Mudiad Meithrin Awards – Nomination

Mudiad Meithrin Awards 2024

This year there are 12 award categories which are:

• Leader
• Playing and Learning Outside
• Cylch Meithrin
• Small Cylch Meithrin
• Cylch Ti a Fi
• Cylch i Bawb
• Assistant
• Volunteer
• Day Nursery
• Committee
• Learning and Development
• Learners of the year

An internal panel consisting of specialist staff from the Mudiad’s various departments shortlist all the nominations. The nominations are then submitted to an external panel consisting of experts in the Early Years and members of the Mudiad’s Board of Directors.

• Giving reasons that are only a sentence long will not be sufficient – more than likely the entry will be disregarded
• Try to give full answers, giving specific answers to support your reasons
• We will not count the number of nominations received, e.g. 1 strong nomination will be better than 10 weaker ones.

Not sure what to include in the nomination? See our guidelines below for ideas.

The judging panel are looking for examples of:

• They succeed in building excellent relationships with children, parents and the community
• They manage and lead in an innovative and motivational way
• They transformed the cylch in a short space of time
• Always looking for new, innovative ideas to develop areas of the cylch
• Committed to the cylch, the team and the community
• A confident leader who models positive language and behaviour
• A leader who asks questions, consults and makes time to listen to staff, children, parents and partners.
• Advocates on behalf of the cylch and the Welsh language
• Promotes the continuation to Welsh-medium education with examples of good practice
• A leader who monitors and observes consistently and adapts, changes, and improves and necessary, letting the children lead the activities.
• A leader who plans effectively and makes regular adjustments to meet the needs of each child

We already know that the Leader is caring of the children, and that the children are safe and happy. This is to be expected as part of their role. What’s special about the Leader and what do they do beyond the usual requirements of leading a cylch?

The judging panel are looking for examples of:

• Supports the leader by offering great ideas and activities
• A confident assistant who is comfortable leading activities indoors and outdoors
• Committed to the cylch, the team and the community
• An assistant who asks questions, consults and makes time to listen to staff, children, parents and partners.
• Accepts opportunities to develop themself for the benefit of the cylch
• Takes on responsibilities beyond those in the job description
• Volunteers time in order to offer additional experiences to the children, e.g., a carnival on a Saturday

We already know that the Assistant is caring of the children, and that the children are safe and happy. This is to be expected as part of their role. What’s special about the Assistant and what do they do beyond the usual requirements in the cylch?

The judging panel are looking for examples of:

• Uses the outside to be a high-quality space in all weather conditions every day, that contains authentic and purposeful resources
• Have made the very best use of the exterior which promotes children’s development, confidence and resilience
• The cylch/nursery offers consistent and positive outside experiences where children can relax, meditate and be quiet (in a shelter or den) as well as explore, run, jump, climb and be noisy
Practitioners are comfortable and confident in the outside and allow children to take a risk
• Using the outside where children can observe and listen to nature
• Examples of creativity that extend children’s physical, imaginative and communication skills using small and large loose pieces
• Offer unique opportunities outside by using the surrounding areas e.g. forest, park, field
• Give children opportunities to grow plants e.g. flowers, vegetables and fruits
• The use of the outdoors includes opportunities to expand language, numeracy and digital literacy
• The outside area offers opportunities for enterprising play and risk-taking
• Do you take the children out of the cylch to visit the community, park, beach or shops?
• Is your outside space fully inclusive with access to everything for all children?
• If you have a small outside area how do you use it to the fullest to offer new experiences?
• If you don’t have an outside area how do you offer consistent and positive outside experiences e.g park use, walk, train ride etc

The judging panel are looking for examples of:

• Cylch is confident in sharing good and effective practice with others e.g., other practitioners, Academi or Hwb
• Frequents visits (both into and out of the cylch) are organised to promote the children’s development
• Works closely with the local Welsh-medium school to promote continuity and undertake innovative transition arrangements.
• Cylch provides additional services as required by local parents e.g. wraparound care, 30 hour childcare offer offer
• Committed and implementing a new Curriculum for Wales
• Using innovative ways to communicate with current parents and to market to prospective parents, e.g., apps, newsletters, social media accounts, Welsh language newspapers
• CM who looks for opportunities to develop and improve quality through training and visits to other provisions
• Staff attend regular training on various areas to provide additional learning experiences in the cylch
• The children underpin everything in the cylch
• The cylch offers enriching experiences to children
• Great work in the fields of literacy, numeracy and digital literacy
• The cylch has forged effective external partnerships within the community
• The cylch offers enriching language immersion experiences
• The children influence the themes and activities within the cylch
• The cylch works with parents to develop the children’s skills in the home
• Everybody is fully committed to the cylch (staff, families, partners, the children and community)
• The cylch is firmly rooted in the community

The Cylch Meithrin does not have to be a large in size, nor offer a wide ranger of services such as Dechrau’n Deg or Education. The emphasis is on a Cylch which offers enriching experiences to its children, is creative and identifies opportunities to develop and to enhance its relationship with the community.

