The Big Day Out Advisory Board provides an opportunity to help shape the early years sector and its representation through the show, by providing honest and appropriate feedback, new ideas, advice and insight into the changing early years sector, in a bid to aid the continued growth Nursery World's big Day Out and drive the show forward together.
Adam Marycz, Early Years Consultant, Teacher, Writer, Trainer and Early Childhood Advocate
Adam is currently the Early Years Education Consultant at TTS Resources as well as a writer and trainer who was previously an Early Years teacher and manager of ‘Outstanding’ early years and wraparound provision settings for over 14 years.
Alexia Fenn, Chief Operating Officer, Fennies
Alexia joined the early years sector three years ago to bring my operational knowledge to the Fennies group and support its growth. Since then, she's had the opportunity to work closely with Admissions, Finance, Marketing, and the People Function, focusing on attracting talent and encouraging more people to consider early years education as a fulfilling career path.
Angelica Deassis, COO, Little Elms
As a former Ofsted inspector, Angelica conducted inspections across various settings. Currently Angelica de Assis is the COO for Little Elms, Angelica stated that “I’m proud to champion our shared values of diversity, creativity, and collaboration, making a positive impact on families and communities”.
Anna Speke, Early Years Education Officer, nasen
Anna is Early Years Education Officer at nasen (National Association for Special Educational Needs). She is an experienced SENCO and SEND Lead, having worked across different local authorities and within multi-academy trusts
Caroline Wright, Director of Early Childhood, Bright Horizons UK
Caroline is currently employed as the Director of Early Childhood for Bright Horizons UK. Formerly EYFS quality improvement lead in a Local Authority and Ofsted inspector for over 14 years.
Catherine McLeod, Charity Leader
Catherine has been a charity leader for over 25 years, and is passionate about equity and inclusion for young people with disabilities. She became the Chief Executive of Dingley’s Promise in 2015, and has grown the organisation from a small local charity to a national one that delivers training and influences policy alongside its core local support services.
Catherine Stoneman, COO, Kido
Catherine joined the team at Kido six and a half years ago when they had one nursery in London. Since then, the group has grown to 17 Good and Outstanding rated nurseries. As COO Catherine oversees all things performance, people, training and culture related.
Clare Roberts, CEO, Kids Planet
Clare is CEO and founder of Kids Planet, which she founded in 2008, having noticed a lack of high quality, flexible childcare for working parents. Kids Planet provides the highest standard of nursery care in unique environments across the Northwest, North East, Yorkshire, The Midlands and North Wales.
Colin Stangl, Sales Manager, Community Playthings
Since 2017, I have been the UK Sales Manager at Community Playthings, leading our sales and events teams to support educators in creating safe, nurturing environments for children.
Our mission is to empower schools and nurseries to create spaces that foster exploration and growth, enabling children to thrive.
Courtney Donaldson, Managing Director of Childcare & Education
As Managing Director of Childcare & Education, Courteney has a vast range of expertise in the childcare and education sectors. She has specialised in the childcare sector since 1999, providing valuation, transactional and consultative advice to operators, banks, and investors.
David Wright, Advisor, National Association of Headteachers
David Wright is the former owner of Paint Pots Nurseries, an award winning group of
daycare settings in Southampton. Amongst several roles, David acts as an advisor to various organisations including the National Association of Headteachers. He is an Early Childhood Education ambassador, author, broadcaster, commentator,
presenter, consultant, TEDx speaker, trainer, editorial board member, trustee and national representative to the World Forum on ECE.
Dr Aaron Bradbury, Principle Lecturer for Early Years and Childhood and Early Years Studies, Nottingham Trent University
Dr Aaron Bradbury is the Principal Lecturer for Early Years and Childhood and Early Childhood Studies at Nottingham Trent University. Aaron is a member of the Coalition for the Early Years on the Birth to Five Matters Non Statutory Guidance for the EYFS and chaired and written the Equalities and Inclusion section with colleagues in the sector.
Dr Mine Conkbayir, Founder, Applying Neuroscience to Early Years Intervention: One Practitioner at a Time
Award-winning author, trainer and researcher, Dr Mine Conkbayir has worked in early childhood education and care for 25 years. She is a recipient of the Nursery Management Today Top 5 Most Inspirational People in Childcare Award. Mine passionately bridges the knowledge gap between neuroscience and early years and was a key contributor to the non-statutory guidance, Birth to Five Matters, for the Early Years Foundation Stage and the Education Endowment Foundation’s guidance on the subject of self-regulation.
