FROEBEL - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Finance and Governance Committee
- Trustee
- Barrister, 1 Crown Office Row
- Member of Finance and Governance Committee
Abha is a barrister who works part-time at Crown Office Row chambers in Brighton. In her work, Abha specialises in the area of trusts and probate disputes and she has worked with numerous charities over the years.
As parent to a young child, Abha's interest in early childhood education and care (ECEC) was sparked by her own search for nursery provision. Her quest to research and find play-based, child-centred approaches to ECEC led her to read the work of educationalists, such as Sir Ken Robinson. Abha's values and views about education align closely with approaches commonly found in Finland - her husband's home country - and the Froebel Trust's principles.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Education & Research Committee
- Trustee
- Education Officer ( Early Years ), Education Scotland
- Member of Education & Research Committee
- Member of Education Sub - Committee
- Member of the Edinburgh Froebel Network
Catriona began her professional career in theatre, working in several directorial positions with companies in England and Scotland. In April 2021, she joined the Early Years team at Education Scotland, following more than 20 years in teaching roles after gaining a degree in Psychology and a Post-graduate Certificate in Education. Her last teaching position was as Head Teacher of Greengables Nursery School and Family Centre in Edinburgh. Having gained the Froebel and Childhood Practice Certificate from the University of Edinburgh in 2008, she now shares her expertise with current students as a part-time tutor on the University of Edinburgh Froebel in Childhood Practice courses.
As well as being a respected Froebelian author and presenter, Catriona is a member of the Edinburgh Froebel Network. She is a member of the Froebel Trust's Education Committee and participated in the 2020 'Young Voices on Covid-19' research project.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Education & Research Committee
- Senior Lecturer
- Trustee
- Member of Education Sub - Committee
- Senior Lecturer in Early Years Education, Sheffield Hallam University
Dr Fufy Demissie is a senior lecturer in the Sheffield Institute of Education. She began her career in higher education after 10 years of teaching in Foundation Stage settings. She currently coordinates the CPD network and the student placement programme for the Early Years Community and Research Centre (EYCRC) at the Meadows nursery, Sheffield.
Fufy teaches on the BA and PGCE early years courses at Sheffield Hallam University and supervises doctoral candidates. Her own research focuses on understanding the role of dialogic pedagogies in professional learning in the early years and beyond. Recent projects include an Erasmus project on Global Citizenship and Mathematics education and a classroom intervention to promote metacognition in early childhood settings.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Education & Research Committee
- Emeritus Fellow, University of Roehampton
- Member of Education Sub - Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Education & Research Committee
- Director of MA Early Childhood Education, University of Sheffield
- Member of Research Sub - Committee
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Education & Research Committee
- Chairman of Education & Research Committee
- Deputy Headteacher
- Trustee, Chair of the Education Sub - Committee and Co - Chair of Education & Research Committee, Travelling Tutor
Dr Lucy Parker is Deputy Headteacher at Ludwick (Maintained) Nursery School in Hertfordshire. She has been instrumental in introducing a Froebelian approach at the nursery, including cookery and clay as core curriculum experiences.
Lucy is a Froebel trained teacher and has received a BA, PGCE, MA and PhD from the University of Roehampton.
Lucy is Chair of the Froebel Trust's Education Sub-Committee and Co-Chair of Education & Research Committee.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Education & Research Committee
- Associate Professor, University of Portsmouth / Professor Kate Hoskins ( Chair )
- Chairman of Research Sub - Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Education & Research Committee
- Honorary Research Fellow, University of Roehampton
- Member of Education & Research Committee
- Member of Research Sub - Committee
Sacha manages the Froebel Trust's Executive Team and oversees the implementation of the Trustees' strategic plans.
Sacha first joined the Froebel Trust in September 2018 as Director of Education, Research and Strategy. Sacha is an Honorary Professor of Early Childhood Education at the Education University of Hong Kong and was Director of the Research Centre for Children, Families and Communities at Canterbury Christ Church University from 2013-2018.
She has been an Early Years researcher since 1996, was a co-author of the Birth to Three Matters Review (DfES / Sure Start, 2003) and a principal investigator for The Baby Room research and development project (funded 2009-2012 by The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation), Mothers' Songs in Daycare for Babies and Pedagogies of Care for One-Year-Olds in Four Countries projects (funded by The Froebel Trust in 2013 and 2017).
