Jones, who left Ofsted in October after working there for more than 15 years, joined Busy Bees as their group chief quality officer earlier this year.
Her focus since joining the nursery group has been researching quality and safeguarding across the group’s global settings and ensuring each site is able to learn from worldwide best practice experience, said Busy Bees.
Speaking about her appointment at Busy Bees, Jones said, ‘I already had an excellent professional relationship with Busy Bees, through my work at Ofsted, and was aware of the company’s commitment to quality.
‘I was delighted to join a team of likeminded people who share my values and want to ensure the highest standards are delivered across the group.’
The nursery group’s co-founder Marg Randles added, ‘This year we are celebrating 40 years of giving children the best start in life, and the appointment of Gill Jones to our senior leadership team was a key step in planning the continued improvement of early years care and education for the next four decades and beyond.'
MBE for Gill Jones
Jones, who was recognised in the King’s New Year’s honours list for her services to education, received her Member of the British Empire (MBE) award from the Princess Royal at an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace this week.
She said that receiving the MBE was an ‘extraordinary honour’, and she was ‘proud to share the moment with her family’.
Busy Bees’ European chief executive, Chris McCandless, commented, ‘Gill Jones is known and respected throughout the sector, and we are thrilled to see her receive this honour in recognition of her commitment to improving educational outcomes for children across the UK.’