Nursery group launches training academy

The N Academy includes a leadership programme, foundation awards and continuing professional development and is based on the London nursery group’s bespoke curriculum and pedagogy.

Sarah Mackenzie, chief education and people officer at N Family Club, said that launching The N Academy in the middle of a pandemic was ‘testament to our team’s resilience and commitment’.

Founded in 2017, the nursery group has six nurseries in London, with ten more opening this year and further plans to expand across the capital and the Home Counties.

Jess Ringer, head of learning and engagement at N Family Club, said, 'The N Academy coming to life is an amazing opportunity for us to give something back to our teams. We're passionate about challenging sector norms at N, and our academy plays a large part in helping to transform early years into the respected profession that it deserves to be recognised as.'

The academy is currently focused on providing learning opportunities for its teams, taking a 'blended' approach with a mix of webinars, manager coaching, and experiential learning to make sure everything learned is put into practice.

Plans for The N Academy include gaining accreditation for teams to achieve professional qualifications in-house and introducing social learning to give them more tools to share skills and learn from one another.

The academy also offers specialist courses for those who want to lead in a particular focus area, such as Forest School Leaders, Atelieristas or Team Happiness Champions.

Ms Mackenzie added, ‘Core to our N Pedagogy is our belief in the link between our teams' learning and the children's.

'The N Academy provides our teams with professional development opportunities and all the skills, knowledge, and understanding needed to support children to achieve their full potential.

‘That might include understanding the perspective of a two-year-old, deep-diving into how our N Curriculum supports children's holistic health or learning strategies to enhance their teaching. With many more exciting developments planned, we're very excited by the future of The N Academy.’