THE TEAM
Welcome to Early Years Excellence Academy

Eight years ago, I wanted to put together a 360 package for early education and childcare providers to help support in planning and meeting individual and whole team development with emphasis on Quality over Cost

I now have an amazing training team led by Early Years Quality Consultants, Consultants and former Nursery Managers who are passionate about childcare and want to ensure that as early years educators you have access to the best possible training.

Carly Kelly

Early Years training Manager

As our Training Manager Carly plays an integral role in supporting the ever-changing needs of our business. Carly’s previous experience in childcare and administration enables her to not only support the team but to also ensure that our customer’s needs are also met

Sarah Doyle

Early Years Quality Consultant

Sarah is an Early Years specialist with a blend of skills and experience gained from hands on early years practice and management, parenting support, and working in an early years consultancy and training capacity. Sarah has worked in a Local Authority Early Years team for many years, and currently advises for a specialist nursery and therapy centre. She has expert knowledge of the Early Years education framework and over 15 years’ experience of supporting a range of early years settings and practitioners to develop their skills and quality of practice, specifically in Special Educational Needs provision and support.

Combining both personal and professional experience in SEND, Sarah’s passion is guiding and inspiring early years practitioners to effectively support children’s unique ways of playing and learning and to champion the rights of all children

Julie Firth

Early Years Quality Consultant

Julie is an Early Years consultant and has 30 years’ experience working in the childcare profession. Julie has 16 years’ early years experience . This has given Julie expert knowledge of the Early Years Statutory Framework and the Common Inspection Framework.

Kate Cragg

First Aid and H&S Manager

Kate Manages our First Aid Department, Kate Supports all our Certified Trainers and Settings with all their First Aid and H&S needs, Kate’s previous experience in Childcare, H&S and First Aid enables her to carry out the internal quality assurance role, making sure that our trainers deliver the courses to the required standards.

Beth Lewis

Early Years Quality Consultant

Hello, my name is Beth. I believe that working with children in the Early Years is one of the most important occupations in our society, and if we get it right, those children will have positive outcomes that last a lifetime. I am a strong advocate for the sector and strive to support staff to achieve their very best. I have Early Years Professional Status and a First Class Honours Degree in Professional Development. Throughout my professional journey I have progressed from a passionate Practitioner to Room Leader,  Deputy Manager, SENCO, DSL, Setting Manager and most recently Quality/Area Manager with multi-site responsibility. I am a positive and strong communicator and can relate to Early Years staff members at all levels. I have a proven track record of working with teams to ensure their settings thrive, gain brilliant reputations, and I have contributed significantly to the achievement of numerous Outstanding and Good Ofsted reports for the last 21 years. My decision to work for EYRS meets head-on my ambition to pass on everything I have learned and experienced to train and up-skill the sector. I believe that settings can only achieve true quality if the whole team is part of a comprehensive and ongoing professional development strategy and as such important influencers in children’s lives, we should all be life- long learners and continue to expand our knowledge, revisit ideas, reflect on our own pedagogy and create the best possible settings in which they can thrive.

Natalie Brown

SENCo

Natalie Brown has been working in education for over 15 years. She is a qualified Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) and Primary Teacher, with many years experience teaching Early Years. Additionally, Natalie has worked as a Specialist Communication and Language Early Years Teacher and for the Local Authority SEND Service.

Natalie is passionate about supporting children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities; specialising in SEND management, ‘Communication and Interaction’ and ‘Social, Emotional and Mental Health’ needs.

Jessica Hill

Phonics Specialist

Jes is an enthusiastic Qualified Teacher who supports practitioners in preparing children during their transition into school. Jes is our Phonics Lead and delivers quirky interactive courses via zoom. She is extremely passionate about preparing children for their next stage of school.

Edward Hawkes

Finance Director

Ed has an outstanding client service record and is a commercially driven finance professional. Ed provides clear strategic direction and strong financial project management skills, with a track record of delivering results.

Laura Ellison

Early Years Consultant

I am a qualified early years teacher with extensive experience in a variety of roles and settings. For 10 years I worked within Early Help for local authorities with a primary aim of providing early intervention and support for vulnerable families. This included community engagement, working with schools and PVI’s, family home visits and delivering various training courses.

I then coordinated a research project funded by EEF which delivered an intensive home learning programme to over 300 families with children aged 2 with the aim of improving school readiness. During this role I managed a team of early years specialists to ensure the home visits were high quality focused on working with parents/carers to support their child with their development.

Most recently I project managed a nationwide training programme focused on sleep and children with SEND which is aimed at professionals and volunteers. I also enjoy associate lecturing with Early Years and Childhood at Sheffield Hallam University.

Early Years is my true passion. I love to connect with like-minded professionals to continue learning and development and inspire them to provide quality education for children in their care to thrive and reach their potential.