Elouise Bishop, Co-Founder, Quint Education
Elouise, a seasoned HR professional with a degree in Human Resource Management, is passionate about connecting talented individuals with rewarding careers in the early years sector. She co-founded Quint Education in November 2014, and since then, the agency has become a leading provider of temporary and permanent staff to nurseries, schools, and childcare settings across London, Essex, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, and Surrey.
Emma Geary, Area Director, Busy Bees Childcare
My name is Emma, and I am an Area Director for Busy Bees Childcare. I have worked for Busy Bees for 13 years, starting as a student, completing one of my placements within their Burton branch, to progressing to my current position. I have always had a passion for Early Years and ensuring that each child within our Centre's has access to only the best quality of education, which enables them to have the foundations for lifelong learning. To do this, there must be a focus on our colleagues and fantastic key workers, to ensure they are given all the tools and knowledge to provide expert teaching.
Faye O'Rouke, Nursery Owner & Social Media Award Winner
Faye is an innovative leader in the Early Years Industry, recognised for her fresh approach to recruiting and retaining staff.
Driven by a passion and enthusiasm for the Early Years sector, Faye recently took a bold step by opening her own farm day nursery in Essex.
James Hempsall, OBE, Managing Director, Coram Hempsall
James Hempsall OBE is a prominent figure in the UK children’s services sector. He is the Managing Director of Coram Hempsall’s and the National Director for Childcare Works. With over 30 years of experience, he has been instrumental in driving service improvements and leading national implementation of key government programmes in early years and childcare.
Jess O'Brien, Director of Partnerships and Operations, Montessori Global Education
Jess’ professional background spans charities, children’s services and local government, with over 25 years in the third and public sectors. Having started her career in the education department at London Borough of Waltham Forest, Jess’ extensive experience includes leading effective projects, developing collaborative partnerships, and improving the quality of frontline services.
John Warren, Education Manager, Asquith Day Nurseries
John has over 40 years experience within the childcare and education arena, starting out with his NNEB 1983 to his Masters at Sheffield University in 2012. He has a huge array of experience from his time in the sector, including as a nursery nurse, nursery manager, Family Centre worker and community development worker.
June O'Sullivan, OBE, Chief Executive, London Early Years Foundation
Read June’s blog: http://www.leyf.org.uk/blog
As CEO and creator of the UK's leading childcare social enterprise, June continues to break new ground in the development of LEYF's scalable social business model and more recently launching the innovative London Institute of Early Years.
Lorna Wigley, Quality and Training Director, Childbase Partnership Ltd
Passionate about the value of Early Years care and education and the need for quality training for educators of the very young, Lorna Wigley has over 20 years’ experience in a variety of sector leadership roles. Lorna currently oversees the quality in 44 award-winning day nurseries at Childbase where the benchmark for safe, nurturing environments is extremely high.
Lydia Hopper, CEO, Grandir UK
With a deep-rooted passion for Early Years and Education, I have dedicated my career to shaping the landscape of the learning and development of the teams who are working directly with the children. As a seasoned professional with a comprehensive background in the Early Years sector spanning over 30 years, I have evolved into my current role as the CEO of Grandir UK, driving transformative change and fostering a culture of excellence.
Marcia Brown, Deputy Operations Director, Busy Bees Nurseries
I have worked in Early Years for over 28 years, initially completing my BTEC National Diploma in Childhood studies and then completing my BA Honours in Early Years. Within my current role I am responsible for delivering Excellence across Quality ,Safety and all operational elements for 47 Nurseries with direct responsibility for coaching and leading a team of Area Directors to achieve and exceed performance KPI’s and more.
Michelle Harris, Managing Director, Rhymetime, Woodleys and Cherry Blossom Network
Michelle Harris is the Managing Director of the Rhymetime, Woodleys and Cherry Blossom network of eight children’s day nurseries across Northamptonshire, built over 25 years of dedication to early childhood education. Recognised as one of the 20 most influential figures in the industry, Michelle is passionate about upskilling the work force and recently completed a master's in education, proving that education is a lifelong journey.
