Early Years Foundation Stage Development Matters

This event has already taken place. A video recording of the panel discussion can be found on this page.

Learn about the importance of a strong start to learning and the Foundation Stage (FS) programme, for children aged three to five. Our expert panellists would love to answer your questions.

Get to Know our Panellists:

Alison Wylie

Alison is a passionate and dedicated Early Years practitioner with a thirst for knowledge and a quest for excellence, both as a senior leader and as a teacher. She is a firm believer in play-based practice in Early Years and in outdoor learning. She also believes that the best teachers learn alongside children.

Alison has worked in the field of education for 30 years. She started as a TEFL teacher after graduating from university in Modern Languages and then became very interested in mainstream teaching while doing research for an MA in Linguistics and Language Acquisition. Finally, she moved on to a Postgraduate Certificate in Education. More recently, she has been inspecting nationally for NABSS, the National Association of British Schools in Spain, for whom she is now a Lead Inspector, and sharing her knowledge and vision as a consultant on an international scale.

I feel privileged to help guide young children along their amazing learning journeys and spark their curiosity. I love my craft.

Anushi Mehta

In her past life, Anushi was a Primary teacher with a keen interest in Special Needs. Recently, she began her journey into the unique world of children's literature. She uses kidlit as a medium to navigate current and critical conversations on religion, culture, gendered socialization, neurodiversity, early sexuality and family structures. She is particularly curious about communities on the margins.

Karuna Mangharam

Karuna is the co-founder & director of the By The Sea pre-primary school.

She first discovered her joy in working with children when she taught gardening to nursery school children at her children's preschool and then at their primary school. From there, she decided to pursue a degree in Early Childhood Education and was fortunate to be able to start her own school.

She believes in nurturing individual strengths and providing children with confidence, self-assurance, and a natural curiosity and drive to explore and learn about the world around them, as this creates lifetime self-learners who will always enjoy and seek knowledge.

Sakshi Jaisingh

Teaching and working with children has always been Sakshi’s passion. As a Foundation Stage teacher at DSB for 2 years, she discovered that it was best to develop children's skills through fun-filled learning, focusing on how children learned, rather than what they learned. Having been certified by the University of Oxford Delegacy of Local Examinations, UK, she is currently pursuing a Masters in Education. She has previously taught at GD Somani Memorial School and Gymbaroo Kids.

Shirin Petit

Shirin started her career as a teacher with an international school in Mumbai. She pursued her Masters in Education Leadership and Management from the University of London in 2009. She has been associated with DSB for over a decade and is currently the Head of Primary there, where she handles child development issues with sensitivity and compassion. She believes that the smallest things sometimes take up the most room in our heart. She leads teachers, school principals, and communities to better understand and support educational change.