A TAUNTON nursery had double cause for celebration this week - starting the September term and marking its 10th anniversary in the town.

Mama Bear’s Day Nursery and Pre-School, in Wellington Road, was opened in September 2010 by husband and wife team Tony and Bev Driffield, and has since cared for hundreds of local babies, toddlers and pre-school children.

The nursery, which has seen a host of developments in the ensuing decade, holds an Outstanding rating from Ofsted and is back to its busiest since before the coronavirus lockdown.

Nursery manager, Kerry Sturmey, said: “This has been a super exciting week, kicking off the September term and celebrating our 10th birthday, which is a huge achievement for us.

“It’s wonderful to have more children back in the nursery; we have been operating all the way through, taking care of vulnerable children and children of key workers and we opened up to other families in June.

"Now the term-time attendees are back it feels a little more like normality.

“We had a great time celebrating the 10th anniversary milestone with some cake homemade by our lovely chef.”

Mama Bear’s co-owner, Tony Driffield, said: “We are so pleased to be marking the 10th anniversary of our Taunton nursery, which has become a massive part of the community helping to serve parents at the neighbouring Bridgwater and Taunton College as well as other local families.

“Looking back on the last 10 years and seeing how far we have come is truly heartwarming. We now have 24 settings in Bristol, Somerset and Devon and we run them all with the same home-from-home approach which focusses on getting children ready for the next big step up to primary school.

“We are so passionate about the service we provide to families so it’s amazing to have reached this milestone. I’d like to say a huge thanks to all the families who have supported us over the years and especially to our wonderful staff who provide the outstanding care that we have become known for.”

The purpose-built nursery has three large age-specific rooms – the Baby room for under-twos, the Bouncy room for two-year-olds, and the Pre-School room for children aged three to five.

It also benefits from free-flow access to a walled garden, on-site drop-off and collection parking and an in-house nursery cook.