THE young and old came together to celebrate an exciting milestone.

Back to the Garden Childcare Nursery in Lymm asked Statham Manor Care Centre to host its annual graduation ceremony due to it being known for its beautiful outside space.

The ceremony marks the end of the nursery journey and the transition to life at school.

It is an opportunity to recognise the early years achievements of the children, celebrate their growth in confidence and resilience and communicate that they are ready to take on the next chapter in their lives.

Being so close to Statham Manor and having enjoyed a lot of time in the company of the residents during their time at nursery, staff say it was only natural to include the care home in the celebration and to hold the graduation ceremony in the home’s beautiful outdoor space.

Deputy manager at Back to the Garden Lymm, Lucy Williams, said: “Many of the graduating children have been with us since Back to the Garden first opened in Lymm and have spent at least two years at the nursery with siblings subsequently joining along the way.

“Over the course of the last two years, we’ve enjoyed many visits to Statham Manor, coming together as a family for special occasions, seasonal celebrations and regular social interaction, so we felt this was a lovely place for the children to celebrate their final moments of pre-school sharing their successes, achievements and memories.”

Watched by their parents and Statham Manor residents, the children walked down an aisle in the care home garden to collect a personalised scroll, certificate of graduation, graduation cap, story book and bag of seeds.

Key workers and the early years teachers from the nursery gave individual speeches reflecting on each child’s journey and there was a small gathering with celebratory cupcakes, snacks and drinks before one final photo was taken of the whole group.

Manager at Statham Manor, Farai Hanyane, said: “We were more than happy to host the graduation ceremony for Back to the Garden. We enjoy a wonderful relationship with these children and our residents have formed close bonds with them over the last few years. We are excited to see them graduate and head off to school.”

Statham Manor resident Anne Podmore, age 82, said: “We love to have the children from the nursery come over to visit and it was very special to be part of the big occasion today – we are very much going to miss them but wish them all the best at school.”