THE parents of Essex have spoken! Following months of nominations from mums and dads across Essex, and more than 40,000 votes over the summer, the results of the Essex Mums Awards 2016 are in and we can now reveal the people, places and things that make life as a parent in Essex easier and more enjoyable.
The awards started in 2014 and have been a great way of supporting the amazing jobs so many people do. Essex is a vibrant county with a massive range of activities for children of all ages, as well as some thriving independent small businesses. It has been an honour to give them all a little extra recognition, help them spread the word that bit further and provide parents with a list of new things to try!
We have a few repeat winners, and a few brand new ones this year. All winners are shown in our ‘Essex Mums Love…’ section of the website: www.essexmums.org/loves.html so that everyone visiting the site can see the things we love.
The results in full are below:
Best Baby Group/Class: Baby Sensory
Best Toddler Group/Class: Sing and Sign
Best Group/Class for young children: Sing and Sign
Best Group/Class for Older Children: Beavers, Cubs & Scout
Best Group/Class for Teenagers: Beavers, Cubs & Scout
Best Group/Class for Children with a Disability: Sing and Sign
Best Baby and Toddler Group: Rhyme Time at Essex Libraries
Best Independent Group/Class (non-franchise): Tiny Tempos
Best New Group/Class: Little Stars Phonics
Best Swim School: Water Babies
Best Sports Club: Little Scrummers
Best Holiday Camp or Club: Smash Camps, Stubbers Adventure Centre
Outstanding Group/Class Leader: Rebecca Oliver – Tiny Tempos
Best Place to Eat for Families: A Canteen
Best Day Out – Indoors: Mace Playce
Best Day Out – Outdoors: Colchester Zoo
Best Soft Play Centre: Mace Place
Best Museum: Essex Police Museum
Best Event: 3Foot People Festival
Best Event (Easter): Marsh Farm Easter Eggstravanganza
Best Event (Summer): 3Foot People Festival
Best Event (Halloween): Colchester Zoo, Shriek Week,
Best Event (Christmas): Marsh Farm Christmas Experience
Best Party Entertainer: AJ
Best Soft Play/Bouncy Castle Hire Company: Giggly Wiggly Worms
Best Cakes or Cupcakes: Honey Bee Bakes
Best Kids’ Clothes Shop (on or offline): Next
Best Shop for Babies/Children (not clothes): Argosy Toys
Best Baby/Child Product: Jumperoo
Best Family Photographer: VB Photography
Best Fitness Class for Parents: Yoga with Vikki
Best Nursery/Preschool: Twizzle Tops
Best Support Group: NCT
Special mention for contribution to the local community: James Sinclair, Partyman Company
Some words from a few of our winners:
“We are delighted to win the ‘Best Support Group’ award again as it recognises the dedication of our practitioners and volunteers. We do our best to support parents-to-be and new mums and dads through their crucial First 1,000 Days and it’s good to know our work is rated so highly by Essex Mums.” Carrie Anne Race, Parent Services Team, NCT Essex
“It’s a real testament to our hardworking teams to be recognised through this award. Our libraries are built around providing services and activities that the whole family can enjoy. The Rhyme Time sessions have proven a big hit with hundreds of mums and dads bringing children along. The idea is a really simple one, singing, nursery rhymes and stories, but we see families staying for a chat and often joining the library and picking books to take home. Introducing children to books at an early age can have a big impact on development and at all our libraries we have a good collection specifically designed for little hands to hold.” Cllr Anne Brown, Cabinet Member responsible for libraries at Essex County Council
“Winning an award like this is very much appreciated by a small business such as ours. There are 4 of us here , all with children, and we put our hearts and souls into the shop every single day. It’s difficult these days to keep pace with the major retailers but we are happy to realise that customer service still counts.” Paul Wohl, Argosy Toys
“It means a great deal to us to have the Essex Mums’ seal of approval. We love attaching the badge to our Sing and Sign brand and believe that the high profile of Essex Mums brings new Mums to classes. As a Mum I also love to see what is out there too.” Martine Brockman, Sing and Sign Chelmsford
“I was touched to win this award. We now have our charity number and are indeed making waves with our plans to help families in need. It’s an honour and a privilege, I am sure there are more deserving people than I, I shall make sure I am worthy of the award in my future actions this year.” James Sinclair, The Partyman Company
