Building a Community of Practice
To celebrate twenty years of connection and community through the Foundation Stage Forum, we hosted an exciting free online event!
The theme for this event was Building a Community of Practice.
Sponsored by Tapestry, the event took place on Tuesday 27th June, 6-8pm, and we invited early years leaders and managers to come together and discuss their good practice, challenges, and achievements. There were wonderful speakers sharing their knowledge, and the opportunity to engage in conversations with other early years professionals in breakout rooms.
Event Description
After a welcome from our guest host, Helen Amass, our speakers, Laura Henry-Allain MBE and Catherine McLeod MBE shared their presentations. These were followed by attendees being allocated a breakout room for conversations based on themes from the keynote talks. Each room discussed the same topics, facilitated by Teacher and Early Years Consultant Rachna Joshi, Nursery School Executive Head Teacher Dr Valerie Daniel, Early Years Teacher and Manager Adam Marycz, SEND Advisor Stephen Kilgour, Education Advisor Ben Case, and Catherine McLeod MBE. We returned together to watch a short video to conclude the event.
You can watch a recording of the event on our YouTube channel.
Meet the Host
Helen Amass
About Helen
Helen Amass has a decade’s worth of writing experience in digital publishing and content production with a focus on teaching, learning, and education research – primarily as commissioning editor for Tes Magazine, a digital publication aimed at improving the professional experiences of up to 13 million educators globally. Prior to this, she was an educator herself, teaching secondary English.
Follow and contact Helen on:
Twitter: @Helen_Amass
Meet the Keynote Speakers
Laura Henry-Allain MBE
About Laura
Laura Henry-Allain MBE is an award-winning international producer, storyteller, educationalist and consultant. She has been a nursery manager, Ofsted inspector, teacher and curriculum manager, and has shared her expert knowledge with government departments, advising on policy and strategy decisions. Laura is a regular contributor to Nursery World, other trade publications and the national press. She is the creator of the characters of the well-loved JoJo and Gran Gran series, developed and produced by CBeebies, and is the series’ associate producer. Laura is also executive producer on a few shows that are currently in development, including Daddio & Co. Her bestselling children’s book, My Skin, Your Skin, illustrated by Onyinye Iwu, explores race and racism, and empowers children to be the best versions of themselves. Laura’s new book which will be launched on Saturday 7th October, My Family, Your Family, illustrated by Giovana Mediros, enables children to talk about relatives, love and belonging.
Follow and contact Laura on:
Twitter: @LauraHAllain
Instagram: @laurahallain
Catherine McLeod MBE
About Catherine
For the last 25 years, Catherine has worked in the charity sector to ensure equity and inclusion for people with disabilities. Since setting up her own charity in Sri Lanka in 2005 she has been in leadership roles and has a Level 7 Certificate in Leadership and Management. She was awarded an MBE in 2011 in recognition of her work with vulnerable children, and today actively lobbies to improve opportunities for children with SEND in the early years. Catherine has been the Chief Executive of Dingley’s Promise since 2015, growing the organisation from a small local charity to a national one that delivers training and influences policy alongside its core local support services. She is a mentor for ACEVO and a Trustee of Charity Mentors Berkshire.
Follow and contact Catherine on:
Twitter: @DingleyCEO
Meet the Facilitators
Adam Marycz
About Adam
Adam is a highly-experienced qualified early years teacher and early childhood advocate who feels passionately about being a ‘facilitator of critical discussion’ in both his personal and professional life. Adam has worked in the sector for over 14 years with children from birth to 11 years old. His current day to day role is as an early years teacher and manager of an ‘Outstanding’ pre-school and wraparound provision setting and he has managed a number of different settings for the parent company during his time there. Adam is also the editor of the ‘Practice Insight’ supplement within Early Years Educator magazine as well as a being freelance writer and advisor for a wide range of organisations and publications including Tapestry. Additionally, Adam has more recently begun work as an associate lecturer for Nottingham Trent University as well as previously co-hosting a podcast.
Follow and contact Adam on:
Twitter: @AdamEYLeader
Instagram: @adameyleader
Rachna Joshi
About Rachna
Rachna is a teacher and consultant. She works with under-threes, Nursery and Reception children, and holds an MA in Early Childhood Studies. Rachna writes and speaks at events sharing knowledge, empowering practitioners and provoking questions to disrupt routine practice.
Follow and contact Rachna on:
Twitter: @RJoshiEYFS
Instagram: @rachnajoshi
Dr Valerie Daniel
About Valerie
Dr Valerie Daniel is a qualified Teacher with over 30 years’ experience, with the last 15 years as a Maintained Nursery School head teacher and more recently as an Executive head teacher over two Nursery Schools. Her other roles include being a trustee for the Birmingham Nursery Schools Collaboration Trust (BNSCT) and working with a number of national organisations who promote early years care and education. She is one of fifteen Birmingham Association of Maintained Nursery Schools (BAMNS) head teachers who work within a contractual collaboration. Valerie has a deep interest in the dynamics of the current Early Years Sector and received her Doctorate in Education from the University of Birmingham on her thesis titled ‘The Perceptions of a Leadership Crisis in the Early Years Sector (EYS)’. She is also a trained Systems Leader and Leadership Mentor for other head teachers and leaders in the Early Years Sector.
Follow and contact Valerie on:
Twitter: @Valerie_JKD