what makes your setting special.

Be human: Highlight emotional elements—how you’ve impacted children’s lives, supported families, or gone the extra mile.

Quantify success: Use metrics like improvement in developmental assessments, attendance, satisfaction surveys, or staff retention.

Show Your Uniqueness

What sets you apart? Do you use a unique curriculum approach? Have you done something innovative with outdoor play? Do you support children with SEND in a new way?

Real-life examples: Provide anecdotes that demonstrate how your approach has had a meaningful impact.

Use High-Quality Supporting Materials

Photos and videos: Show your nursery in action—happy children, engaged staff, exciting learning environments.

Testimonials: Collect quotes from parents, staff, and even older children if appropriate. Make sure they’re genuine and diverse.

Evidence of impact: Charts, inspection quotes, and case studies work well to back up claims.

Get Your Team Involved

Collaborate on entries: Involve staff in gathering ideas and stories—this builds morale and reflects team spirit.

Celebrate your strengths together: Use the award entry process as a chance to reflect on what you do well and where you shine.

Research Past Winners

Look at previous entries: What kind of stories win? What do winning settings highlight?

Benchmark against them: See how you compare and identify areas to emphasise or improve.

Start Early

Don’t rush it. Quality entries take time to plan, draft, edit, and gather materials.

Have someone review your entry for clarity, tone, and grammar.

Promote If Shortlisted

If you make it to the finals, share it on social media, your website, and with parents.

Judges often notice settings that show pride and engage their community in the process.

Win or Not—Celebrate and Learn

If you win: Use it in your marketing and recruitment. Celebrate publicly.

If you don’t: Ask for feedback and apply again next year. Many winners didn’t win on their first try.

Speak to Sprout for support in your award entries, we’re in your corner!