Dr Caroline Guard

About

I am a Senior Lecturer in Education specialising in Early Childhood Education and Care. I am Course Leader for the BA (Hons) Top degrees in Teaching and Learning and Education, Leadership in Practice.

I have worked in the Early Childhood sector for my entire career, progressing from practitioner to qualified teacher and manager before becoming a higher education lecturer in 2009. I have extensive experience delivering work-based degree programmes and I am an advocate for supporting the early years workforce to find their voice, feel empowered by the work they do and to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions they make in a young child's life.

I am in the final stages of completing my doctorate in education which seeks to examine how the voices of babies are framed within the adult: baby interactions that take place in nursery provision in England. My PhD is funded by The Froebel Trust.

I was recently involved in the Early Years Coalition Birth to Five Matters: non statutory guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage project where I worked in collaboration with colleagues from across the sector to develop guidance for early years practitioners and those working with young children and their families. The purpose of the guidance was to reaffirm core principles in early education and care that young children should be at the centre of practice.