Neil Leitch, CEO, Early Years Alliance
Neil joined the Alliance as a volunteer and in 2008, was appointed as its CEO, overseeing its rebrand to the Early Years Alliance in 2019 – a change that reflected its ambition to give a united voice to all involved in caring and educating young children.
Neil has fronted numerous sector campaigns on fair funding, the mental health of the early years workforce and notably, Rewind on Ratios. He has provided evidence to multiple government inquiries, and played a pivotal role in developing the two-year-old early entitlement offer.
Neil was recognised in the 2022 New Year Honours list, when he was awarded an OBE for services to education and more recently, an honorary doctorate in education by the University of East London in recognition of his tireless advocacy for the early years sector.
He remains a powerful voice for the sector, fighting to ensure early years is recognised as an integral part of our national education system.
Sacha Powell, Chief Executive Officer, The Froebel Trust
Sacha Powell is Chief Executive Officer of The Froebel Trust. She oversees the organisation's charitable activities, which include grant-giving for research and practice development, subsidised training, and free Early Years resources and events. Sacha has a PhD in Early Childhood Education and was previously a university professor and research centre director. For ten years, she co-led the Baby Room Project and managed its annual conferences. Sacha often speaks at national and international events and is the author of more than 50 education publications. Her newest book is published by Bloomsbury in spring 2025: Pedagogies of Care with One-Year-Olds, co-authored with colleagues in USA, New Zealand and Hong Kong.
Sarah Ellis, Business Development Director, Early Years Alliance
I began my career over 30 years ago volunteering in a baby and toddler group, and have moved through many different roles in the sector. I worked as a Pre-school manager in a voluntary managed setting before joining the Early Years Alliance as a Pre-school development worker and a tutor giving, advice, support and guidance to early years providers.
I now lead the Alliance's business development team as their Business Development Director, which is a varied and rewarding role, leading on a number of projects supporting children and families in some of the most deprived areas of England, the development of accredited CPD training to our members, and finding new ways to work with partners to further support the sector.
As a long-time supporter of the magazine, I am delighted to be part of the Nursery World Advisory board in this their centenary year.
Sarah Sanger, Founder, The Woodentops Nurseries
Sarah brings a wealth of knowledge from over 25 years both inside and outside the education sector, with a background in finance, strategy and research before moving into Early Years. Sarah began her career working in strategy consulting, first for Arthur Andersen and then for Bain & Company in London.
After a decade of consulting she returned to her roots of Early Years, having grown up in a teaching household with a kindergarten in the front room. Sarah established The Woodentops Nurseries nearly 15 years ago with a vision to bring the highest quality of education to the youngest children in her local community. She has overseen the growth of the nursery business and also The White House Prep School, her family school, which remains the only wholly proprietor owned school in South London.
Dr Sue Allingham, Independent Early Years Consultant
‘An inspirational trainer who listens’
@DrSue22
Sue started as a teacher, finally becoming a Senior Early Years Lead in a Primary School and Lead Teacher for her Local Authority. Moving into research Sue gained an MA then a Doctorate, both in Early Childhood Education, from Sheffield University. This led to becoming a Local Authority Early Years Adviser enabling her to develop her practice working with provision across the EYFS. As an Independent Consultant, Author and Trainer, Sue is known for her practical style of working through coaching, mentoring, modelling, training and working alongside teams to develop practice and provision.
Her interests in teaching and learning have led to work on emotional and physical environments that will support informed teaching and learning through an understanding of neuroscience and physical development.
Matt Arnerich, Senior Director of Brand and Comms, Famly
Matt Arnerich is Famly's Sr. Director of Brand and Comms, looking after the way the UK's biggest Early Childhood Platform tells their story, and supports the EY sector along the way. He is the writer of Famly's inaugural 'Respect the Sector' report, and the producer of their 2021 Documentary 'The EYFS Tracking Lie. He has always found writing about himself in the third person for these bios a bit weird.
Suzanne Rowley, Senior Early Years and Childcare Improvement Adviser, The Education People
I have currently been employed as a full time Senior Early Years and Childcare Improvement adviser for The Education People for the past six years . I have a strategic responsibility for workforce training and maintaining the quality of safeguarding, leadership and quality of teaching and learning in the private, voluntary and independent sector.
I’m honoured to join the Nursery World advisory board and look forward to contributing to the future of early years education.