Strategy Group
Sustainability Strategy Group
Share and promote information that illustrates how a graduate led workforce can contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals so that graduate professionals are proactive in campaigning for and implementing provision likely to lead to a more sustainable planet. Hear from Co-chairs Kerrie and Angela as they introduce the group. ​
Mission Statement
Share and promote information that illustrates how a graduate led workforce can contribute the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals so that graduate professionals are proactive in campaigning for and implementing provision likely to lead to a more sustainable planet. ​
Full Statement
Delivering quality early education which promotes: ​ Active Citizenship Equality and Diversity Environmental Education Anti-discriminatory practices in EY contexts with a particular emphasis on decolonising. ​ Promote research and the dissemination of information on the sustainability of quality provision including identifying issues of cost in the sustainability in provision of such structures. Advocacy for EY structures that support practices promoting: ​ Children’s rights and voice Democratic processes in ECE Gender awareness Respectful relationships Environmental awareness- sustainable use of resources
Co-Vice Chairs
Kerrie Lee
Co-Vice Chair
Kerrie Lee is a Director of Student Experience and a Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies and Education at the University of Hull. She has over 27 years of early years practice, research and FE/HE teaching experience and is a qualified Forest School Leader. Kerrie has developed both a Foundation Degree and Top-Up Degree to support Early Childhood practitioners in gaining qualification whilst continuing to work. Over the last 7 years Kerrie has worked with a local Art Gallery in developing an intergenerational space Gallery 10-Explore Art (Under 5s and Families Gallery) which received a high commendation award at the 2018 Museum and Heritage Awards for the ‘Project on a Limited Budget’ category. The link to creative expression continues with work with The Herd Theatre Group in the development of the interactive shows 'The Last Dinosaur' for children aged 2-5 years and 'Counting Sheep' for children aged 0-2 both of which aim to support access to the arts for children and families who face social and economic barriers to the arts. Kerrie is at present working collaboratively with her Co-Chair of the Sustainability Group Dr. Angela Scollan and Dr. Diane Boyd extending both the SDG and STEM resource ‘An Early Childhood Education for Sustainability resource that embeds the Sustainable Development Goals and STEM into pedagogical practice’ into student placements and highlighting Sustainable Pedagogy as a critical element of ECE.
Dr Angela Scollan
Co-Vice Chair
Dr Angela Scollan is Associate Professor in Early Childhood at Middlesex University, where she is a member of the Centre for Educational Research and Scholarship. Her numerous peer reviewed publications demonstrate Angela’s leading role as an international researcher and scholar in Children’s Rights, Self-determination, Reflective Professional Development, Sustainable Pedagogy, Dialogic Pedagogies, Facilitation, Ethical Research with and for Young Children. Additionally, Angela is a Professor of pre-school education at East European University in Tbilisi. Angela's philosophy focuses on the ‘child first’ principle, which transpires in her numerous publications, where children’s self-determination is approached as a resource for children, as well as for adults’ learning. Angela has contributed to two large scale European Projects: Erasmus+ SHARMED (https://www.sharmed.eu/uk-international/home) and Horizon 2020 CHILD-UP (https://www.child-up.eu/). Both projects worked directly to promote integration of children with migrant background and refugees in the classroom through the facilitation of their active participation and agency. Angela combines her research and scholarly profile with over 30 years of professional Early Childhood practice (NNEB) and teaching experience working with and for children, families and students across all academic levels up to Doctoral Studies.
Dr Martin Needham
Martin trained and worked as an Early Years and Primary teacher in Nottinghamshire, London and Pakistan. This was followed by developmental roles in education management and leadership in Pakistan and then with early education, extended schools services and children’s centre provision in England. He became a Senior Lecturer in 2003 and a Principle Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University in 2014 as Associate Head of School of Education Studies. He has published work on multi-agency working, young children’s learning and leadership in early years conducting research projects in these areas funded by the DFE and NHS Scotland. He has recently been involved in international early education consultancy work in Kazakhstan and China. Martin is passionate about improving the well-being of children and young people and to developing professionals who are able to take a broad view of children's upbringing.
Dr. Diane Boyd
Diane Boyd has worked on the Early Childhood Studies degree in Higher Education for over 30 years and is now an Honorary Research Fellow for the School of Education, Hull University. Her research interests are about early childhood education for sustainability and she is very active in promoting transformative change. Her expertise is acknowledged in multiple situations, for example, at her previous institution she was on LJMU Institutions Climate Change Panel, and recognized in their 25 years Climate Action Plan. She was an active member of the Department of Educations post COP 26 working group ensuring early years was embedded into the final strategy and wrote Sustainability Matters In Early Childhood for the DfE (Situated on the Government website). She developed and led an innovative resource on the SDGs and STEM in ECE, winning a World OMEP Award (2021), which has since been translated into both an Australian and Northern Irish context. Diane has recently contributed to a European Union Report(2024)on Education for Sustainable Development and will be working on a report in the Autumn (2024) with the United Nations and the DfE, putting early childhood provision at the centre of policy. Diane is at present working collaboratively with the Co-Chairs of the Sustainability Group extending both the resource into student placements and highlighting Sustainable Pedagogy as a critical element of ECE.
Dr. Naomi McLeod
Naomi is at Liverpool John Moores University where she teaches across Early Childhood and Education Studies and is the Deputy Coordinator for the CERES Nature Related Pedagogies Group. Previous to this, she led Early Childhood and the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Early Years Teacher Education Programme at Liverpool Hope University. Her research focuses on working creatively and respectfully ’with’ people to promote young children’s participation and agency, through critical reflection as a tool for continued professional development for transformational change. This focus and the importance of listening has informed her most current research, involving engaging respectfully and reflexively to appreciate and understand the rich heritage of indigenous customs and traditions associated with early learning across the world. Collectively, this has provoked her interest in the interconnected nature of education for sustainability in early childhood. Naomi is also editor of ’Empowering Early Childhood Educators: International Pedagogy as Provocation’ and more recently she led a team of co-authors to publish ‘Global Perspectives of Early Childhood Education and Care: Valuing local cultures’.
