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Simon Bateson

Simon was a Co-director of Froebelian Futures, an international training and research programme (funded by the Froebel Trust 2021- 2024) which aimed to develop and deepen Froebelian pedagogy and leadership in Scotland and beyond. He teaches on the Froebel and Social Justice MSc at The University of Edinburgh.
Simon works as a senior practitioner with young children at Cowgate Under 5's Centre in Edinburgh.

In 2024, he co-led a Froebel Trust funded research project which considered anti-racist practice in early childhood education today and co-authored (with Dr Shaddai Tembo) a guide for educators: Playing with Power (free to download).

He has a diverse leadership background in the arts, social justice and environmental sectors in Scotland and has served on a number of third sector boards. Simon is the founder of the Scottish social change charity, Take One Action.

Kayla Halls

Kayla Halls is a Research Fellow at Middlesex University.

Kayla worked alongside Dr Mona Sakr on a Froebel Trust funded research project: Exploring Froebelian Principles in Early Years Leadership (November 2024).

She recently completed her MA in Early Childhood at University of Roehampton.

Sam Jones

Sam Jones is Headteacher at Tremorfa Nursery School in Wales.

Sam has recently taken part in the Froebel Trust Short Courses and leads a maintained nursery school in Cardiff. The nursery school is family-centred, "... a resource for the whole community..." offering courses for parents, baby groups and a community café on site.

Dr Agnes Agyepong

Agnes Agyepong is a mother of three and the Founder and CEO of Global Black Maternal Health, a leading advocate for empowering Black communities to reclaim their health narratives. Agnes spearheaded the pioneering Black Child SEND report and conference, highlighting the experiences of Black children and their families with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

As a maternal health advocate and former Head of Engagement at a national charity, Agnes is dedicated to promoting representative research in maternal health, education and healthcare.

Janice Marriott

Janice Marriott is Head of Tuffkid Nursery which is part of Kisharon Langdon. Kisharon Langdon offers education, opportunity and support for people with learning disabilities and their families throughout life’s journey.

Tuffkid is a Jewish nursery for mainstream children and those with disabilities and special educational needs, with an integrated approach to learning through play. Tuffkid has been recognised by Ofsted three consecutive times as ‘Outstanding’.

Janice has been working as Head of Tuffkid for 22 years and has a background in Education and Therapy. Having completed four Elements of the Froebel Trust Short Courses at Tuffkid, Janice has introduced Froebel to Kisharon School which has been participating in the yearlong Froebel Trust Online Course. Janice has promoted parent involvement with Froebel in the nursery with Dr Stella Louis supporting Parent Evening.

You can find out more about Janice in this Nursery World article (published in August 2022)

Eve Mawby Whistler

Eve Mawby Whistler worked in a maintained nursery school in Peckham, London for over 6 years and is currently a nursery teacher in a primary school in Cambridgeshire. She gained her MA in Early Childhood Studies at University of Roehampton and it was there that she became inspired by a Froebelian approach to early education. She is now a Froebel Trust Travelling Tutor, sharing her Froebelian knowledge and supporting educators in schools and settings across the UK.

Eve co-authored the Froebel Trust pamphlet 'Supporting children with additional needs'. Published in September 2024. Free to download.

Professor Liz Roberts

Liz Roberts is a consultant, editor and writer. She started working at Nursery World in 1996 leading its editorial operations for many years. Liz stepped down as editor-in-chief in 2023.

She frequently chairs early years events, as well as commenting on the early years sector for national TV, radio and newspapers. During her career Liz has been a member of several early years sector working groups and think-tanks. She is also a trustee of CREC, the Centre for Research in Early Childhood.

Tina Bruce CBE

Tina Bruce is considered a world-leading Froebelian educator. She has written or edited over 30 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 about young children’s play – introducing the idea of 'free flow play' and championing the need for children to be given time and opportunity to play in schools and early years settings.

In the 1990s and into the 2000s she worked with successive Ministers for Children - as Coordinator of the Early Years Advisory Group. During her career, Tina has worked with a freelance portfolio with CPD and consultancy across a variety of early childhood context.

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

In 2008, she was made a CBE for Services to early years 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 designed by Tina.

Professor Usha Goswami

Usha Goswami CBE FRS FBA is Professor of Cognitive Developmental Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge. She is also founding Director of the Centre for Neuroscience in Education.

After training as a primary school teacher, Usha decided to pursue research in child psychology. Her core interests are the neural mechanisms underpinning language acquisition, including relationships to the rhythmic structure of infant- and child-directed speech and the brain basis of dyslexia and speech and language difficulties. She is researching the potential utility of assistive listening technology, coupled with music- and rhythm-based behavioural interventions. Find out more at BabyRhythm.

Jane Whinnett MBE

Jane Whinnett MBE 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.

Professor Dominic Wyse

Dominic Wyse FAcSS FRSA is Professor of Early Childhood and Primary Education at the Institute of Education (IOE), University College London (UCL).

He is Founding Director of the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Pedagogy (0-11 Years) (HHCP), a research centre devoted to improving young children’s education. Dominic was President of the British Educational Research Association (BERA) from 2019 to 2022.

Dominic has made a leading contribution to research on curriculum and pedagogy, including national curricula, for more than 25 years. He has led multiple research projects and has published many books and research papers. Dominic’s main research is on effective teaching of reading and writing.

His book ‘The Balancing Act: An Evidence-Based Approach to Teaching Phonics, Reading and Writing’ (co-authored with Charlotte Hacking. Routledge Publishing), and a research paper, advanced ‘The Double Helix of Reading and Writing’, a new theory and model for teaching. Dominic’s research on writing developed ‘the ear of the writer’ as a metaphor for effective writing across the life course, for novice and expert writers. This multidisciplinary research was published in the book ‘How Writing Works: From the invention of the alphabet to the rise of social media’ (Cambridge University Press). An original feature of the work was the comparisons made between language and music.

Dominic’s research on grammar and writing, in the context of national curricula, has included seminal research papers and more recently a randomised controlled trial to examine a new approach to teaching grammar. The book ‘Teaching English, Language and Literacy - 5th Edition’ (with Helen Bradford and John-Mark Winstanley. Routledge) has been a leading text for teachers and teacher education for more than 20 years.