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The ABC of Nursery Management
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Building on the success of our 2022 guide, this new edition includes contributions from both familiar faces and new voices in the field. The guide is packed with practical tips tailored for nursery managers, aimed at empowering and supporting them in their crucial role.
- Almost 80 pages of ad-free top tips for enhancing your practice
- 26 letters worth of nursery management insights and advice
- Links to further resources for ongoing professional development
Meet the authors...
Structured in an easy-to-follow alphabetical format, the guide brings together insights from 26 expert voices.
Each letter of the alphabet covers a key topic in early years education, providing valuable advice, activities,
and resources for childcare professionals.
Gill Mason
Gill Mason, Training Academy Director at Kids Planet Day Nurseries since 2018, is a senior leader in vocational education, dedicated to transforming lives. An honorary City and Guilds member, she was Nursery World Trainer of the Year 2019, and serves on the boards of Open Awards and PETC England.
Jamel C Campbell
Jamel C Campbell, an Early Years educator, EY consultant, radio/TV host, storyteller, keynote speaker, writer, and bestselling author. With over two decades in the Early Years and education sector, he is a prominent UK Men in the Early Years champion. He appeared on CBeebies’ “Tiny Happy People” and co-founded the Early Years Blacklist.
Rachel Buckler
Rachel Buckler, with 30 years in social care, trains early years workforces and consults for nurseries across the nation. A frequent Nursery World contributor, she co-founded the Early Years Hub and created the Safeguarding Hub. Her book on child protection practices was published by Routledge in 2023.
Greg Reed
Greg Reed is the Head of Operations at Connect Childcare, overseeing Infrastructure, Security, and Compliance. With over eight years of IT management and security experience, he has a proven track record of implementing operational excellence and ensuring compliance with GDPR, ISO27001, and ISO9001 standards.
Cheryl Hadland
Cheryl Hadland, MD of Hadland Care Group, oversees Tops Day Nurseries and Aspire Training Team, while also spearheading GECCO, a charity championing sustainability in Early Years Education. A passionate diver, Cheryl witnessed ocean plastic’s devastation, driving her to establish GECCO in 2017. She now educates the early years sector on sustainable practices.
Jonathan Broadbery
Jonathan leads NDNA’s UK-wide policy and engagement, representing early years providers to key decision-makers. He collaborates with members, government, advisers, and media to promote quality early education policies. With experience in government and advocacy, he supports NDNA’s national policy committees and oversees NDNA Scotland and NDNA Cymru.
Jamie Victoria Barnes
Jamie, aka The Childcare Guru, brings 15 years of Early Years expertise, including roles as Nursery Manager, Forest School Manager, Deputy Head, and Ofsted Inspector. With a passion for supporting the early years community, Jamie is now a consultant, author, and trainer, dedicated to creating exceptional experiences for young children since 2018.
Catherine Lippe
Catherine Lippe is a Registered Nutritionist (RNutr) specialising in infant and child nutrition and is the company nutritionist at Nursery Kitchen. She has extensive experience in public health nutrition, the food industry, and early years nutrition. Catherine works with early years settings to improve food provision and nutrition standards for the children in their care.
Jackie Hyde
Jackie Hyde, owner-manager at Stanmore Insurance Brokers/dot2dot nursery insurance, has over 30 years of insurance experience. She founded dot2dot nursery insurance in 2003 to support nurseries, now covering 3000 across the UK. Her commitment earned Stanmore the Schemes Broker of the Year award in 2017, 2020, and 2022.
Ben Kingston-Hughes
Ben Kingston-Hughes is an international speaker, author, and award-winning trainer. Managing Director of Inspired Children, he has over 34 years of experience working with vulnerable children. He blends humour, neuroscience, and practical experiences in his training. His acclaimed books include “A Very Unusual Journey into Play” and “Why Children Need Joy.”
Karen Faux
Karen Faux is the editor of Nursery World, the UK’s leading magazine for early years education. With extensive experience across various editorial roles, she brings in-depth knowledge to her work, serving a readership of over 100,000 professionals in early education and childcare through comprehensive news and practical features.
