Early Excellence

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Our Story

As a young teacher I was lucky to work in a school that promoted creativity, with an inspirational and highly experienced headteacher who expected nothing less than perfection! I can still remember many of the ground-breaking projects that so strongly influenced my beliefs about innovation, creativity and quality.

This passion for high-quality, inspirational practice has influenced every aspect of my career – evident in my teaching, through headship and on into advisory roles. It was in this advisory role that the idea of Early Excellence first emerged – an explosion of ideas that culminated in the concept of Early Excellence as a regional development centre serving schools and early years settings across the north of England.

Whether by luck or by fate – at that very same moment a disused Victorian school building, close to where I live, appeared on the market for sale and with great excitement I enquired, looked around – and the rest is history! On the 1st May 2000, the doors to Early Excellence opened for the very first time and our journey of development began.

We are now an established national leader of pedagogy, provision and practice, specialising in young children’s education. Every day we champion the development of inspirational learning and teaching, offering expert advice, support and training to schools and settings across the UK. We help schools and early years settings to understand and respond to the ever changing landscape of education policy and keep a sharp focus on the leadership of quality provision.

Leading the work of Early Excellence is hugely rewarding. It is such a privilege to work with an experienced team of staff – senior leaders, early years consultants and a wide range of business managers and support staff, all of whom are passionately committed to supporting schools and settings in developing quality practice in the EYFS and beyond.

Liz Marsden
Early Excellence Founder & CEO