Helena Mitchell is Academic Group Head for Child Development and Education. She contributes to undergraduate and postgraduate work across the Institute of Education. She worked as an infant teacher in Inner London for many years, latterly as deputy headteacher of a large nursery and infants' school. Her research work has focused on early years' topics, including early literacy. She is also currently working on two projects with ESCalate (the Education centre for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education), one focused on early years' and the other on student employability. Mary Wild is Field Chair for Early Childhood Studies. Mary is a qualified teacher with experience in both the primary and early years sectors. She has recently been awarded a DPhil at Oxford University for her research thesis investigating the use of ICT in early years classrooms. Additional research interests include early childhood literacy. Mary is also a member of the British Psychological Society. Nick Swarbrick is course leader for the Early Years Sector-Endorsed Foundation Degree and contributes to teaching on the Primary PGCE, where he leads the Early Years Specialism, and on the undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Studies, with a main focus of professional development in the Early Years. He has a developing research and teaching role in how young children explore the outdoors environment. Rachel Friedman is Senior Lecturer in Early Years. She has had a wide range of early years experiences, working in a variety of public and private programs with children from birth through age 5. She has also worked with teachers and parents in a range of different settings. She is also currently a doctoral student at the University of London's Institute of Education.
