Learning: Early Years Networking - Best practice to improve learning

Leanne Galloway

Leanne is an early years specialist. With 17 years' experience, she has been a senior leader, School Improvement Partner and the Head of Teaching and Learning at schools in Devon. Leanne has also worked abroad, working for the prestigious Harrow group of schools. During this time, she led large schools, focusing on bringing about rapid improvement within the early years. Leanne also inspects early years settings in her Ofsted capacity and she provides support to schools and settings as an early years consultant.  

Jacqueline Harding

As an international child development and education expert, Dr Jacqueline Harding is recognised for her work advising government, practitioners and parents. She is an Honorary Visiting Research Fellow at Middlesex University. She has also represented the UK in developing essential digital criteria and establishing best practice for broadcasters, parents and teachers across Europe. Jacqueline was privileged to pioneer and manage the Parentchannel.tv platform for the UK government, which was a ground breaking film-based resource for parents and practitioners. She continues to work for children’s TV shows, such as Peter Rabbit, Teletubbies, Clangers and Bing.

She is a frequent speaker in the media and author of best-selling books for parents, practitioners and children. Her latest book is called: The Brain that Loves to Play. She is a former BBC Education Editor, Government Consultant, and Headteacher.

Claire Robinson

Mrs Claire Robinson was appointed Headteacher of Holme Grange in 2009. 

She started teaching in 2001 following a successful career in Financial Services. Prior to joining Holme Grange, Claire was Headteacher of St Thomas Moore RC Primary School, Kidlington which she guided from a ‘failing school’ to being placed 15th Best Primary School in the UK by the Financial Times. During her time at St Thomas Moore, her contribution to education was recognised with the award of Headteacher of The Year in the South East at the National Teaching Awards. 

Claire graduated with a BA in Science and Education from the Open University and completed her PGCE at Oxford Brookes. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Teaching and also a Fellow of the RSA (Royal Society of Arts). Claire is also an Associate Challenge Award Assessor and Trainer for NACE (National Association for Able Children in Education) as well as an ISI Inspector.

Since joining Holme Grange, Claire has led the expansion of the School (from 210 pupils to 684), extending the age range from 3-13 to 3-16, taking pupils up to GCSE level. During this time, the buildings and facilities have grown to include a state of the art Theatre and cutting edge classrooms and study spaces. The School has been recognised by the ISA with awards including the Early Years Award for Innovation in Provision, Excellence in Sustainability and Senior School Award for Excellent and Innovation. Holme Grange was first awarded a NACE Challenge Award in 2013, which was reviewed and re-accredited again in 2017 and 2021. Holme Grange is one of only 100 schools in the country to be re-accredited twice and is recognised as a Regional Hub for NACE in the local area. Recently Claire led the school in the Global School Alliance and the school has now entered a Sister School Partnership with a school in Japan.

Julie Wilkinson

Julie has over 20 years’ skills and experience of supportive intervention and prevention for vulnerable children and young people in the UK, Europe and the Caribbean.

She is Director of‘Brave the Rage’ an Anti-Bullying and Anger Management Organisation, that provides pastoral care, education-based workshops in the UK and Overseas to pupils, parents and professionals.

Presently delivering training workshops in schools for the Barbados Ministry of Education, Permanent Secretary of Anguilla and soon the Permanent Secretary of St Lucia. Brave the Rage helps to provide solutions to bullying, anger, stress and anxiety with a ‘Parents and Professionals’ Online Audio-Visual programme “The 5 Steps: Solutions to Personal Wellbeing. A ‘Krumpled Kirsty’ Anti Bullying and Anger Management Story Book for Early Years in all Caribbean Book Shops, as life skills for a robust, resilient future.

Since training as a ‘Domestic Violence Crisis Counsellor’ in New York for Brooklyn Criminal Court and Sanctuary for Families, returning to London to become a qualified mediator and providing solutions to conflict resolution, for social housing neighbors in dispute.

Julie then ran 3 large Housing Associations’ Community Outreach Programme, entitled ‘Life’s Better Together’ and progressed to the youth offending world, providing numerous outreach programmes to all prolific young offenders in South London.  

Sustainability and transferable of such experience and skills included overseeing Lambeth’s LA ‘Youth Council’ (strategic and operational co-ordination) including Peer Inspection, Peer Education and Youth Parliament for all children and young people, across the Borough.

Running Lambeth LA for Domestic Violence is one of her greatest achievements, training 8000 staff, changing Lambeth Councils HPU Policies to ensure victims of DV receive urgent priority for accommodation, raising of funds for Lambeth’s only DV Support Centre and the co-ordination of Lambeth’s Domestic Violence Forum.

After spearheading the NCB’s UK ‘Peer Inspection’ Programme, she became Kidscape’s ‘Bullying Intervention Training’ Co-Ordinator for England and Regional Trainer for London and the South East. On behalf of the Department of Education, she ensured over 125,000 teacher training programmes were rolled out in the UK within two years.

Clients now include Premier League, BSA, The Royal Ballet School, GDST, ISA, Godwin Lawson Foundation, Dukes Education, Nomura Bank, GSA, Lancashire CC, LSBU, Liverpool LA, Swiss Learning, Bromley Council, Oxford International College, Lancashire Probation & Police, Merchiston Castle- Scotland, Barbados Ministry of Education, Permeant Education Secretary of Anguilla, Permeant Education Secretary of St. Lucia, British High Commissioner for Barbados and the Canadian High Commissioner of Barbados.