My professional background is in working with children, my career began as an NNEB nursery nurse and I did many jobs (nanny, childminder, preschool, reception class, after school club, primary school, special school, and in learning support). I then trained as a teacher of adults and went on to be a college lecturer. I am now a senior university lecturer, but my heart has always been in the early years. I am passionate about highlighting the incredible work that is going on in the early years and in schools and have a strength-based, empowering, and optimistic view, which I try to instill in my students. Working with young children is a privilege and a joy.
I wrote
Strength-based Practice with Children and Families
Reading this book, and others in the series, is like a warm hug! It details a view of a small village school in the 1960s and it is just such a joy to read.
The stories about the school and the children are touching, funny and emotional. This book is a great example of social history and it just makes you want to work in a tiny village school and to be around children like these. It’s such a fulfilling read. Village Christmas is wonderful too, I read it in December every year.
The very first Miss Read novel - set in 1950s England, perfect nostalgia for fans of CALL THE MIDWIFE or Gervase Phinn.
'An affectionate, humorous and gently charming chronicle ... sometimes funny, sometimes touching, always appealing' New York Times
Fairacre is a village of cottages, a church and the school - and at the heart of the school, its headmistress, Miss Read.
Through her discerning eye, we meet the villagers of Fairacre and see their trials and tribulations, from the irascible school cleaner Mrs Pringle, to the young schoolchildren with their scraped knees, hopeful faces and inevitable mischief.
This is my very favourite children’s book. I have read it hundreds of times and it still brings tears to my eyes.
It is a great book to read to children who are starting preschool, or nursery, or school. It is about 3 owl babies whose mother goes away to find food. They worry that she might not come back but of course she does. It helps children understand that their parent will come back at the end of the day.
The page where the mother owl comes back to the baby owls makes me cry every time!
A special 25th anniversary edition of a modern classic, Owl Babies reassures young children that Mummy will always come home.
"The perfect picture book" Guardian
A special 25th anniversary board book edition of a bestselling modern classic, Owl Babies is a comforting read for any toddler who has ever worried about mum leaving them alone, or any child starting pre-school for the very first time. Sarah, Percy and Bill the baby owls wake one night to find their mother gone. And as the darkness gathers and they perch patiently on their branch waiting for her return, oh how they worry!…
This book is changing the way we view children’s development. It explains brain development in a really easy-to-understand way and it gives a completely child-centred view.
Reading this book will help you to understand children and their behaviour and it will ultimately make you a better practitioner. It is a ‘must’ for anyone working with children.
Highly Commended: Nursery World Awards 2017 Professional Book of the Year
Early Childhood and Neuroscience is a practical guide to understanding the complex and challenging subject of neuroscience and its use (and misapplication) in early childhood policy and practice.
The author begins by introducing the definition and history of neuroscience. The reader is then led through structured chapters discussing questions such as: Why should practitioners know about neuroscience? How can neuroscience help practitioners better provide for babies and children? and Is it relevant? Topics covered include the nature vs. nurture debate through the lens of neuroscience, epigenetics, the first 1001…
This book is all about fun and laughter, which is what working with children has in spades!
It is a lovely collection of anecdotes and truths about working in a school. The two Mr. Ps are a teacher and teaching assistant and they have collected many great stories which anyone who has worked in a school will recognise.
A heart-warming and hilarious look at life in the classroom from the teachers who host the most popular UK education podcast, Two Mr Ps in a Pod(Cast).
''Education's answer to Adam Kay ... Lee and Adam Parkinson are doing for teaching what he did for medicine.' The Times
Have you ever wondered what really happens during the day when your precious little angels are at school?
In this book, The Two Mr Ps will take you on a side-splittingly funny journey through the weird and wonderful world of primary schools. It will also explore the…
Ken Robinson is one of the most inspirational people I have ever come across. His TED talks and books about teaching and schools are ground-breaking. He sees children as individuals with their own talents and interests, and he calls us to account to change schools so that they encourage all children to flourish.
His examples are quite wonderful; one story he tells is of a young girl mis-diagnosed with ADHD whose love of movement is nurtured and who becomes a famous ballerina. Wonderful stirring stories of amazing people, reading his books makes me want to change the world for children.
From the international bestselling author of The Element
Ken Robinson is one of the world's most influential voices in education. In this inspiring, empowering book, he sets out a new vision for how education can be transformed to enable all young people to flourish. Filled with practical examples and groundbreaking research, it will inspire the change our children urgently need.
'Compelling ... an elegant, powerfully written manifesto for change' Tristram Hunt, Guardian
'Inspires and brings a new sense of possibility to the goal of transforming education . . . This is a global game-changer' Brene Brown, author of Daring Greatly…
Strength-based practice is an optimistic and empowering approach that is becoming increasingly popular in the education sector from early years to middle years and youth services. This book helps those working with children and families embed this approach in their practice to make a positive difference to children's lives.
I once saw a play at the renowned Oregon Shakespeare Theatre. A play about Sor Juana. It was a good play, but it felt like something was missing like jalapenos left out of enchiladas. The play kept nudging me to look further to find Sor Juana, and so for the next five years, I did so. I read and read more. I listened for her voice, and that is where I heard her life come alive. This isn’t the only possibility for Sor Juana’s life; it is just the one I heard.
Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, this brilliant 17th century nun flew through Mexico City on the breeze of poetry and philosophy. She met with princes of the Church, and with the royalty of Spain and Mexico. Then she met a stunning, powerful woman with lavender eyes, la Vicereine Maria Louisa, and her life changed forever. As her fame grew, she dared to challenge the diabolical Archbishop once too often, and he threw her in front of the Inquisition, where she stood, alone.
Sor Juana's work is studied still today, and justifiably so. Scholars study her months on end; mystics…
This astonishingly brilliant 17th century poet and dramatist, this nun, flew through Mexico City on wings of inspiration. Having no dowry, she chose the life of a nun so that she might learn, so that she might write, so that she might meet the most fascinating people of the western world. She accomplished all of that, and more.
One day a woman with violet eyes, eyes the color of passion flowers, entered her life. It was the new Vicereine, Maria Luisa. As the two most powerful women in Mexico City, the bond between them crossed politics and wound them in…
