About the hub

Overview

The Surrey and Hampshire Early Years Stronger Practice Hub exists to support and promote the development of knowledgeable and nurturing educators so that children, families and educators can flourish across Surrey and Hampshire.

We are dedicated to supporting early years practitioners, teachers, childminders and leaders across the region to deliver high-quality provision that improves outcomes for all children.

Working collaboratively with settings across our diverse communities, we share the Government's commitment to strengthening early years practice and addressing the impact on young children's development. Our experienced partners bring expertise from maintained nursery schools, PVI settings and childminding, giving us deep insight into the opportunities and challenges facing our sector.

The Hub is led by Guildford Nursery School and Family Centre, where our commitment to excellence in early education drives everything we do. Together with our partner settings – including Dorking Nursery School, Bushy Leaze Children and Families Centre, Lyndsey Stanton and Guildford Nursery School under 2s – we draw on a wealth of knowledge, evidence-based practice and strong local networks to provide accessible, relevant support that makes a real difference.

Our purpose and aims

Our purpose is clear: to support and promote the development of knowledgeable and nurturing educators so that children, families and educators can flourish across Surrey and Hampshire.

We aim to:

  • Inspire early childhood educators to be the best they can be
  • Encourage early childhood educators to love learning
  • Empower early childhood educators to improve quality so that every child has the best start in life 

Our vision

We are committed to:

  • Providing support and guidance that ensures early childhood educators work in a culture that encourages enquiry, reflection, self-awareness and resilience
  • Delivering a service that is exciting and innovative, challenging but inclusive, creative yet provocative, and ultimately motivating
  • Always working in partnership with each other
  • Using evidence-informed practice to guide and develop our work
  • Enabling and promoting the provision of local networks 

What we offer

We provide a comprehensive range of free support designed to strengthen everyday practice and build practitioner confidence, including:

  • Evidence-informed CPD through webinars, training programmes, resources and networking events
  • Bespoke guidance and support tailored to individual settings and practitioners
  • Professional networks that connect early years professionals across Surrey and Hampshire, fostering collaboration and shared learning
  • Access to fully funded, evidence-based programmes that develop staff knowledge and skills

Our support is delivered flexibly to ensure all practitioners and leaders can engage in ways that work for them and their settings.

Our approach

All our work is grounded in evidence-informed practice, working closely with local authorities and partner settings to ensure our offer is practical, relevant and impactful. We focus particularly on supporting children's communication and language, emotional development and social interaction, whilst helping educators feel skilled, confident and well-supported in their vital roles.

We also place strong emphasis on leadership development, supporting leaders to embed evidence-informed approaches, lead change effectively and measure impact in meaningful and proportionate ways.

Our commitment to you

When you work with us, you can expect that we will:

  • Work together and communicate with consent and respect
  • Put the child at the centre of everything
  • Recognise the inherent good in each other and use this as a starting point in building relationships
  • Celebrate each other's achievements
  • Start where the learner is
  • Offer help and guidance early
  • Provide each learner with what they need now
  • Support others to think for themselves, listening to and respecting their ideas
  • Constantly strive to improve
  • Recognise, welcome and respect diversity and difference
  • Challenge prejudice and bias

Lead Setting

Guildford Nursery School and Family Centre

Partner Settings