The Old Rectory Nursery in Barwell is understood to be one of the first day nurseries to be awarded ISO9001 by an assessing organisation approved by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). UKAS is the sole national body recognised by the Government for the accreditation of inspection bodies and evaluates them to ensure that they are making fair judgements.
The nursery received its ISO9001:2000 certificate following a rigorous assessment of the systems it had in place to ensure that it met the new national standards for childcare. The nursery's compliance manual had been devised by Management Advisory, which has written policies and procedures for more than 1,500 others.
Peter Abraham, managing director of Management Advisory, said, 'The fact that a nursery using our documentation can achieve certification as a nursery with the highest quality systems inside three months of the introduction of national standards is as much an achievement for the nursery as it is a compliment for our compliance manual.' Parents of children at the nursery have also been pleased to hear about the award. John Dorman, the managing director of a local telecommunications firm, said, 'It is an award that we in business understand. We know how difficult it is to achieve international certification by a UKAS-accredited certification body and it gives us an increased feeling of confidence that we selected the right nursery for our daughter.' A spokesman for the British Standards Institute, one of the major UKAS-approved accrediting bodies, said, 'The ISO9001:2000 certificate is a good marketing tool with the public. It's ideal for organisations who want to demonstrate their excellence and steal a march on their competitors.' For more information, visit the British Standards Institute on its website www.bsi-global.comor phone 020 8996 9000; United Kingdom Accreditation Service website on www.ukas.comor phone 020 8917 8400; or the International Standards Organisation website on www.iso.ch;and Management Advisory on 01455 444222 or its website www.child-care-policies.net.
