Blog Contributors

Peter Samuel

I’m the founder of ELHQ, I design most of the resources on the site and I try to write on the blog as often as possible. I created the site not long after graduating from UCL with a masters degree in law. I decided that the legal profession wasn’t for me so I started a graphic design and printing business (as you do). ELHQ is an offshoot of this business and it has been a real labour of love to create.

Amelia Chamberlain

Amelia is a full time journalism student at Cardiff University. She researches and writes about topical news events relating to early childhood education.

Rona Barbour

Rona works as a storyteller visiting schools and institutions all of the UK and abroad. She is also the 'Storyteller In Residence' for Education in Action Zone, Liverpool. She has been a keynote speaker at the ICAN conference and the Early Education Conference If you would like to get in touch with Rona please visit her website: www.Thestoryteller.co.uk

Katherine Lewis

Katherine is a EYP and daycare manager and children's centre teacher at an early years centre in Hertfordshire.

Josie Whitehead

Josie Whitehead is a retired teacher and a published children’s poet whose rhyming and rhythmic poetry is used in countless schools and loved by children all over the world. To view examples of her work please visit her website: josiespoems

Clare Lord

Clare has worked as a nursery teacher, Head of Foundation Stage unit & an Early Years Advisory Teacher and SEAD Advisor for Norfolk County Council. She is also a Forest School leader & has had high involvement in the implementation of the Forest School approach in settings across Norfolk. She offers a range of consultancy & training services: www.earlyfoundations.co.uk

Heather Stack

Heather established Learning Services (SEN) Ltd in January 2001 after a decade of working in Local Authority support services. Her goals are to work always to enhance the lives and life outcomes of children and young people with SEN.

Sue Kerrigan

Sue is a part-time special needs teacher, a private tutor and runs her own teaching resources website for special needs teachers. She will be sharing her creative teaching ideas on the blog.

Sandra Brouet

Sandra Brouet is a Learning and Development Consultant and Director of Early Years CPD an online CACHE accredited training centre and provider of informal learning solutions to the early years sector.

Julie Meighan

Julie Meighan is a lecturer in Early Years Education at the Cork Institute of Technology. She has over 15 years experience of teaching Drama to children.

Alistair Bryce-Clegg

Alistair enjoyed a successful 10 year career as the Head Teacher of three-form entry Infant School and Early Years Unit in Cheshire. Alongside his headship he established a successful consultancy career specialising in the education of children in the Early Years: www.abcdoes.com

Mary Medlicott

Mary is an author and storyteller. She has carried out storytelling training for many organisations including the Institute of Education in London and has spoken on storytelling at conferences up and down the land. She is currently taking time to write about storytelling. She has a Storytelling Blog called Storytelling Starters.

Angela & Andrew Scullin

Angela & Andrew have worked in the field of youth theatre for many years. Angela ran her own theatre school and now works as a freelance tutor, director and choreographer. Andrew has a background in rock music but was invited to play the role of the man eating plant in Little Shop of Horrors and has had an interest in musical theatre ever since. Together they run Lucky Bucket Productions, providing schools and theatre groups with original shows for performance.

Lindsay Jane Hunter

Liz Gibbs

Liz is a freelance national and international teaching and learning consultant for mathematics and ICT. This autumn Liz is currently running courses in Suffolk, London and Hong Kong. You can find out more by visiting her website. www.thebusylizzie.co.uk

Barbara Carr

Barbara runs a numeracy consultancy company. She draws from a range of teaching experiences in primary, middle and secondary schools spanning 25 years. Barbara was closely involved with the development of 'Catch-Up Numeracy' and has developed her own inclusion products. She is being sponsored to set up an innovative mathematics centre in a primary school in Slough that will bring training alive by involving children on site.

Tamara Macfarlane

Tamara is a former art and literacy co-ordinator, published children’s book author and founder of award winning children’s bookshop: Tales on Moon Lane in Herne Hill, South London.

Professors Chris Pascal & Tony Bertram

Tony & Chris are both Directors of CREC and members of the DCSF Early Education Advisory Group. Chris is also director of the Effective Early Learning Project and the Accounting Early for Life Long Learning Project. Tony is also Director of Amber Publications and Training, past president and co-founder of the European Early Childhood Research Association, founder member of the UK Early Years Curriculum Group and a member of the national executive of TACTYC.

