Valerie Sollars is an academic member of staff at the Faculty of Education within the Department of Early Childhood & Primary Education. Her interest in and promotion of early childhood education and care has led to her authoring several policy documents (2006, 2013, 2014), contributing to an Early Years Framework as part of the National Curriculum Framework (2008-2012) and developing the first undergraduate programme of studies for early years practitioners (2009-2016). She also co-ordinated the development of a post-graduate degree in Early Years with colleagues from six European institutions and subsequently was a member of an international consortium delivering an Erasmus Mundus Master in Early Childhood Education (2010-2016). In line with one of her research interests, Valerie has conducted research focusing on emergent literacy and young language learners and led a number of language-related projects at the ECML in Graz (1998-2007). Valerie has recently published articles focusing on parents satisfaction about early years settings and transitions from kindergarten to compulsory school. Forthcoming publications include a comprehensive report on the early years workforce drawn up for the SEEPRO-R project and which follows from previous work (Sollars, 2007) and an article for Oxford Bibliographies entitled Early Childhood Education in Europe. She has also authored a chapter on children's use of spaces and places to be included in a publication by the President's Foundation for the WellBeing of Society. Her current research focuses on quality issues from the perspective of parents and staff and the history of early childhood education in Malta.

Valerie was a Head of Department (2004-2011) and the Dean of the Faculty of Education (2007-2015). She has also served on various national and international boards including the Council for the Teaching Profession; the Institute for Education; the National Institute for Childhood and the European Network for Teacher Education Policy (ENTEP).