In recent years she has co-authored or co-edited many books and articles including the Routledge International Handbook of Theories and Philosophies of Early Childhood Education (2017), An Introduction to Early Childhood Studies for Sage (2017), and the Routledge International Handbook of Froebel and Early Childhood Practice (2018). In 2015, Sacha was elected Chair of the UK Association for Professional Development in Early Years (TACTYC) and she continues to be an active member of Early Years organisations and networks.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Education & Research Committee
- Member of Research Sub - Committee
- Research Associate, Manchester Metropolitan University
Job Titles:
- Member of the Education & Research Committee
- Trustee
- Member of Education & Research Committee
- Senior Lecturer, Bath Spa University
Sharon is Senior Lecturer in early childhood education at Bath Spa University and an associate trainer and researcher for the Centre for Research in Early Childhood Education (CREC). She is a vice-chair on the Executive of the Early Childhood Studies Degrees Network.
She has a diverse career background, working initially in the Department for Work and Pensions as a policy manager, owning a private day nursery, assessor for the award of EYPs, participating in the review of the Teacher Standards, and more recently working as project assistant for the development of Birth to Five Matters non-statutory guidance.
Sharon's PhD research and interests are particularly concerned with play based participatory pedagogies and its part in developing children's mixed ethnic identity and cultural learning and development - especially learning and development informed by child-led perspectives. Sharon also has a deep interest and engages in work that develops anti-oppressive practice.
She is an active member of Early Childhood Education Research Association (ECERA), CREC learning circle and Early Education.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Education & Research Committee
- Lead Tutor, Froebel Trust Short Courses
- Member of Education Sub - Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Education & Research Committee
- Honorary Research Fellow, University of Roehampton
- Member of Education & Research Committee
- Member of Research Sub - Committee
Job Titles:
- Courses Coordinator ( Part - Time )
Eliot joined the Froebel Trust in August 2023 on a part-time basis. He is responsible for the administration of online and face-to-face Froebel Trust courses. Eliot graduated in 2021 with a degree in Professional Musicianship. He now runs a recording studio and composes and performs his own songs at live events. He has previously worked in a school as a Design Technology Technician and as head chef managing resources and teams of staff within busy restaurants in Brighton.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Communications Committee
- Member of the Education & Research Committee
- Communications and Engagement Lead, Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames
- Member of Communications Committee
- Member of Education & Research Committee
Job Titles:
- Director of Communications
Flora leads on the development and delivery of the Trust's communications, marketing and public engagement strategies.
Before joining the Froebel Trust, Flora worked for three years leading the communications for a network of schools in England which support excluded children and young people. She has also worked for Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew leading on their communications to schools and colleges. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.
Flora's career began in TV programme making, working at the BBC and RDF Media. She went on to manage a national Big Lottery funded project which aimed to improve the relationship between the UK media, journalists and charities.
Friedrich Froebel (1782 - 1852) was the inventor of kindergartens and a pioneer of early childhood education and care. Froebel's work and writing changed the way we think abou...
Job Titles:
- Member of the Education & Research Committee
- Member of Education Sub - Committee
- School Improvement Partner ( Early Years ), South East Wales Education Achievement Service
Job Titles:
- Member of the Education & Research Committee
- Member of Education & Research Committee
- Member of Education Sub - Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Communications Committee
- Head of Schools at Linden Tree Nursery Schools
- Member of Communications Committee
- Trustee, Travelling Tutor
Holli Williams is Head of Schools at Linden Tree Nursery Schools, a small chain of privately-owned settings in Southwest London. Linden Tree have undertaken three of the five Froebel Short Course elements, which began their transformation to a Froebelian educational approach in all their settings.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Education & Research Committee
- Member of Education & Research Committee
- Member of Education Sub - Committee
- Member of Research Sub - Committee
Job Titles:
- Vice - Chancellor at University of Roehampton
Professor Jean-Noël Ezingeard is Vice-Chancellor at University of Roehampton, a university he describes as ‘an engine of social progress'. He has previously held leadership and academic positions at Manchester Metropolitan University, Kingston University, Henley Business School and Brunel University London. He is passionate about building relationships between universities, business and the community and while in the North West, oversaw the development of one of the largest high level apprenticeships in the UK.
Jean-Noël has held Board and advisory positions with Warrington and Halton NHS Trust, Henley Management College, Richmond upon Thames College and the Association of Business Schools. He has also worked on a number of business-academia steering groups with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership, the Higher Education Funding Council for England, and the Office for Students. He is a board member for the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB), and University Vocational Awards Council (UVAC).
