Juliet Hancock: SCMA President
Juliet has been the President of SCMA for many years and, once again, will be our chairperson for the SCMA Conference 2025 - welcoming delegates from all across Scotland to the event.
In terms of her background, Juliet started teaching in primary schools in London before moving to a promoted post as part of the management team with a primary school in Cambridge, then worked for two years in a State Secondary school in Karoi, Zimbabwe as Head of Department for English. In 1990, she moved to Scotland and worked with the third sector as part of an initiative supporting under-fives education, before taking on a national role promoting early years education, with the Scottish Pre-School Play Association.
Holding a lecturing post at Falkirk College, Juliet developed flexible learning programmes in early childhood education, before taking on the role of development officer with Learning and Teaching Scotland. During her time at Learning and Teaching Scotland, she had responsibility for taking forward Scotland’s first national guidance of Birth to Three, as well as leading developments on pedagogy in early childhood education, curriculum and listening to children.
Juliet subsequently moved to the role of Senior Education Officer for early years with local government - continuing her focus on pedagogy, curriculum and children’s rights, before joining Moray House School of Education and Sport, the University of Edinburgh, as a Lecturer, also acting as an international early years consultant for the Open Society Foundation and taking on the role of Director of Professional Learning for Moray House in August 2017. Juliet served as a consultant for the Open Society Foundation in Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia and Moldova, working on early years inclusion. She has also served as a Qualifications and Development Specialist within SQA and served on a number of Scottish Government and national advisory groups.
Recently retired from her full-time post at Moray House School of Education and Sport, Juliet continues her keen interest in children's education, wellbeing and rights through her consultancy work. Becoming a first-time Gram-gram to her granddaughter last year will ensure that Juliet continues to keep her hand in!
Barbara Dennistoun: SCMA Convener
For 24 years, Barbara has been a cornerstone of childcare and advocacy in South Lanarkshire. As a registered childminder since 2002 and a partner provider with the local council since 2018, her career is defined by an exceptional level of dedication and continuity. Families frequently return to her care across generations, with Barbara supporting children from infancy through to high school—a testament to the deep trust and lasting relationships she builds within the community.
This commitment to long-term development is anchored in her mastery of the Froebelian philosophy. Having completed the Froebel course in Childhood Practice at the University of Edinburgh, Barbara champions a play-based approach that prioritises a child’s holistic growth. Her rich experience and knowledge now empower her to advocate for high-quality practice and support fellow childminders in implementing these vital principles in their own settings.
Beyond her individual practice, Barbara’s dedication to safeguarding extends to the wider community. Building on a decade of experience as a foster carer in Glasgow and her work with the Scottish Childminding Association’s Family Childminding Partnership, she is currently a trainee Children’s Hearing Panel member. Soon to be fully qualified, this role allows Barbara to apply her lifetime of experience to the legal system, ensuring that the voices and needs of vulnerable young people in her community remain at the heart of every decision.
Graeme McAlister: Chief Executive of SCMA
Graeme took up post as Chief Executive of SCMA in April 2019, and since then he has worked to strengthen membership engagement and support, to increase the influence of SCMA and the value attached to childminding.
In 2021, he launched an ambitious new ten-year Changing the Narrative strategy for SCMA, with the first phase of implementation (from 2021 - 2024) focusing on Strengthening Childminding, Supporting Families and Increasing Choice. This strategy provided a catalyst for change which created much wider interest in and support for childminding, including securing vital commitments to childminding in the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government.
We are now entering the final year of the second phase of the strategy – a delivery phase focused on ‘Childminding: Providing Solutions for Scotland’ (2024 – 2027). This work includes SCMA delivering the Programme for Scotland’s Childminding Future (PSCF), a three - year programme predominantly funded by Scottish Government which aims aims to grow the childminding workforce. This will be achieved through piloting new ways to support and retain our current childminders, as well as recruiting new childminders in areas where they are needed.
Prior to joining SCMA, Graeme worked for almost 20 years in a number of roles spanning membership, communications and advocating evidence-based policy and practice in the Third Sector and health. As a past Trustee of SAMH, he has a strong interest in mental health and wellbeing, inequalities and influencing change.
Audrey Donnan: Chief Inspector for Early Learning and Childcare, Care Inspectorate
Audrey has over 35 years working in the ELC sector. This involved working in a variety of roles in several different local authority areas, and mostly working with children and families from deprived areas.
