OREANDA-NEWS. Heathrow has received a silver award at the Mumsnet Family Friendly awards ceremony in London today, presented by Deputy Prime Minister Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP.

A silver award has been presented to Clare Harbord, Corporate Affairs Director and Richard Tierney, Heathrow's Passenger Services Manager in recognition of the work it has done to make Heathrow a great place to work for colleagues with families or family responsibilities and for providing a family friendly service to our passengers.

Improving the passenger experience for families has seen Heathrow introduce new and improved children's' play areas, continue to provide family friendly lanes in security; and at peak family travel times to add to the fun and make every penny go further with children's entertainers and characters roaming the airport; free activity books; children eat free deals and extra staff focusing on families at check-in, security and baggage reclaim.

Mumsnet's Family Friendly programme works with businesses to improve family friendly policies, both for employees and also for customers. Since the programme started in 2010, over 1.7 million employees have been involved. Through the use of 'secret shoppers', staff audits and policy analysis the programme tracks member companies to ensure they are living up to public commitments and continuing to develop family friendly practices.

Clare Harbord, Corporate Affairs Director said: "We're delighted to be presented with this award in recognition of the work we do to make every family's journey better and to make Heathrow a great place to work.

At Heathrow we know that travelling with children can sometimes be challenging but it should also be a great adventure. We put passengers at the heart of all we do and we want the youngest of our passengers to have a great experience travelling through Heathrow."

Justine Roberts, Mumsnet CEO and Founder said: "It's great to see so many companies putting family friendliness at the heart of their businesses and realising that there are positive business benefits from considering the needs of families, whether they're customers or employees."