Sam Ryder

Sam Ryder is a specialist in Early Years and Transition into Key Stage 1. She has over twenty years of experience predominantly working as an Early Years Leader and Practitioner and has held a number of senior leadership roles throughout her career in primary education.

She is passionate about outdoor play provision in the Early Years and the importance of offering children rich learning experiences, which provide opportunities for freedom, challenge and creativity. She is a firm believer that the role parents play in the education of their children is crucial and developed at her previous setting a partnership model that was implemented on a whole school level. Having worked as an EYFS Profile Moderator for a number of years, she was responsible for ensuring consistency and rigour in assessment across different settings within a local authority.

Following a period of postgraduate study she qualified as a certified Play Therapist in 2022. This enables her to work with children in a variety of school settings, supporting them with emotional, social or behavioural difficulties they may be facing.