Rebecca Skinner & Becky Poulter Jewson
Becky, with over 25 years of experience, is the Director of Early Years at Thriving Language Community Interest Company. She specialises in play, communication, and schema play, developing language-rich environments nationwide. Rebecca, a qualified Speech and Language Therapist since 2001, also directs Speech and Language Therapy at Thriving Language and works for the NHS.
Ben Rolfe
Ben Rolfe, is the founder of Childcare Marketing, an award winning leading marketing partner dedicated to helping childcare businesses thrive. With expertise in digital marketing, SEO, and social media, Childcare Marketing creates impactful campaigns that boost occupancy and build trust.
Chris Reid
Chris Reid, CEO and Founder of Connect Childcare, envisioned using technology to simplify nursery administration and enhance parent engagement in 2004. Now, Connect Childcare supports over 3400 nurseries with integrated management, observation, and communication software, improving efficiency and enabling staff to focus on children’s development.
Julian Grenier
Dr Julian Grenier CBE led Sure Start Children’s Centres in London for the best part of two decades before working as Ofsted’s Early Education Lead. He is an independent early years consultant and best-selling author. He also works for the Education Endowment Foundation on early years. He was awarded a CBE in 2020 for his services to early years education.
Tamsin Grimmer
Tamsin Grimmer has a wealth of experience supporting Early Years Teachers and educators. She is passionate about young children’s learning and believes that all children deserve educators who are inspiring, dynamic, reflective and loving. Tamsin has written several books aimed at educators and is a true advocate for adopting a loving pedagogy.
June O’Sullivan
June is the CEO of the UK’s foremost childcare social enterprise. She advocates for policies benefiting children and families, and has developed the LEYF Pedagogy for Social Justice. June received an MBE in 2013 and an OBE in 2023 for her services to education.
Claudio Sisera
Claudio Sisera, with 12 years in Early Years education, now leads Diversity and Inclusion at Male Childcare & Teaching Jobs. He advocates for more men in early years, supports the existing workforce through mentorship, and helps nurseries attract and include male professionals.
Louise Herbert
Insightful Beginnings’ began in 2024, when Louise decided to start her own company providing Early Years and SEND advice to families, schools and settings who were not getting the support that they deserved. Louise is an experienced teacher and school leader who has worked in mainstream and special schools since 2008.
Dawn Rigby
Cheryl Warren
Cheryl has three decades of experience within the early years sector and is now a consultant and award- winning trainer. Her passion for acceptance for neurodiversity within early years is impactful, as a professional and as a parent of two neurodivergent children. She is an advocate for true inclusive practice, enabling ALL children to be heard and accepted for their uniqueness.
Sue Newman
Sue Newman BA(Hons) ACA, Managing Director at Boogie Mites UK Ltd and Community Projects CIC, co-founded Boogie Mites in 2007 after leaving a corporate career. She has expanded the company internationally with online music programs and teacher training, and established a CIC for grant-funded projects for children facing barriers.
Yasmin Darling
Yasmin Darling is a consultant, writer, and speaker specialising in neurodivergence, SEND, early years, wellbeing, and systemic change. A neurodivergent Londoner in the Cotswolds, she is a single parent and carer. With 28+ years of experience, Yasmin excels in leading transformative change and fostering community through humour and warmth.
Julia Maynard
Julia Maynard, Director and Trainer at Blue Orkids Training Provider and Managing Director at Happy Orkids Nursery, holds a Master of Education. With over a decade of experience, she excels in leadership, mentoring, and staff development, passionately delivering high-quality early education services.
Sonia Mainstone-Cotton
Sonia Mainstone-Cotton supports 3- and 4-year-olds with social, emotional, and mental health needs. She trains on children’s SEMH and wellbeing and has written 11 books, including Supporting Children with Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs in the Early Years (Routledge, 2021) and several titles published by JKP.
Alison Featherbe
Alison Featherbe is a leading authority in the EYFS, award-winning trainer, and consultant. Alison provides advice and support to Early Years owners, leaders and managers and is a mentor for students undertaking their Early Years Teacher Training. Alison has created a membership community and is your virtual Early Years Consultant.