Nancy Stewart is a skilled teacher, consultant and trainer with nationally recognised expertise in early years development and learning, and quality improvement in teaching and provision. She has worked closely with the Department for Education policy teams in implementing national programmes, and in drafting revisions to curriculum and assessment in the 2012 Early Years Foundation Stage review. She has taught and led teams working with children from birth to eight, and has significant experience of training early years practitioners and supporting action research. She has been central to developing national training materials on assessment and on pedagogy, particularly around the role of the adult in playful teaching and learning. In addition, early communication and language for thinking is a prime area of interest and expertise, along with children’s development as self-regulated learners.