The Ofsted-rated ‘Outstanding’ Windermere Day Nursery is part of Childbase Partnership, which ranked ‘Top 10’ in the prestigious The Sunday Times Best Places to Work list for 2025, highlighting their exceptional workplace culture and commitment to employee wellbeing.
Named alongside David Lloyd Clubs, Octopus Energy and Wingstop UK in the ‘Very Big Organisation’ category, colleague feedback placed the early years experts top, based on in-depth survey analysis. The evaluation covered key areas including reward and recognition, empowerment and job satisfaction – with the organisation rating ‘Excellent’ across the board.
With over 2,300 colleagues, this is the latest accolade for Childbase Partnership, having recently topped Nursery World league tables for the second consecutive year for the quality of care and education throughout its 44 day nurseries in England, as well as celebrating the best staff retention rates in the company’s history.
Childbase Partnership CEO, Emma Rooney explained;
“We feel incredibly proud to have secured a Top 10 place in the Sunday Times Best Place to Work list. As an employee-owned company, we believe that when our partners thrive, so do the families we support. Providing children with the best start in life begins with a team that feels valued, supported, and genuinely fulfilled in their work. We’ve seen firsthand the impact this has on creating consistent outcomes, and we are committed to fostering an environment where our partners are inspired to deliver the highest standards of care and education.”
In addition to profit-sharing initiatives - which enable all colleagues, irrespective of job title, to share in the company’s success through cash bonuses, benefits include Partnership Reward Days. These allow colleagues to earn up to 20 extra paid days off per year, on top of their usual holiday allowance and Bank Holidays. This means they could enjoy up to 51 days of paid annual leave, to invest in self-care or the option to sell their days tax-free, if they prefer.
From day one of employment, colleagues with children enjoy a 75% childcare discount, while grandparents receive 40%, helping confidently balance work and family life. The company also offers two free meals a day in nursery, private healthcare schemes, gym discounts, mental health first aiders in every setting, team welfare budgets for socialising, 24/7 access to DoctorLine for confidential GP advice and much more.
*The Top 10 are not given a number ranking
www.thetimes.com/best-places-to-work/very-big-companies/article/best-very-big-companies-uk