Later this year, we’ll once again be looking for stories of outstanding Early Years practice from across the UK and Ireland to find our 2021 Children’s Champion. Start thinking about who you’d like to nominate, and sign up for our newsletter down below to be the first to know when entries open!
The vital, skilled work that goes into helping children thrive isn’t always recognised for what it is. We think that needs to change.
We need you to help us in the fight to recognise and celebrate the incredible impact those first 5 years have on a child's future, one story at a time.
Each year we look for those who embody the joy, wonder and hard work of early childhood – someone who every child would be lucky to have as their champion.
Nominations open around New Year every year, where the public can vote for their favourite champion. The final shortlist is announced in Spring, and our expert panel debate the finalists before casting their votes.
One winner will then be crowned the Famly Children’s Champion!
The vital, skilled work that goes into helping children thrive isn’t always recognised for what it is. We think that needs to change.
We need you to help us in the fight to recognise and celebrate the incredible impact those first 5 years have on a child's future, one story at a time.
We’re looking for those who embody the joy, wonder and hard work of early childhood – someone who every child would be lucky to have as their champion. And we want to hear it from you.
Nominations open around New Year every year, where the public can vote for their favourite champion. The final shortlist will be announced in Spring, and our expert panel will debate the finalists before casting their votes.
One winner will then be crowned the Famly Children’s Champion!
.svg)
Helena Meineck
Famly Children's Champion 2020 & Nursery Manager
.jpg)
Neil Leitch
CEO,
Early Years Alliance
Aaron Bradbury-Coffey
Principal Lecturer & Chair of the LGBTQIA+ Steering Group
Rachel Buckler
Co-Founder, Early Years Hub
Dr Stella Louis
Independent EY Consultant & Author, Course Leader – Short Froebel Courses
Dr Sue Allingham
Independent Consultant, Author, Trainer – Early Years Out of the Box
Alison Featherbe
EYFS Trainer & Consultant, Orange Caterpillar
Jan Dubiel
Executive Principal, Harrow Little Lions Kindergartens & Early Years Consultant
Dr Mine Conkbayir
Independent EY Consultant & Author
Dr Sharon Colilles
Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood and Consultant
Our team and panel of eleven industry experts will be looking for someone who
We want to be as public as we can about these criteria, so that everyone who sends a nomination knows what we’re looking for. We’ll also be anonymising all applications so the judges can assess on these criteria alone. You can find the full criteria and a description for each by heading over here.
Yes please! It’s not compulsory to add any photos or videos, but words can only go so far and we’d love to get a deeper understanding of why your nominee deserves to be Children’s Champion. Make sure you have permission from anyone visible first, though.
If you'd prefer to send your whole application in as a video rather than writing it, then that's completely fine, too.
We know outstanding Early Years practice can take many different forms. There's no one way to be outstanding.
However, for this award we're looking for someone who goes the extra mile and puts the individual child first. Someone who staff respect and look up to, who parents admire and trust, and who makes a difference to their community. If they inspire you to make a change, tell us why and tell us how.
We’d love to hear about educators who deeply understand their own community and put in the effort to work within its context. Maybe they teach in a way that addresses challenges the community is facing? Or intentionally work with what makes your community special? Whatever it is, we want to hear about it.
Not at all! We're here to celebrate as many professionals as we possibly can. Whether they use Famly or not is neither here nor there.
Tell us all about why your nominee inspires you. The more detail the better - we want the full picture of why they should be this year’s ‘Children’s Champion’, and why their work makes an impact on the people around them. Give us examples and stories about their work so we get an idea of who they really are, and why their work deserves recognition.
Ready to celebrate someone special? Nominate your champion now!
Note: All nominees (not just those shortlisted) will receive a Free Seminar Pass to Childcare & Education Expo's training platform, plus 50% off seminars at their live events.
Neil Leitch
CEO, Early Years Alliance
Liz Pemberton
Director, The Black Nursery Manager Training & Consultancy
Aaron Bradbury-Coffey
Principal Lecturer & Chair of the LGBTQIA+ Steering Group
Alice Sharp
Owner and Creator of Adventures with Alice EY Training
Rachel Buckler
Co-Founder, Early Years Hub
Dr Stella Louis
Independent EY Consultant & Author, Course Leader – Short Froebel Courses
Dr Sue Allingham
Independent Consultant, Author, Trainer – Early Years Out of the Box
Alison Featherbe
EYFS Trainer & Consultant, Orange Caterpillar
Jan Dubiel
Executive Principal, Harrow Little Lions Kindergartens & Early Years Consultant
Dr Mine Conkbayir
Independent EY Consultant & Author
.png)
