SMALL is successful at Holcombe Brook Nursery where the staff of three has achieved the coveted Investors in People award.

Now in its fourth year, the nursery operates as an independent unit within Holcombe Brook Primary School which had previouusly achieved the national award in recognition of excellent employee development.

The nursery is registered for 28 children between the ages of three and five.

It was able to take a lead from the school and, thanks to the implementation of some of its tried and tested principles, was able to achieve the standard soon after its commitment to the programme.

Nursery manager Sheila Scott said: "We are a smart but homely nursery and that is how we like to operate.

"But we felt we would like to achieve Investors in People in our own right and we are absolutely delighted to have done it.

"It was a very positive experience. It helped us to focus on what we wanted to achieve and made us look at what we do very closely."

Becki Wilkinson, part of the Bolton and Bury Chamber workforce development team, which helped to assist the nursery through the IIP process, commented: "The nursery's success is the result of a great deal of commitment and hard work from the staff team who all deserve congratulations."