Eyes on Early Years Volume 13 | Page 2

Where has the last month gone? The winter break is now long forgotten! January saw two graduations taking place – one in Abu Dhabi and one in Dubai. It is fantastic to see so many individuals (over 135) completing courses! I was approached by several learners who had such positive feedback on their experience (no one mentioned homework!!!), and all of whom said that they couldn’t have done it without the support of their tutors! I hope for many this will be just the beginning of their journey as ‘lifelong learners’. The 30th January 2018 was a significant date for QuEST. As a team, we were able to enjoy the eagerly awaited official opening of the Abu Dhabi office. By having a purpose - built office, it means that we can offer early years professionals in Abu Dhabi an exceptional learning environment, with a team of highly qualified and experienced education professionals leading the learning. This really was a significant ‘next step for us’. A big thank you to everyone involved in making this happen, it is a real achievement for us all. I would also like to thank those of you that were able to attend this special day. Last week we enjoyed a visit from Tim Dawkins and Rob Kindness from CACHE NCFE. They were also able to visit our newly opened Abu Dhabi office and spend time with the team there. I am pleased that CACHE NCFE have made an official confirmation on ‘placement hours’ – being able to show competency across all age groups is such an important aspect of this robust course. They have also added a reminder to learners to check that you are undertaking your course with a certified and recognised CACHE Centre. We also presented the first session of our ’10 most popular CPDs in 10 months’ series. This Phonics session was an excellent start to our birthday celebrations, with 95 attendees! Wo r k h a s n o w b e g u n o n o u r h i g h l y a n t i c i p a t e d ‘CPD Saturday ’ on the 10th March 2018. We have partnered with 5 suppliers to offer this highly interactive learning opportunity. Sessions are already booking fast, so please contact [email protected] for more information. Lara Hudson Chief Operating Officer