Happy staff, happy nursery is the saying at Fennies Day Nurseries. It focuses on professional growth and wants its staff to feel empowered and confident. "As a Fennies family, we are one big community and we are committed to supporting each other, sharing best practice and to lead our own learning," the company says.

It offers bespoke training, mentoring and development programmes to enhance employees' personal and professional skills, including placements for students of nursery practitioner training and apprenticeships. It says its inspiring training sessions are aimed at a range of levels, from those who want to discover more about child development, to staff looking to develop leadership skills.

Entrepreneur Steven Fenn and his wife, Sarah, a qualified early years teacher, founded the business almost 30 years ago. They opened their first nursery in 1992, with the vision of creating a happy, vibrant and innovative learning environment, bringing a fresh new approach to the childcare sector.

Today, the Epsom-based family-run company operates across 17 locations throughout Surrey, Kent and south London. Steven became Chief Executive after selling his last technology company in 2017, and has worked on the acquisition and development of new sites for the company. While continually growing, the business remains true to its guiding principle of “the right start for under fives”.

Fennies' nurseries are rated "good" or "outstanding" by Ofsted. The multi award-winning chain, which was named Nursery Management Today magazine's Nursery Group of The Year in 2020, has continued to expand and recruit.