Nicola Williams has a bachelor’s degree in developmental psychology, a bachelor of education teaching degree, a Masters degree in Educational and Counselling Psychology, a professional qualification in school leadership and a PhD in Education with a specialty in early childhood. She grew up in Canada and received her education there. She has lived in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), Singapore and now the Cayman Islands working as a teacher and in the implementation of teacher and parent education initiatives in early child development.
In 2003, Nicola founded the College Teacher Education program in the TCI which was a non-profit program consisting of a demonstration preschool, practice teaching placements, scholarships for local children, a resource lending library, information sessions for parents and professional development for teachers.
Since moving to the Cayman Islands in 2015, she has been active in the early childhood community in her capacity as Vice-President and President of the Cayman Islands Early Childhood Association (CIECA) and as a lecturer for the certificate program in early childhood at the University of the West Indies.
In 2018, Nicola welcomed the opportunity to establish a preschool in Grand Cayman as an owner, director, and principal for five years where she implemented her Garden Playschool philosophy and approach. She left the preschool in 2022 so that she could focus her full attention on the work of the CIECA to advocate for equitable access to
high quality early childhood provision along with teaching for the new associate’s degree program in early childhood at the University College of the Cayman Islands (UCCI).
Drawing upon her most recent education and experience, Nicola transformed and progressed her Garden Playschool Approach to create Cooperative Nurturing Care (CNC) Cayman which emphasizes the paramount importance and interconnectedness of parent engagement, responsive caregiving and exploration through play for young children and specifically outlines how to translate this complex interplay successfully into practice in early childhood programs.
Most recently, Nicola created, implemented and coordinated the CNC pilot project; a non-profit childcare and family centre that provided equitable access to high quality two-generational early childhood provision along with practice teaching placements for ECE student teachers at UCCI. A genuine respect and appreciation for young children has motivated her continued dedication and efforts to enhance the care and early experiences of young children around the world.