Strategic, reflective support shaped around your setting
At Marathon Early Years Consultancy, what our consultancy offers is never off the shelf. All support is shaped around your setting — its context, ethos, values and ways of working — rather than a generic model or pre-designed programme.
We believe meaningful improvement begins with deep understanding, not assumptions. Rather than arriving with a fixed checklist, we take time to understand your intrinsic needs, priorities, methodology and — where appropriate — your existing policies, procedures and systems. This ensures all consultancy support is relevant, purposeful and firmly rooted in everyday practice. Our consultancy is designed to support quality, confidence and sustainability, not short-term fixes.
How Our Consultancy Works
Discovery & Understanding
The process begins with an initial discovery conversation. This allows us to build a clear picture of your setting’s strengths, areas for development, leadership priorities and desired outcomes. This stage is essential in ensuring any support is proportionate, appropriate and aligned to your setting’s context.
Co-Created Support Plan
Following discovery, we work with you to co-create a fully personalised programme of support. This may include a combination of:
- On-site consultancy visits
- Smaller, more frequent visits as part of ongoing support
- Quality Experience Days (QED) focused on children’s experiences and practice
- Regulatory and compliance consultancy to strengthen statutory systems
- Virtual leadership coaching and mentoring
- Written feedback, action planning and follow-up guidance
Support can be short-term and focused, or longer-term and cyclical, depending on your needs.
The Marathon Method
All consultancy is delivered through the Marathon Method — a structured cycle of reflection, action and review. This ensures improvement is embedded over time, rather than relying on one-off visits or reactive change.
What Consultancy Support Focuses On
Our consultancy work commonly supports settings to strengthen:
- The quality of children’s experiences
- Teaching, interactions and curriculum implementation
- Inclusion, SEND and equitable practice
- Leadership confidence and decision-making
- Safeguarding and regulatory compliance
- Operational systems and consistency
- Preparation for change, growth or inspection readiness (without replicating inspection activity)
What This Gives You
- Support that is shaped around yoursetting, not a template
- Clear priorities and practical next steps
- Increased confidence for leaders and teams
- Sustainable improvement embedded through the Marathon Method
- Consultancy that works with you, not to you
