Nursery World Awards 2021 - Trainer of the Year

You can download the digital Awards book here

With previous experience as a nanny, childminder, special school teaching assistant, nursery practitioner, pre-school SEN adviser, early years development officer and governor, among many other roles, Alison draws on her enormous wealth of expertise and understanding to inspire all those she works with to develop their own skillsets to deliver innovative early years care and education.

Alison offers a ‘bespoke’ service to all providers of the Early Years Foundation Stage and prides herself on providing advice, support and training that is both reflective and focused. Her approach helps those she works with to develop their own skills in leadership and management, self-evaluation and staff development.

Alison’s passion and dedication to the sector are not only evident through her incredible training and services, but also in her tireless efforts to arrange affordable, accessible and relevant training days, ensuring that even settings with the tightest budgets can access high-quality CPD. Alison organises these events with the best interests of both practitioners and children in mind.

Alison never stops learning, growing and adapting her services to suit the fast-paced, ever-changing needs of the sector. She has recently qualified as a Schema Play trainer and as an NSPCC Competent trainer for Safeguarding and Child Protection.

She is currently working as an associate trainer for a safeguarding charity, is a mentor for Early Years Initial Teacher Training students, and the chair of trustees for a nursery in Brighton, as well as developing her own company, Orange Caterpillar, which she set up in 2014.

She has been independently supporting Schema Play practice and Early Childhood Education for Sustainable Citizenship in pre-schools and higher education.

In November 2019 she contributed her case study to the OMEP-UK Early Childhood Education for Sustainable Citizenship webinar.

She has also been pivotal in developing large scale events in the sector, including the Minding the Gap conferences and two ‘BrewEDEY’ events.

Alison also delivers CPD training discussions for free via Clubhouse, tackling, discussing and advising on a multitude of hot topics within the sector with participants from across the early education field every week, as well as supporting hundreds of colleagues and practitioners nationwide through her VIP groups and support groups on Facebook.

One nursery provider says of Alison’s approach, ‘Alison has always been a great mentor with an ability to organise my brain. Each of her visits brings a new challenge and invites reflection. I believe Alison is the best outsourced provider we’ve ever had.’

JOINT WINNER

Ruth Swailes, Assure Education

FINALISTS

Kelly Cave, Strode College

Kate Wake, National Extension College

CRITERION

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