Cherry Tree Montessori Nursery has won the national children’s charity’s Outstanding Early Years Physical Literacy Practice Award.

The Nursery picked up the national award during the Youth Sport Trust’s 2023 Awards for its commitment to play and sport earlier this month.

The Nursery enrolled in the Youth Sport Trust’s Healthy Movers Physical Literacy training and made a member of staff, Charlie Biss, a Healthy Movers Champion. Charlie returned to her nursery and fully embedded Healthy Movers into the nursery’s daily practice.

This saw more physical activity, teaching children how to move well and develop motor skills through play embedded into the day.

Charlie also worked with other staff at the nursery to ensure everyone was fully aware of Healthy Movers and could deliver sessions to support children’s development.

Cherry Tree Montessori introduced parents to the programme by regularly inviting families into the nursery for Stay and Play sessions to engage with their children opening up lines of communication on other aspects of learning.

Dr Beejal Mistry, owner of Cherry Tree Montessori, said: “Taking part in the Healthy Movers Programme has transformed what we do with the children on a daily basis and we can see the benefits it has made to the children’s development. We are so grateful to our Youth Sport Trust tutors Sarah and Flo with all the support and guidance they have given us throughout the year.”

The judges made note of Charlie’s fantastic leadership, passion and enthusiasm. They also commented how through Charlie’s expertise, the nursery has pioneered using Healthy Mover activities with babies, demonstrating the flexibility of the resources, to ensure that all children in the nursery are able to access more physical activities and have opportunities to become a Healthy Mover from the earliest stages of development.

Ali Oliver MBE, Chief Executive of the Youth Sport Trust, said: “The Youth Sport Trust would like to congratulate Cherry Tree Montessori, the winner of our Outstanding Early Years Physical Literacy Practice Award. The nursery has demonstrated a huge commitment to the important role of PE, play and sport in improving young people’s well-being.   

“This generation is moving less, spending more time online and has experienced major changes in their lives following the Covid-19 pandemic. On top of this, increased social inequality amplified by the cost-of-living crisis are creating a ripple effect on their school and home life. It is thanks to changemakers like Charlie and staff at Cherry Tree Montessori that children will grow up healthier and happier.”  

The Youth Sport Trust Annual Awards dinner was themed around ‘A year of Changemakers’ following the success of the Lionesses and Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games heroes who helped to inspire a generation and movement across grassroots sport.

It took place at the Telford International Centre. A total of nine awards were presented by host, TV personality and author Radzi Chinyanganya.