The judging panel are looking for examples of:

• The session is inclusive of the area and makes an effort to attract families from different backgrounds
• Plans a variety of activities which succeed in attracting new families and keeps families coming back week after week
• Community-spirited with an intergenerational attendance
• Carries out community projects, e.g., working with homes for the elderly
• Offers exciting and innovative opportunities as it introduces Welsh to families
• Examples of excellent work done to turn a cylch around quickly, e.g., by increasing numbers, good marketing
• Works with the nearby Cylch Meithrin and Cymraeg for Kids to ensure that children transition into the cylch
• Examples of innovative fundraising
• Examples of introducing Welsh for families by partnership work, e.g., Welsh for Adults, Cymraeg i Blant and Clwb Cwtsh.
• Partnership with the Health sector and community groups who share information on child development and family wellbeing

The judging panel are looking for examples of:

• Attend or undertake training (e.g. Cylch i Bawb, anti-racism sessions or DARPL modules, sessions about gender identity, Speech, Language and Communication) and make changes to the setting or practice in the group as a result of the training
• Resources celebrating diversity available to the children in the setting that are used to discuss differences
• Plan activities and learning experiences that promote racial, physical, religious, and different family models diversity
• An environment adapted to accommodate all children, e.g. creating specific areas to help a child cope / adaptations to involve a disabled child in activities
• Excellent support given to the child and the child’s family, e.g. if the child has ALN, if the family does not have Welsh or English language skills, celebrate the child’s religion
• Present different cultures in an authentic way that avoids stereotypes (stereotyping)

The judging panel are looking for examples of:

• Has played a leading role in supporting the cylch through a period of change, e.g., a change of venue, substantial expansion of services, registration with ESTYN or CIW
• Leads the way by searching for funding / grants to support the cylch’s work
• Is motivated and skilled work at fundraising and organising fundraising events
• Contributes to the care and experiences of children within the cylch, e.g., assisting, introducing the language, reading stories.
• Is committed to attending training in order to develop new skills.
• Does a local business invite the children for a visit or visit the Cylch offering new experiences e.g. A greengrocer brings vegetables to the cylch for the children to cook soup
• Does a volunteer contribute their own time and resources to the cylch?

The judging panel are looking for examples of:

• Identified opportunities to develop the cylch’s services and staff
• Strong, robust relationship between staff and committee and examples of working as a team
• Undertaken marketing work and thought of different ways to advertise the cylch
• Succeeded in sustaining the cylch through a yearly funding target
• Committee meets regularly in order to manage the cylch and implement its development plan
• There is an ethos of continual professional development within the cylch
• Parents, staff and partners are all committed to the cylch
• The committee take every opportunity to enhance their services i.e., the childcare offer, wrap around care etc
• Develop skills regularly and attend MM Academi training

The judging panel are looking for examples of:

• The nursery is a close community and regularly organises events to raise money and bring families together.
• Appropriate resources for all children and all age ranges, both indoors and outdoors.
• The children underpin everything in the nursery
• Uses innovative ways to communicate with current parents and to market to prospective parents, e.g., apps, newsletters, social media accounts, Welsh language newspapers
• Frequents visits (both into and out of the nursery) are arranged to promote the children’s development, whatever their age range
• Promotes progression into Welsh-medium education
• Staff regularly attend training on various matters in order to offer extra learning experiences within the nursery, e.g., circus skills
• Excellent work done promoting literacy, numeracy, and digital literacy
• The nursery has forged effective external partnerships within the community
• The nursery offers enriching language immersion experiences
• The children influence the themes and activities within the nursery
• The nursery works with parents to develop the children’s skills
• Everybody is fully committed to the nursery (staff, families, partners, the children, and community)

The judging panel are looking for examples of:

• Evidence of motivated staff, who commit to attending training to develop new skills.
• Evidence of staff taking up-skilling opportunities by attending Academi courses or the Croesi’r Bont scheme, or by taking on an apprentice (through MM Cam Wrth Gam Scheme)
• Evidence of staff who have attended regular training in various areas to provide additional learning experiences at the cylch / day nursery
• Evidence of staff who have made good linguistic progress through a Camau course or Clwb Cwtsh scheme
• Examples of how the cylch / day nursery has improved or changed their ways of working following attending Academi organised training
• Examples of how the cylch / day nursery has made use of Academi Learning and Development resources (Mudiad Meithrin Learning and Development Resources)
• A setting which proactively shares examples of good practice with others (e.g., other practitioners, MM, Academi or Hwb)

Please don’t include only a list of training titles that staff have attended. Refer to core courses (such as First Aid, Child Protection).

The judging panel are looking for examples of:

• Understand the need to follow Mudiad Meithrin’s Language policy
• Following courses and using Welsh learning apps e.g. Clwb Cwtsh, Camau, Croesi’r Bont ,Duo Lingo, Say Something in Welsh
• Confident to use Welsh greetings with staff, children and parents
• Makes an effort to use only Welsh with the children
• Inspiring others to want to learn Welsh by sharing experiences of learning with Camau/Clwb Cwtsh