A DAY nursery has just received a double whammy of good news by winning the coveted National Day Nursery Associations (NDNA) Nursery of the Year 2026 award for Wales.

Puddle Ducks Day Nursery, Pre-school and Holiday Club won the national accolade which came hot on the heels of a flawless joint inspection by Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) and Estyn.

The regulatory bodies rated the local early years setting as ‘excellent’ across every single assessed category, leaving absolutely zero recommendations for improvement – a rare and exceptional feat within the Welsh childcare sector.

Owner Jennifer Rennie said that what makes the NDNA award so special for Puddle Ducks was that it was voted for by their families, who use the setting and take time to write testimonials praising the setting for the care and education that their children receive.

Achieving the NDNA award is a great achievement and a long process which involves the NDNA visiting the setting and seeing the nursery in action first hand. A panel of judges then makes the final decision.

Jennifer said that the awards ceremony, which was held in Liverpool, was a very grand affair and a small group of staff came along to support them.

“We didn’t know right up to the last minute whether we had won, and we couldn’t believe it when our name was read out.

“We were up against some incredible settings from across Wales and the speaker said that the room was full of “the best of the best”, so we thought winning was unimaginable.

But when the team heard the speaker praise the winning setting for having a “family feel” from right at the top of the organisation right down to their attachments and how they work with families and listen to children’s voices to ensure that children’s views are listened to and acted upon.,” they had a feeling they were going to do well.

"We truly couldn’t believe our ears when our name was read out as the winners, and our cheeks still ache from smiling! Puddle Ducks has a beautiful setting in gorgeous grounds, providing a fabulous start to any child’s education,” she added.

The judges were impressed by the strong team ethos and it was clear that the team has really gelled together well.

“They also felt that the approach of the setting was perfectly summed up by their message, ‘arrive a member of your family and leave a member of our family’, we then knew it was us!” added Jennifer.

“We are all delighted with the result, we work hard together to ensure the very best outcomes for our children, and it is wonderful to get this recognition.”

Jennifer went on to say that they are so lucky at Puddle Ducks. Her husband Rob built the nursery to his own design set in five acres of grounds, which is a fantastic start for any child, “but what makes us great is the people in it, our incredible team which are not just our staff, they are our family,” she added.