Hello from our new Research and Impact Assistant

Hello! I’m Caitlin Bray, and I’m thrilled to join the University of Leeds as a Research and Impact Assistant for the Early Years Employment (EYE) Research Hub. With a background in Early Childhood Studies, both at the undergraduate and Master’s level, in my 15 years working in early childhood education, I’ve seen the incredible impact qualified educators have on fostering a love for learning in young children. This passion for supporting the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) workforce is what drew me to the EYE Hub. The Hub tackles the critical workforce challenges in the ECEC sector, ultimately ensuring a well-supported and qualified workforce that can provide high-quality early childhood education for all children.

I’m excited that I am also part of the EYE Hub’s Steering Committee and it was great to be able to attend the inaugural face to face meeting towards the end of last year. I’m committed to disseminating the important research and fostering knowledge exchange.

The Hub tackles the critical workforce challenges in the ECEC sector by fostering collaboration between researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. The aims are to confront the crisis in ECEC and to tackle workforce challenges by proactively developing long-term partnerships between Early Years actors from a wide range of perspectives. I’m passionate about exploring social media to connect with a wider audience and raise awareness of the Hub’s work.

Are you interested in learning more about the EYE Hub’s research? Perhaps you have research of your own to share or expertise to contribute. Maybe you’d like to attend our upcoming events! Visit our website at eyehub.leeds.ac.uk, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, and sign up for our mailing list to stay connected.