Tiny Chair Podcast

Jan is an Early Years expert, consultant, trainer & writer. He is the Programme Director for hey! at Hempsall’s and, in 2018, the Times Educational Supplement named him as one of the ten most influential people in British education. He has decades of experience in the sector, as a Nursery, Reception and Year 1 teacher in schools across Britain and then leading teams as an Early Years coordinator. He is the former Head of National and International Development at Early Excellence, and now works as an independent speaker, consultant, trainer and author focusing on Early Years policy, pedagogy and practice.

Dr. Alistair Bryce-Clegg, otherwise known as ABC, is an international early years consultant and trainer with three decades of experience in the sector. He's an author, a speaker, and author of the PlayList. He's advised the government's Education Select Committee on Early Years policy and practice and even the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood. He has even had a debut on the TV in the BAFTA-winning Old People's Home for Four-Year-Olds.

Email us at:

[email protected]

Link from the episode:

https://abcdoes.com/

Prerna is a global Early Childhood expert and founder of Together We Grow. In this episode of the Tiny Chair Podcast, Matt and I are joined by Prerna Richards of Together We Grow. We talk about spotting stress, deep breathing, and how to find more joy in the day-to-day.

Customer stories

https://www.famly.co/customers

Prernas website

https://togetherwegrow.online/free-downloads/

Prernas Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@TogetherWeGrow108/videos

Book mentioned

Maybe - Kobi Yamada

Dr June O'Sullivan is the CEO of the London Early Years Foundation. June has headed projects involving intergenerational care, parents in prisons, sustainability, bringing more men into the EY sector, engaging dads, ratios, Ofsted, the role of chefs, and many, many more. June has an OBE for services to education, recently got her doctorate in developing sustainability sustainability, informed staff, and has co authored many, many guides and books, including the Twoness of Twos.

Links in the episode

Prison article - https://www.leyf.org.uk/news/what-has-prison-got-to-do-with-early-years/

LEYF prison pack download - https://mailchi.mp/4364d5fb0b61/a5bv48km0o

Article - https://kinderly.co.uk/2024/06/18/changing-the-world-through-love-and-nurture-in-the-early-years/

Book - https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/love-and-nurture-in-the-early-years/book287047

Dr Nazish Usman is a qualified early years teacher who’s taught all over the world, and she can speak 4 languages. She’s a child psychologist with a specialism in cognitive behavioural therapy, and has just completed her PhD on the “Role of Emotional Intelligence in Character Building during Early Childhood Education.” She’s currently the Head of Safeguarding and Compliance for Early Years at Little Dukes Education.

Links:

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/nazish-usman-48b89a241

Kerry Murphy is an early childhood specialist and lecturer in Early Childhood and SEND at Goldsmiths University. She specialises in neurodiversity- and disability-affirming practice, improving inclusion, understanding and promoting a celebratory framework of assessment and support. She’s a 22-year veteran of the Early Years as well as a consultant and author. She has delivered seminars and training for local authorities, as well as a webinar for us here at Famly. Kerry is currently working on a doctorate in the pathologisation of play and child development in neurodivergent children.

Website:

Diversepathways.org

Tom is the Operations Director for Naturally Learning, a group of seven settings based in Cornwall, with some of the most beautiful environments you will ever see. They have a forest and beach school, and, as Tom will no doubt echo in this episode, are passionate about being outside in their environment. The philosophy of the settings is unhurried, child-led learning and development - hence Naturally Learning - with a focus on nature, and sustainable materials and resources. Tom himself, as well as his mum Mandy and partner Sarah, is a long-time friend of Famly. He’s delivered webinars, appeared in our most recent documentary, and every year, he brings a group of the Naturally Learning team to our office here in Copenhagen to say hello to us!

Cornishearlychildhood.co.uk

This week we sit down with Neil Leitch, the chief exec of Early Years Alliance. We get the gossip on what it’s really like working with the government, how his own childhood shaped his own views on why Early Years matters so much, and why football is the one time he can switch his brain off. You’ll hear about his proudest moments supporting 14,000 members at the alliance, and why he thinks the real answer is getting our policy makers in a nursery for a week.

Sue has been a teacher and Early Years coordinator, a senior Early Years lead, and a local authority special advisor. She’s been trained and accredited in the BrainSET approach and has achieved a Level 2 award in ‘An Introduction to Neuroscience in the Early Years’. As well as being on the editorial board of Early Years Educator for many years, she’s also written books of her own. Sue is also a long serving member of TACTYC, where she’s a trustee.

Where to find Sue:

Twitter: https://x.com/DrSue22

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/dr-sue-allingham-9b356516

Website: https://eyoutofthebox.com/

Liz, is an Early Years consultant under the title The Black Nursery Manager. She writes articles, leads webinars, and was a part of Famly’s inaugural children’s champion judging panel. Liz has an MA in early childhood and is a qualified secondary school teacher. She ran a setting for many years herself, before launching the Black Nursery Manager consultancy in 2020. She has been nominated as a Nursery World Trainer of the year, nominated as a future leader in 2022 by the Black Cultural Archives, and was recognised by the Serendpity Institute as 1 of a 100 Black women who have made a mark in 2024.

Books mentioned in the podcast:

Strong Like Me - Kelechi Okafor

I Am Golden - Eva Chen

The Many Colors of Harpreet Singh - Supriya Kelkar

My First Jewish Baby Book - Julie Merberg & Beck Feiner

Republic of the Congo - Mel Nyoko

Bathe the Cat - David Roberts

Homeland - Hannah Moushabeck