Audrey’s passion has always been to give a voice to children and ensure that they are cared for in high quality environments. Audrey joined the Care Inspectorate in 2008, as an inspector of ELC settings and in 2013, Audrey became a manager of a team of inspectors covering the Scottish Borders, Dumfries and Galloway and the Lothians. A move to the role of Service Manager in the Registration team in 2022, provided a wide range of opportunities to influence Scottish Government policy and support services to give children the best start in their life journeys.
Audrey recently moved to the role of Chief Inspector for ELC in March 2024 and is honoured to be in the role.
Clare Josa: Imposter Syndrome Author, Speaker and Leadership Mentor
Clare Josa is considered a global authority on Imposter Syndrome, having spent the past fifteen years working with business leaders to help them to overcome it, as well as leading the landmark 2019 Imposter Syndrome Research Study and publishing her new book: Ditching Imposter Syndrome.
An expert in the neuroscience and psychology of performance, her original training as an engineer, specialising in Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing, means her inspirational approach is grounded in practical common sense, creating breakthroughs not burnout.
She is the author of eight books and has been interviewed by the likes of The Independent, The Daily Telegraph and Radio 4, amongst others. Clare speaks internationally on how to change the world by changing yourself.
Ben Kingston-Hughes: Managing Director, Inspired Children
Ben Kingston-Hughes is an international keynote speaker, author and multi award-winning trainer. He is also the Managing Director of Inspired Children and has worked with vulnerable children across the UK for over 30 years.
He has appeared on television several times working on a variety of children’s projects and his distinctive blend of humour, neuroscience and real-life practical experiences have made his training invaluable for anyone working with children.
His ground-breaking book, “A Very Unusual Journey into Play.” is now available and his new book “Why Children Need Joy” was a finalist for the Nursery World Professional Book of the Year 2024 where it was awarded “Highly Commended”
Karen Watson: The Scottish ASN Teacher
Karen is an Additional Support Needs (ASN) teacher, writer, speaker, and radio/podcast presenter with a passion for inclusive and accessible education. She has worked in the ASN/SEND sector for over a decade, and enjoys working with other professionals to increase our collective knowledge and confidence.
Karen is also the author of ‘Good Autism Practise for Teachers: Embracing Neurodiversity and Supporting Inclusion’ - where she aims to provide guidance on good practice, and show that the strategies and resources we routinely use for neurodivergent pupils, also benefit the majority.
In her radio show ‘Build A Ramp' and through her podcast, she looks at how we can create an inclusive space within our schools. Alongside this, Karen also provides bespoke training opportunities, for a wide range of topics including communication and visuals, transitions, positive relationships, sensory integration and more.
Nyree Cooper: Quality and Learning Development Lead, SCMA
Nyree Cooper is SCMA’s Quality and Learning Development Lead, joining the organisation in August 2024. With over 30 years’ experience working with children, she brings a wealth of knowledge from roles including Quality Improvement Lead, leadership positions in local authority nurseries, ASN support and after school care.
Since joining SCMA, Nyree has led key developments to quality Improvement and learning and development including designing the revised Self Evaluation Toolkit, delivering extensive workshops and webinars, and supporting childminders through Scotland’s retention pilots.
Nyree is passionate about reducing paperwork pressures and helping childminders feel confident, supported, and valued in their quality improvement journey. She is continually inspired by the dedication she sees across the sector.
Susannah Knox: Professional Learning Manager, SCMA
Susannah was a childminder for 17 years before becoming SCMA’s Professional Learning Manager four years ago. She previously worked as a Project Co-ordinator and trainer for young people as well as an SQA Assessor for Modern Apprenticeships. Having extensive knowledge and understanding of childminding as well as listening to lots of our members feedback has really helped the Professional Learning Team at SCMA to shape our learning to ensure it is interesting, relevant, and accessible.
In the last four years our existing professional learning offering has been extensively updated, revised, and added to. We now add voice over to all our new eLearning courses and are adding this retrospectively to all our course . This is part of the work we are doing to make our learning more inclusive and accessible for our members. We have also introduced webinars, podcasts, and new content on our bespoke learning platform and are continuing to work with partners to share their professional expertise, knowledge and understanding with our members. We are also participating in further work to support members including a review of all resources, including paperwork.