AFTER being awarded an MBE in the 2023 New Year’s Honours list, Margaret King from Lymm travelled to Windsor Castle recently to receive her MBE from the Prince of Wales.
After more than 50 years of working with children, Margaret was awarded the MBE for Services to Education and Community in Cheshire.
Margaret created the first Modern Educational Dance GCSE Curriculum in the UK in 1972. After moving to Lymm in the mid-80s Margaret set up Lymm Dance in 1987 and also assisted in local primary school musicals as a volunteer.
In 1991 she set up The Rosebank Centre, which had previously been a children’s home on Pepper Street, as a nursery School with dance, movement and outdoor play as key elements in child development. This was expanded with a breakfast and after-school club for primary school children. This was followed in 2004 when she set up The Lakes Centre nursery in Orford to bring her skills and ethos to a wider group of children. This was a joint initiative with Warrington Borough Council and was one of the first National Neighbourhood Nurseries in the country with a focus on community support for parents and children. And in 2008 the nursery in Lymm was expanded further with a purpose built “Naturegarten” nursery within the grounds of Ravenbank Community Primary School. The Scandinavian log-cabin was one of the first “forest schools” in the country and was based upon extensive use of outdoors and children learning in the natural environment. It enabled The Rosebank Centre to focus on childcare for babies and children up to 4 years old who then moved to Naturegarten for children between 4 and 10 years of age.
Throughout this time Margaret worked with Warrington Borough Council to provide excellence in the care, development and education of thousands of children in Lymm and Warrington. She was also active in other areas including Warrington Early Years Partnership, Warrington Independent Nursery Network, a Governor at Sandy Lane Nursery and a Voluntary Councillor for Childline Manchester. All of the nurseries came under new ownership in 2021 when Margaret retired.
In 2018, Margaret set up “Crafty Crafters of Lymm” co-ordinating a group of volunteers who would sew drain bags and under-arm cushions for patients undergoing mastectomy surgery at Warrington and Halton hospitals. Her group of Crafty Crafters have provided over a thousand such items, all custom made in interesting fabric designs that patients can select from rather than use the standard plain NHS products.
Margaret said: “I am delighted to receive this honour. It was totally unexpected. Over the years I have simply done what I thought was the right thing to do and am proud to have been helped by so many excellent staff and colleagues along the way.“
