Janet Harvell

Biography

Janet is married to Tony, a retired head of a primary school, as well as being a mother to three wonderful children Melanie, Holly and Ross who seem to have survived despite having two parents who work in education! Having originally trained as a junior/secondary teacher Janet became interested in the early years when she became involved in the local preschool setting as a parent, volunteer helper and committee member. This then led to becoming an Associate Manager of a 44-place day nursery. During this time Janet became an assessor and verifier for NVQs in Early Years and also worked as freelance Ofsted Early Years Inspector. In 2000 she was lucky enough to become involved in one of the first Sure Start trailblazer initiatives, and set up the first accredited Childminding Network in the county before working at an FE college for 11 years where she was a Quality Reviewer and Advanced Practitioner. In addition she was the Programme Manager, lecturer and personal tutor on the HND in Early Years, the FdA in Early Years (Sector Endorsed) and the BA (Hons) Early Years Care and Education. During this time she became very involved in supporting the delivery of the EYPS programme and the emergence of a graduate-led early years workforce. This is something she is passionate about, gaining immense pleasure at seeing the transformation this has made to the lives of students and the children they work with. She was also Project Manager of a Teaching Centre attached to the college, modelled on the Penn Green Centre, and supporting collaborative practice across a cluster of early years settings. As a registered Nursery Inspector until 2015, Janet was able to use this facet to guide and inform practice within early years settings and provide a different perspective for students on early years courses.

Research Interest

International Early Years Education, Student Transitions within HE, Supporting effective online learning.