Famly are proud to launch the Famly Children’s Champion Award 2020. In partnership with the NSPCC, Twinkl, Early Years TV and more, the Famly Children’s Champion is a new award to find and celebrate that very best early years professional in the UK – and award them £5,000.
After a year that has seen endless selflessness and resilience from Early Years staff the award is our way of saying a massive Thank You to the sector, while helping to find and promote the heroic stories that will help raise the profile of Early Years teams.
The coronavirus pandemic has brought so many challenges, but Early Years workers have really shown the world how vital their day-to-day work is. From nurturing child development on the floor and online during a global crisis to ensuring key workers’ children are cared for in the eye of the storm, they’ve gone above and beyond.
How does it work?
We’ll be asking leaders, fellow staff, and parents to nominate their Children’s Champion to give them a chance of winning £5000. After a round of public voting and deliberation, a shortlist of 10 will be assessed by a panel of Early Years experts to decide the 2020 Children’s Champion. In more detail:
Early Years workers are nominated – Thousands of parents, staff, and leaders will nominate someone who they think goes the extra mile in their care for children. They’ll give us their story, and why their work makes such a massive impact on the children around them.
The voting process begins – The general public will vote for their favourite champion, and a shortlist of 10 finalists will then be drawn up based on a combination of votes and adherence to our Children’s Champion criteria. A panel of Early Years experts will then deliberate and vote for the individual who they think deserves to be crowned the Children’s Champion of 2020.
The prize is awarded – The Children’s Champion of 2020 will receive a whopping £5000 as the first first prize and a handcrafted trophy, as well as a year’s subscription to the Famly premium software. The nine runners up will receive a few goodies from our wonderful partners.
Why does the Famly Children’s Champion matter right now?
COVID-19 has made this year a very difficult one. Early Years workers will have felt the stress and worry as much as anyone else, but they have been soldiering on throughout the hardship. They work tirelessly to make sure children receive the care they need. As unsung heroes, they deserve to know how important they are.
The pandemic has finally begun to shine a spotlight on the importance of Early Years workers, and the team at Famly want to magnify that further by telling their stories wider.
This is a chance for the public to celebrate and start talking about the Early Years, and for us all to bring this important conversation to the forefront.
Who can enter?
The competition is open to all individuals working with children who have made a significant impact in some way in 2020. If the nominee lives in the UK, is over 18 years old at the time of entry and is an Early Years professional working in an Early Years setting, then they are eligible to enter. We want to encourage entries from across the UK and across all kinds of Early Years settings.
Anders Lausten, CEO said:
“I’m not exactly going out on a limb to say 2020 has been an unsettling year. And yet I’ve been overwhelmed time and time again by the stories of resilience, care and dedication told about staff who care for and educate our youngest children. What we also know is that these unsung heroes of the pandemic haven’t always been celebrated or had their stories shouted from the rooftops as they deserve.
That’s why we’re launching the Famly Children’s Champion Award, to celebrate the devotion of the wonderful Early Years teams who continuously put every child in our communities first. We want to use this platform to celebrate and tell as many of those stories as possible, and to find one truly exceptional Early Years professional worthy of becoming our very first Famly Children’s Champion.
Just like in other industries, the winner of such a prestigious award deserves a prize worthy of the accolade, and that’s why we’re putting up £5,000 of our money, alongside a free Premium subscription to our software and many other wonderful prizes from our treasured partners. It’s the least we can do in a year with so many stories worthy of celebration, and I hope it encourages as many people as possible to tell them.”
Who’s sitting on the panel?
A group of 10 Early Years experts will cast their votes to decide on a winner based on the 10 shortlisted candidates. With their decades of combined experience, each panelist will consider the shortlisted candidates thoroughly, and a count of votes will determine who this year’s Children’s Champion is.
The 10 Early Years experts:
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 & 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 (Owner, Early Years Out of the Box Consultancy)
Jan Dubiel (Executive Principal, Harrow Little Lions Kindergartens & EY Consultant) Dr Mine Conkbayir (Independent EY Consultant & Author)
Who are Famly?
Famly simplifies the process of managing a nursery — putting things like child information, registrations, staff planning, invoicing, payments, learning journals and parent communication all in one place. We began making software in 2013 when we realised so many providers were still paper-based, and the existing systems they had access to were clunky, old and just not fit for purpose. The sector deserves a solution that is modern, easy to use, and actually saves them time. But it’s more than that – Famly also provides tens of thousands of readers news and guidance about the latest and greatest in the sector. Famly is a one-stop-shop for Early Years settings – their Early Years sidekick.
Join over 2,500 like-minded individuals from the early years & primary sector who are dedicated to improving their practice and their education settings.