Steve Woods

Steve is a Primary Advisory Teacher (ICT), VLE Consultant and a secondary school ICT Innovator. He is also the author of The Essential Guide to Using ICT Creatively in the Primary Classroom/. You can get in touch with him via his website: http://www.stevewoods.co.uk/

Sal McKeown

Sal McKeown is a freelance journalist for special needs. She has two books out early in 2012. Brilliant Ideas for Using ICT in the Inclusive Classroom (David Fulton / Nasen) by Sal McKeown and Angie McGlashon How to help your Dyslexic and Dyspraxic Child: A practical guide for parents (White Ladder). You can get in touch with her via her website: www.sallymckeown.co.uk/s

Katrina Parsons

Katrina is a self-taught cook who is passionate about passing on an interest in food and basic cooking skills to families and children. She owns a small business called Kitchen Fairy Godmother in Norwich which provides cooking lessons, children’s cooking parties and a variety of cookery workshops.

Guest

Rachel Riggs

Rachel is an internationally experienced visual theatre artist/producer. She devises and creates theatre projects with professionals, community groups and young people, collaborating together to visually tell stories. She initiates exciting and innovative practical arts projects, drawing on site and history, local & global. Following her Masters in Fine Art – Site & Archive, and Early Years Professional status award, Rachel has became a specialized Early Years Arts creative consultant with her Imaginary Leaps , family engagement programme.

Abby Herbert

Abby is our marketing executive / the marketing department. She will be writing for the blog as and when she has time as well as managing our social media activities. If you have any stories you would like to share her email address is [email protected].

Michael Jones

Michael Jones has a background in Speech and Language Therapy and teaching. Michael has been a SENCo and class teacher in infant, primary and middle schools. He was head of the Luton Traveller Education Service and went on to become Luton's advisory teacher for children with speech and language difficulties. Michael is now a freelance trainer in young children's communication. He led the Every Child a Talker project in three different boroughs. To find out more about Michael's work visit talk4meaning.co.uk.

Jan & Morag

Jan & Morag are Directors of Talk With Sign Books which they set up in September 2010, they have 10 years experience in this field. They not only sell the books, DVDs and CDs produced by D/deaf and hearing people, they are also publishers of books and DVDs relating to D/deafness and British Sign Language. They are passionate about promoting Deaf awareness in schools, nurseries and the work place, and travel around the country to exhibitions.

Tim London

Tim is a former stand-up comedian turned primary school teacher. He works in North London and since January 2010 has been writing a blog about his experiences, entitled ‘Are you an alien: Experiences of a male Primary School teacher’. The blog contains stories of his efforts to cope with going back to school, twenty years after he’d first left.

Vickiie Oliphant

Journalism student at Brunel, West London. Interested in British Politics, Human Rights and the Arts. Enjoys writing and photography.

Dr David Smawfield

Dr David Smawfield is a, UK based, senior international development consultant. While much of his current professional activity centres around programme and project design and evaluation for major donors, he retains a strong interest in teacher education and materials development, and with particular reference to active learning approaches and low-cost teaching aids.

Jenny Thresher

Jenny used to work as a paediatric speech and language therapist and is now co-director of The Childminding Shop, an online specialist supplier of toys and resources for Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1.

Judith Twani

Judith is an inspiring and motivating trainer who combines theory and practical hands on experiences successfully to create an unforgettable day.

Christine Towndrow

With experience teaching English and Maths as a tutor to small groups and individual children and as a dyslexia specialist Christine set up Grammar Gamecards in 2000. Grammar Gamecards produces a wide range of educational games that help make learning Primary Maths and English topics fun. The products which cover key National Curriculum areas include card games and board games, making them perfect for home or school use.

Catherine Hall

Since Catherine retired from Primary teaching in 2011 she has continued her passion to help children achieve their potential through her consultancy and tutoring services. She specialises in helping children with learning difficulties like dyslexia and dyscalculia. Catherine has mild dyslexia herself which helps her to have even more empathy with children who are finding their work at school difficult.

Hilary Preece

Hilary is an independent early years consultant and freelance early years inspector. She has extensive experience as a practitioner, advisor and as an Ofsted inspector. She offers consultancy advice and support to the whole range of early years settings. She can advise on all areas of early years practice but specialises in preparing settings for their Ofsted inspection and offers mock inspections and audits of practice tailored to individual needs and budgets. She also provides post-inspection to help settings target improvement where it is needed. www.earlyyearssuccess.co.uk.

Dr Margaret Simms

Margaret is a born-again Christian who seeks to encourage others to achieve their full potential. Her work focuses on equipping Early Years practitioners, professionals and parents for their increasingly challenging roles. She has extensive experience in Early Years, Further and Higher Education. In 2005, Margaret set up ‘ProCEEd’ to meet providers’ needs for affordable Early Years consultancy offering training, research, evaluation and events.