Devon County Council re-design of education and learning services – early years and childcare update: 3rd October 2025

Posted on 2 October 2025 in News and updates

Welcome to our third update on the redesign of Devon’s Education and Learning Services, with a spotlight on Early Years and Childcare. We’re committed to keeping you informed and supported every step of the way.

Where we are now

We’ve now completed all HR processes for Early Years staff. Everyone has been allocated a role and knows their locality. The final step is assigning staff to specific learning communities—updates on this will follow soon.

Each locality includes:

  • Service Lead – Early Years
  • Senior Early Years Inclusion Practitioner
  • Early Years Inclusion Practitioners (x3)
  • Team Lead – Quality & Inclusion (Early Years)
  • Early Years Quality & Inclusion Partners (x2)
  • Early Years Welfare & Sufficiency Advisers (x3)

Meet your local teams

North and Mid

  • Service Lead: Amy Fedrick
  • Team Lead: Nikki Phillips
  • Senior Inclusion Practitioner: Mercy Derby
  • Quality & Inclusion Partners: Sally Rice, Sarah Innalls, Sarah Murts
  • Welfare & Sufficiency Advisors: Liz Carroll, Helen Stephenson, Katy Vallance
  • Inclusion Practitioners – Helen Dickerson, Nicola Martin, Debra Heywood and Lindsay Kuzara

Exeter and East

  • Service Lead: Katie Johnson
  • Team Lead: Tamsin Robertson
  • Senior Inclusion Practitioner: Donna Lester
  • Quality & Inclusion Partners: Sarah Murts, Karen Salter, Julie Paddick
  • Welfare & Sufficiency Advisors: Kerry Thorne, Neil Copland, Nik Wills, Alexa Gill
  • Inclusion Practitioners: Amanda Hawkins, Rachael Schaechter, Ella Rice and Jemma Harrison

South and West

  • Service Lead: Samantha Chapman
  • Team Lead: Sue Bolt
  • Senior Inclusion Practitioner: Mandy Astin
  • Quality & Inclusion Partners: Louise Carter and Brenda Glanville
  • Welfare & Sufficiency Advisors: Lorna Pitts, Sharon Gehringer and Beth Trantham
  • Inclusion Practitioners: Cara Lye, Helen Barton, Jacqueline Goult and Marie Loader

Job titles and ways of working

You may notice updated job titles that align with the wider Inclusion and Learning structure. For now, your support remains unchanged:

  • Your named contacts are still your go-to person
  • Any ongoing work will be completed by the current staff member or transitioned smoothly
  • We’ll share more details on changes next week

What’s next?

  • October: Review of current working arrangements
  • Stakeholder survey and engagement opportunities
  • Continue using current referral routes (Early Years Complex Needs, Nursery Plus, Inclusion Funding)
  • Transition to new delivery models in the second half of Autumn term

A message from the team

We are really looking forward to seeing many of you at the conference next week and we will be looking to gather your thoughts and ideas on how we can improve the service to meet your needs. There will be lots of other opportunities in the next few weeks to share your views so look out for our survey.  We know change can feel daunting—especially when you’re already working hard. Our aim is to move forward gently and collaboratively, testing new approaches with you and our families, and keeping communication clear and open.

Contact your locality lead

If you have questions or need support, please reach out: