About us

Inquisitive Minds offers professional development, research fieldworkers and consultancy to:

Local Authorities

Teaching schools

Multi academy trusts

Nursery chains

Research teams

Leaders and managers

Early Years Coordinators

Room leaders

Practitioners

Teachers

Teaching assistants

Out of school providers

Childminders

Foster Carers

Families

Inquisitive Minds is led by Clare Williams, who has more than 30 years’ experience as an early years teacher and leader working alongside a team of education associates based around the country.

Our name reflects our belief that young children are naturally curious and competent, and as early childhood educators we are inquisitive about how we can ensure our work enhances children’s learning and development.

Inquisitive Minds is a social enterprise – we want to make education and care the best it can be for children during their formative years because we know it can make a difference to their life chances. 

We are committed to:

 Creating a learning and improvement culture based on evidence

  • Making research accessible and supporting practitioners to use this alongside their own practical wisdom.
  • Ensuring that our training and support are informed by evidence from research and practice on how both children and adults learn, and how we can best support that learning and development.
  • Committing to evaluation, reflection and adapting our ideas and practice in the light of new knowledge and evidence.
  • Reinvesting at least half of our profits to continually improve our professional development and maximise our impact on children, practitioners and families.

 Partnership working, practitioner ownership and leadership

  • Working in partnership with those who commission us to develop sustainable projects which meet local needs and contexts and build capacity among settings and support teams.
  • Offering professional development, based on a two-way, respectful sharing of knowledge and expertise. Recognising the importance of leadership, we also support delegates to lead the quality improvement process within their settings as well as promote partnerships and collaboration between settings.
  • Working as a team, with each member of our Inquisitive Minds team being equally valued and respected.
“Thank you for the really high quality, professional service you have provided us with. Everyone is reporting a really positive experience being part of this change process, and the audits and feedback are obviously a significant part of that.”
Knocknaheeny project lead 2017

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