Staff win award for state-of-the art Early Years Centre
Colleagues in various teams have helped the Council to pick up three prizes at the recent Learning Places Scotland Awards.
These celebrate excellence and achievement in the education sector across Scotland, with categories recognising people, projects and partnerships that help to make a lasting impact.
Two projects in Irvine were successful, with Marress House winning the Early Learning & Childcare Award and also being Highly Commended in the Refurbishment of the Year award, while Montgomerie Park Primary School was Highly Commended in the very competitive Project of the Year category.
As most of you will know, former tax office Marress House has been transformed into a modern and welcoming facility in the grounds Cunninghame House.
The centre, which opened in August 2024, will also be home to the Council’s Public CCTV and Concierge Service in a separate part of the building.
It also has a training suite, which will be used to enhance the skillset of the Early Years workforce across the authority.
In the Early Learning & Childcare category, the judges found that Marress House was “a thoughtful and sustainable refurbishment that makes excellent use of an existing building.”
It was also praised for having an environment that has attracted great feedback from parents and children, “helping to shape a nurturing and appropriate setting.”
Montgomerie Park is an eco-friendly building and is the first ‘Passivhaus’ school we have built. The term Passivhaus refers to buildings that are constructed to strict energy efficiency standards which help reduce the building’s carbon footprint.”
Colleagues in Education and Property Management & Investment were involved in successfully delivering both projects.
The staff and I would like to congratulate everyone who was involved in giving the former tax office such a dynamic and creative new lease of life. We are privileged to work and learn in such fantastic surroundings with great facilities.
You can find out more about early learning and childcare across North Ayrshire on the dedicated Council web page.
Published December 03, 2025
