Pioneering Women Who Shaped Early Years Education – And Those Who Continue to Inspire

GrandWomen: celebrating all women all year, every year

At Grandir UK, we support all women at every stage of their lives – whether they’re re-entering the workforce later in life, balancing motherhood with a career or even taking their first steps into the Early Years field, we’re here to provide opportunities and support to women every step of the way. Our commitment to celebrating women, embracing diversity and striving to achieve gender equality is reflected in our GrandWomen campaign. This campaign is dedicated to championing women of all identities, ages, backgrounds, and experiences, whether as valued employees, families who trust us with their children, or future generations we are helping to raise.

Falling on 8 March 2025, International Women’s Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of incredible women all over the world. Additionally, the entire month of March is recognised as Women’s History Month, a time to reflect on the incredible contributions of women throughout history and their influence on contemporary society.

Early Years education, in particular, is a sector that has been spearheaded by an array of inspiring women, whose work has completely transformed the way children learn and grow for years to come. At Grandir UK we don’t just believe in celebrating women on International Women’s Day itself, but 365 days a year.

With inclusivity at our core, we empower women from all walks of life, embracing the wonderful diversity of their experiences and strengths. In this blog, we’re shining a light on some of the most influential women in Early Years education, while honouring the inspiring women of Grandir UK who make a difference every day!

Pioneering women in Early Years education: celebrating International Women’s Day

Maria Montessori

Italian educator, physician, and three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Maria Montessori made waves in Early Years education throughout the 20th century.

Despite being faced with many challenges because of the lack of gender equality and women’s rights, in 1896 she graduated from the University of Rome as a Doctor of Medicine. After completing her studies, she followed her passion for working with children by supporting those with developmental delays at the university’s clinic, helping raise awareness around the challenges those children faced.

During this time, Maria began to form her own famous educational philosophy, the Montessori Method – a child-led approach which centres around a hands-on way of learning that sparks children’s curiosity and grows from their natural interests.

Margaret and Rachel McMillian

Margaret McMillian and her sister Rachel’s amazing work during the late 19th century completely reshaped Early Years education in Britain, creating a new and improved standard for modern nurseries in the new century and making a huge impact on women’s history. Their contributions are even recognised today by non-profit organisations such as the National Women’s History Alliance.

The sisters advocated for five main concepts: open-air nurseries which promote health and outdoor learning environments, dedicated ‘nursery school’ settings (a term invented by the sisters themselves), a child-centred curriculum tailored to the needs and interests of individual children and the integration of health and social care within education. They also believed that these assets should be accessible to all children regardless of their economic status. Thanks to the McMillian sisters’ tireless work, all these concepts are now ingrained in Early Years settings and education today – valiant, innovating women at their finest!

Lyndsey Hellyn and Stephanie Bennett

This inspirational duo co-founded the Curiosity Approach in 2017, which is now followed by a plethora of nurseries across the UK. The Curiosity Approach is a play-based and child-led approach where children become the centre of their own development. Children are encouraged to explore and experiment with the engaging resources around them, sparking their natural curiosity and wonder. Lyndsey and Stephanie have a combined total of 50 years of experience in the Early Years industry and between them, they run six nurseries across the Midlands.

Inspiring women at Grandir UK

In light of Women’s History Month, we also want to recognise the hard work and dedication of the many inspiring women who are an integral part of Grandir UK. These three wonderful women have made an exceptional contribution to their local community, the nurseries they’ve been a part of and to our business as whole and their contribution to women’s history and experience should be highlighted!

Tara

With 33 years of Early Years experience under her belt, Tara started working in a day nursery at 17 years old as an unqualified member of staff. Once she started working at Kiddi Caru Grange Park, the team encouraged her to enrol on the Grandir UK Early Years Apprenticeship programme. Despite being a working mum and studying at the same time, Tara persevered and achieved her Level 3 Early Years Education qualification at 50 years old.

Helen

The leadership of Nursery Managers have a huge impact on the function of a nursery, and Helen, as Nursery Manager of Kiddi Caru Torquay, is a standout. She has worked at Kiddi Caru Torquay for over 20 years!

She was first inspired by the Early Years industry in secondary school where she completed work experience within a school and nursery – it was at this point she realised that she wanted to work in childcare. Over the years Helen’s career has reached exceptional heights and her story sends a great message of perseverance.

Lydia

Grandir UK CEO Lydia Hopper always had a passion for being around children from an early age and she credits them for giving her the confidence to pursue a career in Early Years. In our GrandPod ‘CEO to Student’ episode she stated: “When I was at school, my preference was to be in the playground with the reception children supporting and helping”.

Determined to turn her passion into a long-lasting career, Lydia undertook a National Nursery Examination Board (NNEB). During her studies, she was placed in a variety of nursery and school placements which gave her a strong sense of what it was like to work in the Early Years sector. Reflecting on her career, Lydia attributes much of her success to the hands-on experience she gained during her studies and her early roles in the field. Today, as CEO of Grandir UK, she continues to champion the importance of women educating the next generation in the sector.

March is the month of women, celebrate Women’s History Month with us over on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook. Follow the hashtag #GrandWomen to join the conversation! We’ll be posting a new story, celebrating different women in different ways for 12 months, we hope you’ll share our journey.