Our story
Love Early Years (originally Ci2eye) is the mission statement of Christian Initiatives in Early Years Education, which is a UK based charity for those working in early years provision. It seeks to inspire, encourage and develop this important work from a Christian perspective.
Ci2eye was set up by Ruth Andrews, a qualified early years teacher, who has a passion for seeing young children touched by the love of God. Ruth set about responding to a two-part vision. Firstly she led her local church in opening a pre-school to reach the young children in their community with a practical, real demonstration of the love of God. Secondly, she saw this initiative being transferred nationwide, encouraging Christians to grasp the opportunity to show the love of God in action amongst families with young children.
Fulfilling the first part of the vision, Samuels Christian Nursery opened its doors in 1990, and it has gone on to be an example in the neighbourhood of high-quality care for young children. Ten years later, the second part of the vision began to emerge. After encouragement and support from a range of Christian organisations, Ci2eye was launched in 2003 at a joint conference with Care for Education .
Ci2eye celebrated its 10th birthday in 2013 with a Celebration in which colleagues from Europe and the United States took part. In 2016 it was decided to refer to our ministry as Love Early Years rather than Ci2eye, because it refers to what we do rather than being an obscure acrostic.
Christian Initiatives in Early Years Education
Christian
Our work is built upon Christian foundations and reflects our shared belief that all children matter to God.
Initiatives
We want to take the initiative and not simply be reactionary. We encourage innovation and new ideas.
Early Years
This begins at birth. Different contexts define the upper age limit of early years, which vary from 5 – 7 years old.
Education
The holistic education of young children from birth; their care, learning and development. Play is at the heart of learning.
Our vision and mission
Our Vision
Our Mission
Our aims
To nurture and support Early Years practitioners and settings holding Christian values.
This is being delivered through regular newsletters, magazine, conference, workshops, meetings and visits. Through nurturing and supporting practitioners we reduce the isolation in which they often operate and create meaningful networks. In turn this contributes to children and families being offered confident and quality education.
To advocate a holistic approach to Early Years care and education and encourage the highest quality care and education by offering mentoring and training.
We recognise the vital importance of the first five years of a child’s life. We intentionally encourage growth in all aspects of the young child’s care and education – physical, spiritual, mental and emotional. Through mentoring and training we enable practitioners to engage with examples of good practice in all these areas. This distinctive approach to education will result in genuine choice for parents.
To foster relationships between individuals and organisations holding similar values and rationale, in the UK and overseas.
Through our magazine, visits and conference speakers we enable practitioners to learn from national and international settings in order to inform professional knowledge and understanding. This aids development of best practice with children, families and communities.
Meet the team
Ruth Andrews - Founder, Team Leader & Chair of Trustees
Founder, Team Leader and Chair of Trustees
Ruth’s journey over the years has been one of love, care and focus on young children. Qualifying as a Primary teacher, she worked in various London schools during which time she met and married Brian.
She set up Samuels Christian Nursery in 1990 with members of the Broadmead Baptist Church, Northampton where Brian was the minister and managed a great team for twenty exciting years of Early Years education! During that time she qualified as an Ofsted inspector, through which she came into contact with Care for Education, enabling her to set up the first Early Years conferences for Christians at Samuels nursery. Two years later, in partnership with a colleague, Christian Initiatives in Early Years Education was launched.
Since that time she has been connected with Christians in many areas of the UK, New Zealand and United States. Since retiring from Samuels nursery, she has moved to Ipswich to be nearer to her grandchildren, enabling her to continue being creative with ‘little people’!
Brian Andrews - Treasurer
Administrator and Treasurer
Brian trained as a Maths teacher before responding to God’s call to serve as pastor to two Baptist congregations over 37 years in Surrey and Northampton.
Over the past 10 years he has become more convinced of the vital importance of the early years in a child’s spiritual development and believes we all have much to learn from young children. He serves as administrator and treasurer of Love Early Years.
Peter Michell - Editor of Early Days Magazine & Trustee
Editor of Early Days Magazine and Trustee
Peter, a Congregational minister, is Director of Mr Noah’s Nursery School, in rural Kent.
For forty years he has combined his work as a minister with a commitment to education at different levels ranging from early years through to secondary schooling. He is a great advocate of outdoors and the forest school approach.
