WHEN little Caitlin Armstrong walked through the doors of a new nursery she created a little bit of history, for she was the first child to enrol.

She was only three at the time and little thought that, 23 years on, she would be back there again – but this time with her baby son.

However, Caitlin – now Davies - had such happy memories of her time at the Rossett House Nursery near Wrexham that she had no hesitation in choosing it as the place for eight-month-old Finnley.

She was living with her parents in nearby Trevalyn at the time she first attended the nursery, which was opened by Peter and Karen Graham.

“I have such positive memories of my time there,” she said.

In April this year Caitlin and her husband Jake moved from Nottingham back to North Wales and though they knew there were other nurseries for Finnley closer to their new home in Penyffordd they were delighted to find a place for him at Rossett House. Finnley, who is their first child, attends three days a week.

“It’s very convenient because Jake, who works on Deeside, drops him off in the morning and I can pick him up,” said Caitlin, who is a service manager with the Priority Adult Care Group.

Rossett House is owned by Wrexham-based Active Childcare Ltd, which also runs the Little Scholars nursery on the Glyndwr University campus, and is recognised by social and education bodies as one of the country’s top-rated nurseries.

In 2007 it was named as the UK’s Nursery of the Year by the National Day Nursery Association and the nursery and its staff have picked up numerous awards over the years. In 2009 Rachel Davies was named as NDNA Nursery Carer of the Year.

Peter Graham and his wife Karen, who is Emeritus Professor of childhood studies at Glyndwr University, founded the company and are proud of Rossett House’s reputation for providing top-quality care, first-class facilities and staff training.

In 2018 they sold it to Rebecca Mottram, who began working for them in 2000, but Peter remains as a consultant while Karen helps support staff development.

Karen, who is emeritus professor of childhood studies at Glyndwr University, is a former winner of the Care Forum Wales award for excellence in services for children and young people, and has contributed to Welsh Government research studies. Six years ago she addressed a conference of the World Forum for Early Care and Education in Puerto Rico.

“We set up originally because we wanted to provide high-quality childcare, and the awards we have received prove that we are achieving that,” said Peter.

Rebecca, who has recently been involved in a Welsh Government consultation in designing the curriculum for the non-maintained sector for children over three, said they were also pleased that so many of their staff remain with them so long they are able to promote them from within.

Sarah Lloyd Williams and Melissa Shaw, the joint managers of Rossett House, have both been there for 11 years.

“We are delighted that Caitlin had such fond memories of her time at Rossett House that she wanted to bring Finnley here. It’s a nice compliment,”said Rebecca.