Nursery World Awards 2022 - Trainer of the Year

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Cheryl is a specialist SEND trainer, but offers broader training within the EYFS to support and improve outcomes for children.

She offers a range of delivery options, from face-to-face on-site training with whole group teams working on specific issues, to webinars for clients across the world, to working with staff on a one-to-one basis.

She has also delivered a whole programme of training for one nursery, who say, ‘Cheryl has a crisp, encouraging and engaging delivery style, and she uses a blend of facilitation approaches including interactivity, and personal and team reflection. Her knowledge and passion for the subject matter meant that our colleagues left her sessions enthusiastic and well equipped with a new toolkit of strategies to use with their cohorts of children. A year on, self-regulation remains high on the nursery agenda.’

Often, her clients are individual SENDCOs, but she has recently begun to mentor a new area manager for a medium-sized chain of nurseries, helping to build confidence and show how knowledge and skills can work practically within a setting.

After working with a group or nursery, she will visit the individual settings to provide follow-up and ongoing support in order to reflect on the outcomes of the training and its effectiveness.

Cheryl develops her own skills by carrying out research on environmental audits for children, with the aim of improving environments, not only for children with special educational needs, but for all children who attend early years settings including childminders, both in the UK and worldwide.

She is carrying out some of this work on audits for free and in her own time.

At one nursery, she provided bespoke training on an INSET day. Staff and children were struggling with the environment, which had limited space. Children were becoming distressed and disengaged and staff’s well-being was also suffering. Cheryl listened to the challenges the setting was facing, made no judgements of the setting or staff, and provided helpful and constructive ways to improve the situation. Staff were left energised and wanting to make a difference, and children quickly began to engage in activities for longer periods. The quality of planning and interaction quickly improved.

As a parent of children with SEN, Cheryl’s training offer is of a consistently high standard while also being relatable. She suggests that settings do not see children as ‘school ready’, but rather to support schools to ‘be ready for the child’.

When working in a nursery setting, Cheryl is not afraid to get stuck in. She can often be found setting up areas, playing with children and engaging with staff. She leads by example and this enables staff to reflect on their practice and strive for excellence.

Cheryl is an inspirational speaker and an advocate for children with additional needs and their families. The fact that her passion for the topic stems from her own personal experiences makes it even more valuable. Cheryl is friendly, approachable and above all extremely knowledgeable.

FINALISTS

Amy Alderson and Drew Radford, Tops Day Nurseries

Dr Mine Conkbayir, Mine Conkbayir Consultancy

Trisha Lee, MakeBelieve Arts

Liz Pemberton, The Black Nursery Manager Training & Consultancy

Kym Scott, Place to Learn

CRITERION

Open to an individual or team responsible for early years and childcare training in colleges, training companies, as a consultant or in-house for nursery groups etc.