Jo Albin-Clark
Senior Lecturer in Early Years at Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, Lancashire
Jo Albin-Clark is a trainer and consultant specialising in early years. She is a former primary school deputy head and early year's advisory teacher. Now working as a senior lecturer in Early Years education at Edge Hill University, Jo provides consultancy across Knowsley’s Children’s Centres. Her latest project has been developing Experiential Learning, which focuses on children’s emotional well-being and involvement in play. Jo has worked on projects with the Halle orchestra, National Museums of Liverpool and Rochdale’s M6 Children’s Theatre. Jo was involved in the national consultation on the Arts Council England’s Artsmark for Early Years, and is one of Earlyarts' founding members. As well as being a mum to three children, she likes a chippy tea (with mushy peas) and a nice lie down.
Nathan Archer
Development Manager at Lincolnshire Montessori and Director of The Children's House, Lincolnshire
As Development Manager for Lincolnshire Montessori, Nathan leads on funding, marketing, PR, outreach and development projects, and has completed his Montessori Primary Certificate. Following a Postgraduate Diploma in Arts Management, Nathan worked for a local authority and TEC. Since then, he has been involved in developing two nurseries, spent a busy period as Business Support Officer for North East Lincolnshire EYDCP, worked with nursery schools, Early Excellence Centres and sourced substantial SRB and ERDF funds for childcare development. More recently, Nathan has worked freelance with Sure Start Children's Centres and private and voluntary early years providers. Nathan also writes for sector publications.
Ruth Churchill Dower
Director of Earlyarts, Holmfirth, West Yorkshire
Earlyarts operates through a pioneering approach to creative early education, working in collaboration with our Affiliate Training partners who train 600 arts and early years professionals each year. This enables the company to have a positive impact on the lives of 20,000 children and families. In 2009, Ruth won the Ogunte Women’s Social Leadership award for her work in building Earlyarts. She is a fellow of the RSA and member of the Cultural Learning Alliance, the Social Enterprise Coalition, Small Size, the National Strategy Group for Early Years, and supports the government task force on Early Years Foundation Stage. A renowned author, advisor and media commentator, Ruth helps strategic thinkers to make sense of complex agendas, always keeping the focus on how any policy, curriculum, research or practice will impact positively on a child’s life. Her favourite activities are paragliding and puddle-splashing in the Yorkshire hills with her two young children.
Natasha Holmes
Artistic Director at Tell Tale Hearts, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
After training with Philippe Gaulier at École de Philippe Gaulier, Natasha worked for 10 years as a performer in London. She co-founded Tell Tale Hearts in 1997 with Isabel Caballero and toured internationally with the company, performing comic physical theatre shows for adults. In 2003 Natasha took over the role as sole artistic director of the company and changed the focus to an exclusively children’s theatre company. Since then she has directed shows for children aged 18 months to 7 years. 'From Here to There' has toured internationally and will tour extensively in India in 2012. Natasha has researched European approaches to theatre for early years through Earlyarts’ Dandelion Programme and has developed a new show for the very young, ‘Yummm!' inspired by children's relationship to food and their eating rituals. Natasha is also committed to designing and delivering specialist educational programmes to enable schools to embrace a more creative curriculum.
James Huggins
Managing Director and co-founder of Made in Me, London
Made in Me is a children's digital publishing company founded in 2009 to inspire young children to learn by exploring their creativity and imagination. The company partnered with Ladybird to launch the award-winning and BAFTA nominated The Land of Me, an interactive picture book world where young children and adults can play together across a variety of activities including music composition, dance choreography and storytelling. In late 2011, Made in Me launched Me Books, a picture book reader app that allows children to create their own interactive versions of classic stories. The company has fostered relationships with major publishers including Penguin to introduce more titles to this exciting new publishing platform. Prior to Made in Me, James was the Managing Director of Escape Studios, which became one of the foremost visual effects academies in the world.
June O'Sullivan
Chief Executive, London Early Years Foundation (LEYF)
An inspiring speaker and regular media commentator on Early Years, Social Enterprise and Child Poverty, June has been instrumental in the London Early Years Foundation's significant increase in both profile and profitability. June is a champion of community-based, multi-generational projects and a great believer in the potential of greater social and cultural capital as a means of delivering long-term social impact. Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Director of Social Enterprise London and Trustee for the Daycare Trust and the National Day Nursery Association, June is a qualified Social Worker and published author with an MA in Primary & Early Childhood Studies and MBA from London South Bank University. June is establishing a Social Franchise model for childcare providers with Middlesex University, has written the first National Standards for Early Years Chefs and works with the Department for Education to develop and implement a new vision for the Early Years.
Sydney Thornbury
Chief Executive of The Conservatoire, Blackheath, London
Having established WebPlay as a valuable network amongst UK and USA schools, Sydney understands the different languages, services and approaches needed to face the diverse markets that buy into or sell through a community of interest. Sydney now runs The Conservatoire in Blackheath, bringing highly creative leadership approaches to support families in the area. Sydney has been pioneering in bringing together technology and business models, specifically to support the children's theatre sector, and is widely respected for her contribution to the cultural sector. Sydney has overall responsibility for advising on Earlyarts' social business model, finance and marketing strategies, always with one eye on ensuring Earlyarts is a sustainable business.
