Webinar: Being and Becoming a Froebelian Community of Evidenced Practice

Chris is Director of Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC), based at the St Thomas Children's Centre in Birmingham. She holds professorships with the University of Wolverhampton and Birmingham City University. She is a Founder and President of the European Early Childhood Education Research Association and a Vice President of Early Education. Chris was awarded an OBE for Services to Early Childhood in 2001 and the Nursery World Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.

Chris is also a co-director of The Froebel Partnership - a Froebelian training and research programme (funded by the Froebel Trust) which ran from 2021 to 2024.

She has researched and written extensively on the policy and practice of early childhood education and development and the quality of early education services.

Sally is currently the headteacher of Guildford Nursery School and Family Centre (GNSFC). Sally is committed to working collaboratively and building positive relationships with children, their families and educators that are underpinned with mutual trust and respect. She has a successful track record in the fields of school improvement and pedagogy, which has been recognised at a national level.

Sally has taught across the whole primary age range; she has been a deputy headteacher of a large primary, a senior Early Years consultant in two London boroughs, a Regional Advisor for the National Strategies and a strategic lead for a locality of children’s centres.

Sally is successfully leading the development of Froebelian pedagogy at GNSFC. Froebelian principles guide Sally’s work with children, parents and staff.

Tina is considered a world-leading Froebelian educator. She trained as a primary school teacher at the Froebel Educational Institute. She has written and edited many books about early childhood education and is perhaps best known for the 'ten principles of early childhood education' first published in 1987 in her book Early Childhood Education.

Many know Tina for her writing and extensive work supporting adults spending time with children and exploring the interdependent features to be found in young children’s play – promoting the need for knowledgeable educators to make time and opportunity for children to develop their play in schools and early years settings.

In the 1970s she was appointed head of the small Froebel Nursery Research School in the grounds of the Froebel College, working with the Research Fellow Chris Athey, and later joined the staff of what became the University of Roehampton, as a senior lecturer

She co-founded the Centre for Early Childhood Studies (which later became the Early Childhood Research Centre at Roehampton University). As an educator she is guided by Froebelian principles, being known for her ability to interweave theory and practice in creative and challenging ways.

From 1989, Tina has worked with a freelance portfolio with CPD and consultancy across a variety of early childhood contexts.

In the 1990s and into the 2000s she worked with successive Ministers for Children – becoming Coordinator of the Early Years Advisory Group.

In 2008, she was made a CBE for Services to Early Childhood Education and in 2014 was given the Nursery World Lifetime Achievement Award.

Tina, with a group of Froebelian colleagues, helped to re-establish the Froebel Certificate courses in Scotland and at the University of Roehampton. She led the group who subsequently developed these into a format for the Froebel Trust Short Courses. These introduced Froebel’s main ideas and educational approach. They are designed for everyone who works with babies and young children in early years settings and schools today. In the past year alone, the Froebel Trust offered over 1,500 training places for educators in the UK, allowing them to take part in the Short Courses originally developed by Tina.

You can download a free Froebel Trust pamphlet by Prof. Tina Bruce 'Empowering learning: Play, symbols and creativity' (Released in September 2023).

Dr Helen Lyndon trained as a primary school teacher and is now a Principal Research Fellow at CREC.

Anne (Te Rarawa) has worked as a teacher, headteacher, specialist teacher, advisor and consultant in both New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Sue has been headteacher of two maintained nursery schools and is now the joint co-ordinator of the Birmingham Early Years Networks, UK.

Jane is an associate tutor on the Froebel in Childhood Practice course at the University of Edinburgh and a Froebel Trust Travelling Tutor.

She is author of the Froebel Trust pamphlet on Froebel’s Gifts and Block Play Today and co-authored Sewing with Young Children. She has published chapters in 'Early Childhood Practice: Froebel Today' (2012) and co-edited the award winning book 'Putting Storytelling at the Heart of Early Childhood Practice' (2020) and 'The Bloomsbury Handbook to Friedrich Froebel' (2023).

Jane trained as a primary school teacher, later specialising in early years and went on to become Headteacher at two local authority nursery schools in Edinburgh. In 2019 Jane was awarded an MBE for services to Early Childhood Education.

Sara is a trained early childhood teacher in New Zealand. She established a private centre, The Cottage Kindergarten in 2012. Continuing to study she graduated as Master of Education Practice in 2024. She leads a team of ten, and since starting the online Froebel short course in 2022 with her colleague Maree Mascard, has journeyed into implementing Froebelian Principles & Practices. She is a founding member of Froebel Aotearoa New Zealand, committed to the goal of creating a place for all those interested in the Froebel approach to education, to connect, share practice, ideas, training, and resources.

Angharad is a Senior Teacher at Guildford Nursery School. She has been an early years’ teacher for 20 years, spending the majority of her career teaching in central London. Angharad is in her final year of her Master’s degree in Early Education at CREC and is currently writing her dissertation on developing Froebelian principles in lunchtime provision, using the Reflection with Guidance toolkit.