Emma Ransome
Emma Ransome is a dedicated educator and researcher with a commitment to sustainability and social justice. With a background in Early Childhood Education, she is currently completing a PhD in Education and Social Justice from Lancaster University, with her thesis focusing on integrating sustainable practices into higher education. As a Senior Lecturer and College Academic Lead at Birmingham City University, Emma leads initiatives that promote inclusive, student-centred programs, emphasising sustainability and equity.
Emma’s personal and professional interests align in her passion for supporting sustainable environments in education. She actively participates in groups focused on sustainability in early childhood education and has contributed to significant research in this field. Her dedication to fostering a sustainable future through education continues to inspire and drive her efforts in creating impactful change.
Rachel Strisino
Rachel Strisino is an Assistant Professor on the Early Childhood degree programme at the Centre for Lifelong Learning, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, member of the ECSDN Sustainability group and an External Examiner. Rachel’s early career was in Nurseries in the late 1990s which inspired her to embark on her BA (Hons) degree in Early Childhood Studies at Warwick. From this, Rachel worked with members of the local community at the Women’s Multi-refuge centre and Sure Start, supporting mainly women back into education.
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Her current research interest is exploring the relationship between the development of identity, lived experiences and environment of young refugee and asylum seeking children who are not in any early childhood care or education provision. Rachel also been instrumental in launching the Warwick Award to early childhood students which focuses on sustainability and transferable skills acquired whilst studying.
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Dr. Sandra Lydon
Sandra Lyndon is a Reader in Childhood and Social Policy at the University of Chichester, programme coordinator for the BA Hons Early Childhood Studies level 6 top up, and Research Degree Coordinator for Social Policy. She has worked in the field of education for many years. She is a qualified school teacher and has worked in a range of educational settings including a Maintained Nursery School, Infant and Primary schools. She is also an Educational Psychologist and worked for her local authority for supporting children, families, teachers and other professionals.
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Sandra’s doctoral research explored early years practitioners’ narratives of poverty in early childhood. Her other research interests include: intergenerational practice, mindfulness, health and well-being, person centred approaches, narrative methodologies, and widening participation in Higher Education.
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Karen E. Barr
Karen has taught at Sheffield Hallam University for over 15 years on various courses relating to early childhood, education, and early years. Her PhD research conceptualises Early Childhood Studies placements as more-than-human pedagogical assemblages and investigates how learning emerges through relationships between matter and meaning, which are mutually implicated. The study makes a methodological contribution through its creative research practices that attune to affective flows, rhythms, and momentary intensities in learning events.
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Karen is an Early Childhood Studies graduate. Prior to teaching in Higher Education, she worked in a range of early childhood contexts, including schools, nurseries and out of school play provision around Yorkshire
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Dianna Harris
Diana Harris is a Senior Lecturer for Early Years in the School of Education at the University of Greenwich. Diana's education specialised in nursery and infant age teaching, with experience of working in nursery and primary school settings before moving to lecturing within further education (FE) colleges as course leader on aspects of childcare (Levels 1-5). Diana joined the university in 2006, as a senior lecturer and leader on Foundation degree (FdA) Montesoori Early Years. She was also involved in the validation process for BA Hons Early Years, Foundation Early Years, and Foundation Supporting Teaching & Learning programmes, as well as part of a small higher education team that introduced FdA for teaching assistants. Diana has subsequently moved to lecture on BA Hons Early Years and MA Early Childhood programmes. She is also a Link tutor for partner colleges' Early Years and Education degrees.
Dawn Jones
Dawn Jones started out as a Nursery Nurse gaining her N.N.E.B.in 1984 and has continued to work within early years in varying roles. For the last 20 years she has been a lecturer. Her teaching Career started in Further Education where she taught Early Years and Health, eventually becoming the Head of School of a large college department. Dawn then moved direction realising that teaching was her passion and joined the Early Years team at the University of Wales Trinity Saint Davids in beautiful West Wales. Here Dawn was able to collaborate with Dr Glenda Tinney on the importance of Education for sustainable development and Global Citizenship within the Early Years/Childhood agenda; alongside the incorporation and access of the outdoor environment to support holistic learning through play. Dawn is currently a senior lecturer in Early Childhood with Wolverhampton University, where she continues to strive to enthuse her students to view Infants and toddlers and their access to the outdoors in a whole new way. Her focus of interests has always been Infants and toddlers and their access to the outside world, alongside a more sustainable relationship with the earth, and her passion to advocate for the littlest of people continues through her current PhD study.
Pamela Calder
Pamela is an academic, psychologist, and campaigner and researcher in the field of Early Childhood Education and Care. In 1980, she was one of the founders of the National Childcare Campaign (later the Daycare Trust and now Coram Family and Childcare). She was part of a movement arguing for better education and training for those working with the youngest children, including babies, and in arguing that workers should be graduates.
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She established the Early Childhood Studies Degrees Network in the early 1990s in order to progress Early Childhood Studies Degrees. She chaired the QAA Working Party, which in 2007 produced the first benchmark statement establishing Early Childhood Studies as a new Subject Area in universities.
She has presented international conference papers and written widely. In 2015 she was Guest Editor of a special issue of the International Journal of Early Years Education.