Jean-Noël is a graduate of École Centrale de Lille where he studied Engineering Systems, followed by postgraduate study at Brunel University London where he also studied for his PhD in Information Systems. His research expertise is in systems and processes management with a focus on the social aspect of information systems management (including information security).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Education & Research Committee
- Archivist, University of Roehampton
- Member of Education Sub - Committee
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Communications Committee
- Trustee, Chair of Communications Committee
Lilah Woods is the Stakeholder Engagement Lead at the Money and Pensions Service.
Lilah is a marketing professional with over 22 years of experience, much of it in the charity sector and for the last four years has been a mentor for the Chartered Institute of Marketing mentoring programme.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Communications Committee
- Member of Communications Committee
Job Titles:
- Chairman of Trustees
- Member of the Finance and Governance Committee
- Director General of the Bar Standards Board
- Director General, Bar Standards Board
- Member of Finance and Governance Committee
- Trustee and Director of the University of Roehampton
Mark Neale is currently Director General of the Bar Standards Board. He has a long and successful career across many government departments having served in the Cabinet Office; the Department for Education and Science; the Treasury; the Employment Service and the Department for Work and Pensions, before becoming a Director General at the Home Office and then returning to the Treasury to be Director General for Budget, Tax and Welfare.
His considerable educational experience within government included responsibility for the establishment of polytechnics as independent institutions, and authorship of the report which set up the universal regular inspection of schools and the establishment of OFSTED.
Mark is also a trustee and director of the University of Roehampton, and lives in Putney with his wife and two children.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Finance and Governance Committee
- CEO of Sharp Surveys
- Trustee, Chair of Finance & Governance Committee
Michael Pearson is CEO of Sharp Surveys, a business he founded to help organisations collect feedback and opinions more easily, and use them to make better decisions.
Previously he was CFO for a variety of real estate services and investment businesses, where he led successful debt and equity fundraisings in excess of $10 billon.
Michael studied at Magdalen College, Oxford gaining a BA in Mathematics. Subsequently he became qualified as a Chartered Accountant, registered with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England & Wales.
Michael has a keen interest in early childhood wellbeing, and brings his financial expertise to his position as Treasurer and Trustee.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Education & Research Committee
- Member of Research Sub - Committee
- Professor Emeritus, University of Roehampton / Professor Graham Welch
Oksana is responsible for all financial matters, including those relating to management accounting, annual audit, due diligence and the payment and monitoring of grants and accounts payable.
Oksana joined the Trust in February 2012 and was appointed as Finance Manager in May 2015.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Communications Committee
- Member of Communications Committee
- Owner, Digital Olive & Playtest Games
Job Titles:
- Member of the Education & Research Committee
- Director of Quality and Audit, Tops Day Nurseries
- Member of Education Sub - Committee
- Senior Leader in Early Years
- Trustee, Travelling Tutor
Paula Lester has been a senior leader in Early Years for more than 20 years, including being Group Manager (Yellow Dot Nurseries) and Director of Quality (Tops Day Nursery Group) - two large nursery groups in the South of England.
Paula is an active Froebel Trust Travelling Tutor and has an MA in Early Years Education from the University of Roehampton.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Education & Research Committee
- Chairman of Education & Research Committee
- Professor of Education at Brunel University
Professor Kate Hoskins is Professor of Education at Brunel University, London. Her research focuses on education policy, identity, inequalities in relation to early years, further and higher education.
In 2018 she completed a project, funded by the Froebel Trust, with Dr Sue Smedley, exploring the possibilities to protect and extend Froebelian practice through policy interventions.
Her recent funded project with Professor Alice Bradbury examined the role of nursery schools in reducing the impact of socio-economic disadvantage in the early years sector.
She has published on inequalities in ECEC, with a focus on the role of policy in exacerbating these. She regularly reviews for early years journals.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Education & Research Committee
- Early Childhood Teacher, Action - Researcher and Consultant
- Member of Education Sub - Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Education & Research Committee
- Headteacher, Guildford Nursery School and Family Centre
- Member of Research Sub - Committee
Victoria manages the Froebel Trust's grants and events programmes.
She is the first point of contact for enquiries about the Trust's funded projects, grant applications and our series of events and webinars.
Victoria joined the Froebel Trust in June 2017. During her career she has gained management experience in both the private and charity sector. She has considerable long term experience in working with children, young people, families and schools.