INVESTORS in People has helped a Bury nursery move a step closer to its dream of becoming a centre of excellence for professional childcare.

The Linda Gill Nursery in Tenters Street has won the national award in recognition of its staff development programme.

The 20-staff strong nursery is the head office of a group of five other establishments in the Bury, Greenmount and Ramsbottom areas, that offer day care, pre-school, after-school and holiday club provision.

Proprietor Linda Gill has developed a unit at the site to train her total workforce of 80.

And she says the award will help her realise an ambition to establish a centre for training other childcare professionals.

Bolton and Bury Chamber helped the nursery gain the award.