EYPS in association with
Outstanding Professional Development
Delivering beg425er outcomes for children
Strong foundations
Eileen Blezard has set up her own childcare and management consultancy, runs a mobile crèche and
continues to work directly with children. Here she describes her personal journey towards EYPS.
I
WOULD LIKE to say that the foundations private daycare sector. I graduated in 2004 and was
of my career started as a young mother of two off ered a regional operations role with a private
little girls. However, refl ecting back on my nursery chain providing neighbourhood nursery and
own childhood and teenage years, the signs children centre services. It was in this role that I was
that I would end up working with children were able to concentrate on supporting the training team in
already very clear. ensuring that eff ective professional development was
I was the youngest of six children, my father was being off ered to staff in the nurseries.
a farm labourer and my mum had been a children’s In 2006, I launched Childcare Consultancy
nanny in the 1930s, with those amazing uniforms Management Services Ltd, as a consultancy and
and big prams in the park. Th ey struggled training provider. My vision was to provide a
Eileen Blezard
fi nancially so you could say I grew up in poverty, one-stop-shop of services to private, voluntary and
which would not be far from the truth. It is a real charitable organisations. Th ree years on, we are now
gained Early Years
credit to my parents that we all worked hard at a CACHE-registered centre for level 2, 3 and 4
Professional Status
our studies and went into a variety of careers that awards, including some vocational awards relating to
earlier this year
enabled us to pull ourselves out of that poverty. the early years.
My own personal experience as a child growing We off er a broad spectrum of consultancy
up has given me a great insight into the principles services, whether compliance, business, management
behind Every Child Matters and the importance of coaching or practice issues. We write and deliver
children achieving their best, whatever that might be. a range of bespoke training programmes for early
Th ere was only one message given to me from years providers and provide a mobile crèche service,
my parents and that is you can make the world BizzieLand for weddings and corporate events, such
whatever you want that to be. Th at strong belief as conferences or exhibitions.
and commitment, established so fi rmly in my own Th is year we have been included on the
young years, has been the underlying reason I have Warwickshire and Coventry Training Providers
taken the pathway I have into support for young list for our NVQ programme and continuous
children’s care, learning and development. professional development, enabling us to access
Like many Early Years Professionals (EYPs) funding towards these qualifi cations for our
I have met, I started as a volunteer in the local candidates.
playgroup – in my case in Germany, where my Th inking back, I have learnt so much during
husband was serving in the RAF. I helped out every my career journey, but for me, becoming an
morning while my two daughters attended the EYP this year has been the highlight. I had been
group and crèche in the same building. undertaking some consultancy work with a small
Th is led to involvement with the Pre-school private day nursery who had practice issues and
Playgroup Association (now the Pre-school wanted things to change. In the process of change,
Learning Alliance), fi rstly as the treasurer of it seemed sensible for me to undertake EYPS, so
the local branch and later as one of the fi rst that I could off er my client a better service through
fi eldworkers supporting playgroups at army and the development of my own knowledge and skill.
RAF bases along the Dutch/German border. Th e quality of candidate experience is vital to
I continued to work in playgroups for about the success of their journey towards professional
six years, now inspired to become better trained status. Th e quality of the candidate pack I received
and qualifi ed – fi rst a foundation course and then was extremely professional, with everything clearly
a two-year nursery nurse course. Next, came a explained as a continued source of support when I
role as an NVQ assessor on the childcare modern was on my own at home preparing for my assessment.
apprenticeship scheme, culminating in becoming I received prompt communication about
lead internal verifi er and programme lead for the information sessions, I was given choices about
whole of British Forces Germany, before returning groups to join and was able to attend these sessions
to the UK in 1999. in my local area even though the nursery I was
Back in England, I secured a place on the BPhil in supporting was in another county. Th e effi ciency of
Early Childhood Studies programme while continuing the experience and the choices I was off ered really
to work with young children, this time within the helped me get to where I am today. eye
8 Originally published in eye Volume 11 No 7 November 2009
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