Meet the Trainers

Founder and Chief Trainer

(Level 3, BA, MA, PGCE, FHEA)

 Declan is our founder and chief trainer who is responsible for ensuring that all of our services maintain the highest possible standards for the ECEC workforce. 

He is now a university lecturer in Early Years and Education Studies but, Declan has previously worked full-time in early years practice as an Early Years Practitioner in a charity-run day nursery in South Yorkshire where he was the room leader of the pre-school room. Declan has also previously held various other Early Years roles spanning across both public and private Early Years practice across South Yorkshire from 2016. Namely, a relief Teaching Assistant (TA) based in the EYFS and KS1 unit of a primary school and a holiday cover EYP working with children aged 3-11 years. It was through these experiences that Declan discovered that there was a lack of opportunities for the Early Childhood workforce to engage in CPD that was both affordable, assessible and beneficial. 

 Declan is research active and, alongside his doctorate which is exploring practitioners’ experiences of ‘Professional Love’ loss in private day nursery settings, writing for publication, and being the Chief Trainer at Nappies and Sick Training and Consultancy, he is currently the research assistant for a study led by one of his former colleagues Dr Dimi Kaneva entitled: Listening through play-based methods (LIME): Young children’s experiences of family life in the aftermath of a global pandemic. All of which informs his work at Nappies & Sick. 

Early Years Trainer and Consultant

(BA, PGCE)

Shabana joined the Nappies and Sick Training and Consultancy team in June 2024 as a trainer and consultant. Away from Nappies and Sick, Shabana works within the wider Early Years sector as the T-Level Curriculum Lead (Education and Early Years) in a Further Education (FE) college. 

Early Years Trainer and Consultant

(Level 3, BA, PGCE)

Tara joined the Nappies and Sick Training and Consultancy team in June 2024 as a trainer and consultant. Away from Nappies and Sick, Tara works within Early Years practice as a Pre-school Manager.