You're Invited
To an Exclusive Early Years Leadership & Book Launch Event
PrepMe Learning - Early years educators
Leading Transformation in Early Years
An Exclusive Leadership Conversation & Book Launch with Dr. Allan Presland
A morning for Early Years leaders, educators and professionals in Dubai to gather for learning, knowledge-sharing, networking and open conversation about where the Early Years sector is headed next.
Complimentary Book
Receive your free copy at the event
Guest Speakers
Learn from leaders in Early Years
And So Much More
Networking, education & special surprises
DATE
12 September 2026
TIME
11:00AM - 14:00PM
LOCATION
BC ACADEMY INT. SCHOOL L.L.C
HOST
PrepMe Learning
Early Years Educators
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” — William Butler Yeats
Every Early Years Setting Is Shaped by
The Person Who Leads It
Rising costs. Staff shortages. Growing parent expectations. Regulation that never stands still. If you're running a nursery today, you already know that Early Years leadership isn't optional anymore. It's the difference between a setting that survives and one that truly thrives.
So what does it actually take to lead through that? For one morning in Dubai, some of the sharpest minds in Early Years leadership are coming together to answer that question, in the room, in conversation, with you.
Not a Lecture. Not a Webinar.
A Real Conversation.
This isn't a lecture, and it's not a webinar you half-watch while doing something else. It's a room full of the people who get it: nursery owners, directors and senior Early Years leaders having the conversation you don't usually get time for.
At the centre of it is Dr. Allan Presland, founder of Parenta and trainer of over 35,000 Early Years staff. He has spent decades immersed in the financial and operational realities of running childcare businesses. He's in Dubai to launch his new book, Childcare SuperHero: Transforming Your Childcare Business, and to talk openly about what it really takes to move a nursery from getting by to thriving: staffing, cash flow, growth, and the leadership decisions behind all of it.
Three Hours. One Room.
The Future of Early Years Leadership.
An unmissable morning for nursery owners, directors and Early Years professionals ready to lead their setting
into its next stage of growth.
"A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." — John C. Maxwell
About the Book: Childcare Superhero
Working harder every year... but still barely surviving?
If that sentence just landed a little too close to home, you're exactly who this book was written for.
Childcare SuperHero: Transforming Your Childcare Business is Dr. Allan Presland's #1 bestselling follow-up to Improving the Business of Childcare, and it doesn't read like a business textbook. It reads like your own story, staring back at you.
Meet Amanda. She's a fictional nursery owner, but her journey is built from over 1,000 real conversations with nursery managers, early years leaders and setting owners navigating the same pressures you are: government funding rules that don't add up, rising costs, staff turnover, unpredictable cash flow, and parents who expect everything, all at once. Through Amanda's story, Dr Presland lays out the blueprint the most successful nurseries are already using to break free from survival mode, for good.
Inside, you'll find the thinking behind:
- Breaking free from the funding myths keeping you stuck
- Pricing for sustainability, not guilt
- Cash flow and forecasting models that hand you back financial control
- Systems that end late payments, no more chasing, no more awkward conversations
- A marketing and enrolment approach that keeps your spaces full and turns enquiries into loyal families
- The culture shifts that build a self-managing team, so you're no longer the bottleneck
- The silent profit leaks draining thousands from your business every year
- Leadership frameworks that let you scale, without losing your evenings and weekends
It's not theory. It's tested, in-the-trenches advice already helping thousands of childcare businesses stop apologising for wanting to be profitable, and start building something that lasts.
You don't have to choose between outstanding care and a sustainable business. You can have both. It's time to become a Childcare SuperHero.
At
Leading Transformation in Early Years, you'll hear the story behind the book straight from Dr Presland himself, and every attendee takes home their own
free, signed copy.
MEET OUR SPEAKERS
Nazia Mirza
Nazia Mirza is Director of Early Years Educators at PrepMe Learning Centre, leading initiatives that strengthen Early Years leadership, workforce development and professional practice across the UAE.
With over 22 years of experience spanning leadership, education, training, coaching and organisational development, she is passionate about empowering educators and leaders to create meaningful and sustainable change. Her career includes leadership roles within Early Years settings, alongside extensive work in professional development and wellbeing.
Nazia is also an experienced media contributor, having appeared in over 200 television programmes, sharing insights on wellbeing, personal development and education.
Dr. Allan Presland
Founder of Parenta, Author & Childcare Business Expert
Dr Allan Presland has spent his career proving that the right training changes everything. As founder and Chairman of The Parenta Group, England's largest provider of Early Years apprenticeship training, he and his team have trained more than 35,000 nursery staff, while Parenta's Nursery Management Systems have processed over £6 billion in billing for UK childcare providers.
Beyond Parenta, Allan founded Amplify Education Group, extending his work across the UK, the Middle East and Asia through training companies spanning Teaching Assistants, Project Management, Construction Skills, and Health & Social Care.
Closer to home, he created the Childcare Business Blueprint, a training programme for nursery owners building profitable, sustainable businesses, alongside EYBI (Early Years Business Intelligence), designed to help owners spot the financial blind spots that quietly put good nurseries at risk.
He is a two-time Amazon #1 bestselling author, of Improving the Business of Childcare and Childcare SuperHero: Transforming Your Childcare Business, and has represented the Early Years sector in Parliament and the House of Lords.
