Tiny Chair Podcast

Mienna is an Early Years educator, a nursery owner, and an Early Years consultant with 34 years of experience. She very proudly holds an NNEB, and says her “personal mission is to help parents and caregivers shift their expectations; meeting children where they are developmentally, rather than where we assume they should be.” Mienna is an advocate of an unplugged childhood, outdoor play, and supporting one another as leaders and educators for the betterment of the sector.

Her websites

https://www.miennajones.com/

https://www.happycrewchildcare.co.uk/

Ian Timbrell is the founder of More Than Flags and Rainbows, a not-for-profit organisation helping make education settings more inclusive, from Early Years settings up. Ian has 20 years of experience in education, including as an ICT Advisor and a Deputy Head Teacher. In fact, one of Ian’s previous schools (that he worked in, not attended!) was the first Primary School in Wales to achieve the Proud Trust's Rainbow Award. Ian himself has won the Mental Health and Wellbeing Award in 2023 for his work with schools.

His website

https://www.morethanflagsandrainbows.com/

Greg Bottrill is the founder of Can I Go and Play Now?, offering training for Early Years settings and schools, so that “the magic of children can really shine”. He’s also an award-winning author, a speaker, and a passionate advocate for play. He's behind approaches like Adventure Island and Drawing Club, and is also the creator of Play school TV, creating characters like “Zoomer the Number Dog," "Bob The Brick," "the Magic Mustard Tin," and "Tiny Ted”. He is a former Early Years Lead and Assistant Headteacher, but now works with a variety of settings to support educators to deliver magical and inspiring play experiences. As Greg says, “Education should be an adventure.”

Tamsin is an early childhood and early education specialist, a trainer and consultant, and Principal Lecturer in Early Years at Norland College. She is the Early Years Education Director at Linden Learning, and an Early Education Associate. She’s a speaker, a writer, and an advocate of Loving Pedagogy.

Trisha Lee is the founder and artistic director of Make Believe Arts, a theatre and education company, and the charity behind Helicopter Stories. Trisha created MakeBelieve Arts in 2002, based on the idea that “story has the power to change lives”. She is a writer, a speaker, a trainer, and is a trained secondary school drama teacher although now the children she works with are mostly in the Early Years. Tricia achieved a Master’s in Writing for Young Children (you can find her books on her website) and has now worked in the Early Years sector for 24 years.

Trishas Youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@TheListeningClassroom⁩ 

Ben Kingston-Hughes, is the director of Inspired Children, and has over 30 years of experience working with young people. He is a trainer, speaker, and author, and has written everything from books to strategies for Local Authorities to articles for Nursery World. He is the winner of the 2019 National Playwork Awards Training Award and was a finalist for the Nursery World Trainer of the Year in 2020. His latest book "Why Children Need Joy" was also a finalist for the Nursery World Best Professional Book award in 2024.

Ben's Email:

[email protected]

Ben's books:

A Very Unusual Journey Into Play

Why Children Need Joy: The Fundamental Truth about Childhood

Brett Wigdortz OBE is the co-founder and CEO of Tiney, the biggest childminder agency in England. He is also the founder and former CEO of Teach First, a charity that works to address educational disadvantage by placing graduates in low-income schools. Brett is the Co-Founder of Teach For All and the Fair Education Alliance and received his OBE for services to education in 2013. He says that his lifelong mission is to help every child access an excellent education.

Joss Cambridge-Simmons is a multi-award-winning nanny, Early Years educator, and the founder of Jossy Care. Joss is passionate about self care, mental health, well being, love, and of course, childcare and education. Joss is also a DJ as well as a writer and a speaker, and content creator - you can find him on all your favourite social media platforms. Joss is a 7 times award-winner and 16 times award-nominee, he recently won the Role Model of the Year 2025 at the Multicultural Inspire Awards - huge congratulations!

Nanny Q

https://www.instagram.com/the.singingnanny/?hl=en

Healing Hands

https://www.instagram.com/healinghandschildcare/?hl=en

Femi

https://www.instagram.com/bistmorgan/?igsh=YjJ2dm1nb3cxbmpo#

Pete is a professional sculptor, author, researcher, and trainer, and has a passion for creative education and woodwork in the Early Years. After working with a local nursery part-time, he fell for the Early Years and now runs Irresistible Learning, an Early Years Creative Consultancy. He is Chair of the Early Childhood Woodwork Association, and founder of the Big Bang Project, which advocates for woodwork provision in education.

Pete's website:https://irresistible-learning.co.uk/resource/holistic-creativity-framework/

Cheryl has over thirty years of experience in the Early Years sector as a nanny, family support, LA advisor, SENCO, trainer, assessor, lecturer, and quality inspector. Cheryl was awarded ‘Trainer of the Year’ at the 2022 Nursery World Awards and has written a book called Neurodiversity in the Early Years. She does speaking, writing, and consultancy for parents and Early Years settings, as well as guesting on podcasts.

Links:aperiontraining.co.uk

instagram.com/aperion_training/

Book:

Neurodiversity in the Early Years: Practical and Proven Strategies to Enable Neurodivergent Children to Thrive.