Sheringham Nursery School and Children’s Centre says farewell to Dr Julian Grenier

Dr Katharine Vincent - Chair of Governors

Michelle Anson - previous Chair of Governors

Sheringham Nursery School

Trying to summarise Julian Grenier’s impact at Sheringham Nursery School in a few sentences is – to put it rather bluntly – impossible. However, looking back at Julian’s tenure over the last decade, there are a few things that stand out.

Julian was recently awarded a CBE for his contribution to early years education in the UK, which has spanned three decades. His expertise as a practitioner, researcher, school leader and inspector has helped the school to secure three ‘outstanding’ judgements from Ofsted since 2013. Through their work as a Research School with the Education Endowment Foundation, Julian and his team have established a thriving hub of evidencebased practice, which in turn has seen the school recently win a bid to become a Stronger Practice Hub. While these are huge achievements, providing high quality early years education for the children at Sheringham is always at the forefront of Julian’s thinking and decision making.

Julian’s calm and thoughtful leadership was crucial in enabling the school to navigate the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. While, for many, the world of work seemed to slow down during this time, the work of the nursery school increased tenfold. Not only did the school remain open, supporting some of the most vulnerable children and families in Newham, but families at home were also provided with helpful videos to support them to continue with children’s education, while staff delivered materials and resources to people’s doors. Julian and his team demonstrated both innovation and unwavering determination throughout this time, serving as an anchor for the local community.

The sector-wide celebratory response to Julian’s CBE award reflects his reputation as a key national expert in early years education. The school was also recently acknowledged with a Civic Award from Newham Council, to recognise the role it played in the community during the pandemic. While there are many other examples of accolades and achievements that could be listed here, it is Julian’s unwavering positivity and his ability to get the best out of people – whether that be children, families, or colleagues – for which he will be fondly remembered at Sheringham. We know that he will make a huge impact in his new role leading early years curriculum at Ofsted and wish him all the very best for the future.