Angela Msumba - Trustee
Trustee
Angela has spent all her career working in the field of Early Years. She became a lecturer and assessor in Further Education colleges in Nottingham, teaching and assessing on a variety of childcare courses.
The arrival of her first child led her to become a child minder. She sees the early years of children as precious and wanted to make the most of it welcoming, loving and caring for other children in her home.
Angela is the owner of Heart Preschool and is delighted at how God led her to set up her first Christian Nursery in Nottingham. “I pray God will continue to use me to impart love, learning, and lots of laughter in the lives of young children.”
Tamsin Grimmer - Trustee
Trustee
Tamsin Grimmer is an associate of Early Education, Principal Lecturer at Norland University of Early Childhood and an Emotion Coaching Senior Lead Practitioner Trainer for Emotion Coaching UK. She has a wealth of experience supporting Early Years Teachers and educators. She is passionate about young children’s learning and believes that all children deserve educators who are inspiring, dynamic, reflective and loving. Tamsin was involved in writing both editions of the Birth to Five Matters materials and has written several books aimed at educators and is a true advocate for adopting a loving pedagogy.
Helen Kear - Trustee
Trustee
Helen has been a Reception teacher for over 25 years. She has also had the privilege to spend a year in New Zealand, where she worked in some Christian preschools.
When her first child was born, she left her role as EYFS Leader in a large infant school, to spend time with her new arrival, which she is now doing again with her second child. She has been involved with Love Early Years since its early days and became a trustee in 2018.
Helen is very passionate about the importance of the early years of a child’s life. She continues to work with young children and their families in her church, both within the Baby and Toddler Group and on a Sunday morning.
Mary Hawes - Trustee
Trustee
Mary Hawes has been part of the Love Early Years journey for a long time, and finally joined the Trustees in 2022.
Having trained as a primary school teacher, she has worked with Scripture Union, Rochester Cathedral and the Diocese of London. Ordained as a priest in the Church of England in 2001, she serves a parish in south London, and until 2022 was the National Children and Youth Adviser for the Church of England.
Her time is now taken up with church ministry, Godly Play, being a school governor and volunteering with the Bookmark charity (supporting children online with their reading).
Ann Sharp - Trustee
Trustee
Ann came into Early years by chance! Having worked for Rank Xerox as a manager and left to raise a family, her local pre-school asked if she would like to help with music – another passion of hers.
Ann found herself working at the setting and studying for her Early Years qualifications, before moving to another setting as a manager, and establishing a new pre-school for two-year-olds.
Ann has worked as Development Manager for the Early Years Alliance, responsible for delivering SEND and development support to over seventy settings. She is now the Early Years Advisor for Chelmsford Diocese Mission and Ministry and the Mustard Seed Team supporting nurseries, toddler groups, reception classes and providing training and organising retreats for practitioners and churches.
In her spare time, Ann sings in a small group with her husband who is a retired priest, goes on long walks, and is kept busy and active by her two grandsons.
Dr Margaret Simms - Trustee
Trustee
God brought Ruth, Brian and Margaret together many years ago. When they first met for coffee in 2007, they knew theirs was to be a long-standing relationship. Since then, Margaret has enjoyed close ties with other Ci2eye and Love Early Years Trustees.
In 2016, when ‘School Readiness’ became ‘a thing’, Margaret was a member of TACTYC Executive; as such, they strongly opposed this term and advocated instead for ‘Readiness for School’. The fight continues.
After a long and successful career designing, delivering, leading and moderating early years, children’s and young people’s education programmes, Margaret now spends her leisure time running for charities that support children and families, volunteering at CityHubUkraine, Nottingham, coffee-ing and helping out at Heart Preschool.
So, what has changed in 30 plus years? Better yet, what has remained the same? Her love for children. Her heart for high quality early years provision and practice. Her trust in God that He holds our little ones in His hands.
Becky Waterman - Administrator
Administrator
Becky Waterman started working as the part-time administrator for Love Early Years in October, 2025.
Becky is an author, and spent several years living in Uganda and Liberia working with Mission Aviation Fellowship, along with her husband, Dave. They returned to the UK in 2024, where Becky has continued with her writing and ministry, Becky’s Bible Thoughts, alongside her part-time work with Love Early Years.
Share in our vision
Your partnership helps us to continue fulfilling our aims and supporting those working in Early Years Education & Care.