Avril fulfilled a lifelong ambition to drive her own business in January 2019 by setting up Meantóir (the Irish word for Mentor). Based in the beautiful Inis Eoghain peninsula of Donegal, Meantóir supports early childhood services all over Ireland. Avril has a solutions-based focus for the business and strives to develop practical solutions for busy educators that put children in the centre of early childhood provision. Within its first 18 months Meantóir developed an online app called MOSAIC which connects educators and parents around the care, learning and development updates when children are in early childhood settings. The latest development for Meantóir is a new online training platform helping to cater for the demand for Meantóir training and professional development. Avril has dedicated her working life to early childhood care and education and possesses a diverse skills-set consisting of practical, academic and policy experience and expertise accumulated over the past 20 years. The legacy of her work and being at the forefront of a range of pioneering initiatives to enhance early childhood education locally, regionally and nationally; is well evidenced. Not least she worked as an Education Officer with the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment to develop Aistear, Ireland's first early childhood curriculum framework. She worked as Manager of Donegal County Childcare 2008-2018 bringing forth and developing a range of legacy projects and initiatives during that time including Ireland’s first piece of national research into the cost of childcare. Avril was awarded a State Appointment and served as the nominee of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs on the Council of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment from 2015-18. She holds an MEd from Queens Graduate School of Education and a BA (Hons) in Early Childhood Studies from Queens University Belfast. Avril has two grandchildren who are the stars of many of her training examples and is a two-time cancer survivor who loves living by the sea and empowering other women with her story. You can find out more about Meantóir services and supports on www.meantoir.ie …MOSAIC on www.mosaicelc.ie and online training on www.earlyedcpd.ie