East London university’s early childhood expert awarded OBE

An expert in early chilhood at the University of East London has been awarded an OBE for her services to education.

Dr Eva Lloyd, a Reader in Early Childhood at the Cass School of Education and Communities was nominated by the Department for Education (DfE), Dr Lloyd was a member of a steering group set up under the coalition Government to develop early years policy in partnership with the sector.

As a Dutch national, Dr Lloyd is named in the list of Honorary British Awards to Foreign Nationals 2013.

She said: “If there can be anything approaching a group OBE, mine must be it, since it reflects the hard work of the many early childhood sector and DfE colleagues who were involved in the early childhood policy co-production process during the first half of the coalition Government.”

Eva’s interest in early childhood policy and practice goes back to 1985 when she joined the Thomas Coram Research Unit at the University of London’s Institute of Education, after graduating in Psychology. She spent the next fifteen years with children’s NGOs; working in policy and research for Save the Children and Barnardo’s, and as CEO of the National Early Years Network.

Dr Lloyd joined the Cass School of Education and Communities as Reader in Early Childhood in January 2007, after spending the previous four years as Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies at the University of Bristol, where she was director of the BSc in Early Childhood Studies.