Through the Parenta Trust, the charity he founded, Allan has built seven schools in post-conflict East Africa, across Uganda and Rwanda, giving hundreds of orphaned children access to education.
Dr. Bochra Kaddoura
Dr. Bochra Kaddoura is an Early Childhood Care and Education Advisor at the Sharjah Private Education Authority and a UNESCO consultant in the MENA region, specializing in early childhood policy, financing, and systems transformation.
With over four decades of international experience, she works at the intersection of evidence, policy, and implementation to advance equitable and sustainable early childhood systems.
She has a longstanding relationship with UNESCO, contributing technical expertise to global and regional work on ECCE, including major Global ECCE reports, policy frameworks, and international initiatives.
She currently serves on UNESCO’s Technical Advisory Group for the Global Report on Early Childhood Education 2026 and is a Senior Expert Member of the Education Beyond 2030 Foresight Exercise, contributing to global evidence, policy directions, and the future education agenda.
Her work focuses on translating SDG 4.2 into actionable policy through stronger governance, sustainable financing, workforce development, quality, and cross sector collaboration across the UAE, MENA region, and globally.
Zaina Shihabi
Zaina Shihabi is an education leader with a career spanning teaching, academic research, school and nursery leadership, and early childhood education.
Prior to working in education, she worked in events, marketing, and editorial. After completing a Master’s in Education, a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and a PhD, she enjoyed teaching for several years before moving into a nursery management role as Blossom Mudon's Centre Director.
In September 2025, Zaina was appointed Head of Education at Blossom Nursery, overseeing all 32 centres across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. Alongside her academic qualifications in mass communications and education, she holds an NCFE CACHE Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and an NCFE Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement, and has recently been offered a place on a Master of Science in Psychology programme.
Her academic and professional interests include critical thinking in the early years, memory formation, ethics in educational practice, and the ethical use of artificial intelligence.
ALSO ON STAGE
Ali Khan
Ali Khan is a Co-Owner of PrepMe Learning Centre and CEO of PrepMe Early Years Educators, where he is passionate about advancing excellence, innovation and professional development within early years education.
With 25 years’ experience in vocational education and training, Ali is also Founder and CEO of Education and Learning Academy Ltd, a UK-based training provider delivering government-funded Apprenticeships into multiple industries.
Since 2011, ELA has supported over 10,000 adult learners and grown to become a respected training organisation, achieving an Ofsted “Good” rating. .
His expertise spans Leadership & Management, Project Management and Business Improvement, with recognised qualifications including ILM, PRINCE2, APM, Agile and Lean Six Sigma.
Ali is committed to empowering educators, strengthening organisations and creating meaningful opportunities for professional growth and lifelong learning.
Dana Alqinneh
Dana Alqinneh is Head of Pedagogy Innovation and Early Years Thought Leadership at Parent App, and a certified Master Trainer in Trauma-Informed Practices through Starr Commonwealth.
She holds a Master's degree in Education and brings over a decade of experience as an educatr, former nursery principal and early years consultant, grounding her work in the realities of GCC classrooms and multilingual, multicultural early years contexts. She has published a paper on the Play Based Behaviours of Emirati Children and hosts The Early Years Podcast and Webinar series exploring trauma-informed and child-led practice with voices from across the sector. She is also a children's book author, writing on identity, belonging, and sensory memory.
Zara Harrington
I am an experienced international school Principal with a strong track record of driving rapid, sustainable school improvement in British curriculum settings.
Currently leading a high-performing school in Dubai, I have successfully secured BSO Outstanding status, driven measurable KHDA improvements across all phases, and delivered significant enrolment growth in a highly competitive market.
My leadership focuses on building high-performing teams, embedding robust quality assurance systems, and aligning school strategy to both inspection frameworks and future-focused education models.
With previous experience as an Ofsted Associate Inspector, I bring a deep understanding of evidence-based evaluation, inspection readiness, and defensible school improvement planning.
EVENT SCHEDULE
Welcome & Opening Ceremony
Nazia Mirza welcomes guests, introduces the purpose of the event, thanks BC Academy and Parent App, and invites Ms. Zara, Principal of BC Academy, to open the morning.
Introducing PrepMe Learning
A short video introducing PrepMe Learning, Early Years Educators, its programmes and its team.
Book Launch Spotlight: Childcare SuperHero
Ali Khan interviews Dr. Allan Presland on his new book, Childcare SuperHero: Transforming Your Childcare Business , and what it means for today's Early Years leaders.
From Sustainable Nurseries to Sustainable Early Childhood Systems.
Dr. Bochra Kaddoura (SPEA) discussing leadership, quality and Sustainable Early Childhood Systems.
Leadership Panel: Leading the Transformation
Moderated by Dana, with Dr. Allan Presland, Dr. Bochra Kaddoura, Zaina Shihabi and Nazia Mirza.
Audience Q&A & Key Takeaways
Open questions to the panel, followed by closing reflections.
Recognition & PrepMe Shields Presentation
Nazia Mirza thanks speakers, partners and guests, presents PrepMe Shields to special contributors, and gathers everyone for a group photograph.
Networking, Refreshments & Book Signing
Refreshments, informal conversation, guest photographs, and a book signing with Dr. Allan Presland until 2:00 PM.
OUR PARTNERS
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