Consultancy

Professor Christine PASCAL, PhD, MSocSc

Professor Christine Pascal OBE is Director of Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC) in Birmingham, an independent research centre, based at the St Thomas Children's Centre in Birmingham and, along with Professor Tony Bertram, is also Director of Amber Publications & Training. She is also joint Honorary Director of CREC in Birmingham Charitable Trust. She was a teacher in primary schools in Birmingham from 1976 to 1985, before becoming Senior Lecturer at Worcester College of Higher Education. From 1995-2007 she was Director of the Centre for Research in Early Childhood at the University of Worcester, specialising in early childhood research and evaluation projects. She has been Director of the Effective Early Learning (EEL) Project, the Accounting Early for Life Long Learning (AcE) Project, and was the National Evaluator of the DfES Early Excellence Centre Programme. Currently she is President of the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA). She was President of the British Association for Early Childhood Education from 1994-1997, and is now Vice President. She has also done extensive work at government level to support the development of early years policy, sitting on a number of national committees, has served as a ministerial advisor, and as an Early Years Specialist Adviser to the House of Commons Select Committee on Education. She has written extensively on early childhood development and the quality of early education services and most recently sat on the Expert Panel of the Dame Tickell EYFS Review.

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Professor Tony BERTRAM, PhD, MEd, BEd

Professor Tony Bertram is a Director of the Centre for Research in Early Childhood, Director of Amber Publications and Training (APT) and is also joint Honorary Director of CREC in Birmingham Charitable Trust. He was a Head Teacher in infant schools before moving into higher education in 1987. In 1991, he established, with Chris Pascal, the Centre for Research in Early Childhood at the University of Worcester becoming a research Professor in Early Childhood International Development in 2003. He is co-Founder of the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) and was its elected President from 1992-2007. In 2007, he re-established CREC as a charitable trust working independently outside the University sector but with close links to it. In recognition of the contribution of CREC to the early childhood field, he holds honorary academic posts at three major Midland’s universities: Birmingham University awarded him the title of Senior Research Fellow; Birmingham City University has made him a Visiting Professor; and Wolverhampton University has also honoured him with the status of Visiting Professor. He has been a member of the Ministerial Early Education Advisory Group (EEAG), which advised the government on the development of the Foundation Stage curriculum and was a member of the QCA working party on qualifications in the early years. He has a particular interest in cross national, European early childhood projects and has worked extensively abroad for the British Council and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD). Most recently, with Chris, he has been the Director of the Effective Early Learning (EEL/BEEL) projects, the Accounting Early for Life Long Learning (AcE) Project, the International Review of Early Years Curriculum and Assessment (INCA) project and was a National Evaluator of the four year DfES Early Excellence Centre Programme. He has also been joint Director of the English component of the international study 'Children Crossing Borders' which is being developed at CREC into the ‘Opening Windows’ Project. He is the sole English Trustee on the Board of DECET, a network of European organisations promoting diversity and equity and he has written extensively on early childhood..

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