My understanding of race, power and belonging didn’t begin in training rooms or policy documents. It began much closer to home.

I grew up in and around early years settings because it was the family business. The quiet, everyday realities of who is welcomed, who is trusted, and who is treated with suspicion were things I understood long before I had the language to describe them because I was watching how race, class and perception shaped people’s choices, and how those choices were rarely as neutral as they were made to seem.

I’m also a qualified secondary school teacher, and my time teaching Health and Social Care (and Drama — no surprises there) gave me a front-row view of the kinds of young people entering the caring professions, and how unevenly prepared, supported and valued they often were before they ever stepped into the workforce.

Alongside this, I completed a Master’s in Early Childhood Studies, where my research focused on adult expectations of Black children in the early years, and how those expectations shape experience, opportunity and outcomes long before children ever reach school.

When I joined the family business as a nursery manager myself, I was no longer just observing these patterns, I was living inside them. I could see, every day across the wider sector, how race, class, perception and power shaped which children were welcomed, which were avoided, and which communities were quietly written off.

That experience has never left me. It’s a huge part of why I’m not interested in surface-level approaches to this work. I’ve seen how deeply embedded these patterns are, and how much more is required than good intentions or one-off gestures. My work now is about helping organisations really understand those systems and take responsibility for changing them.

My work sits at the intersection of:

• Early years practice

• Leadership and organisational culture

• Anti-racist and equity-focused systems change

I work with nurseries, schools, trusts, local authorities, universities, charities and sector organisations, supporting leaders and teams to think differently about how race, identity, power and belonging show up in everyday decisions, environments and policies.

My approach is both challenging and supportive creating space for honest reflection while keeping the focus firmly on responsibility, action and change.

The work that I do is grounded in my own framework: the 4Es of Anti-Racist Practice — Embrace, Embed, Ensure and Extend.

This framework supports organisations to:

• Build shared understanding and confidence

• Move beyond one-off activity and into everyday practice

• Put the right structures and leadership in place

• Sustain and deepen the work over time

The 4Es underpin my keynotes, consultancy, programmes and long-term partnership work, and provide a clear, practical structure for organisations that are serious about embedding anti-racist practice rather than simply talking about it.

I bring two decades of experience in education, including as a teacher, nursery manager and sector leader. I am:

• Patron of Inclusive Books for Children.

• Member of the National Literacy Trust’s Education Advisory Board.

• Named one of the Black Cultural Archives’ 40×40 Future Leaders (2022).

• Recognised by the Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage as one of 100 Black Women Who Have Made a Mark (2024).

• Finalist, Trainer of the Year — Nursery World Awards (2022).

• Winner, Community Unsung She-ro Award — MBCC Awards (2021).

• Regularly invited to speak at conferences, leadership events and professional gatherings across the UK and internationally.

My work has been recognised by a number of organisations for its impact on the sector, and I am regularly invited to speak at conferences, leadership events and professional gatherings across the UK and internationally.

Whether delivering a keynote, working in long-term partnership with an organisation, or supporting leaders through advisory and consultancy work, the focus is always the same:

To help build early years and education systems that are fairer, more thoughtful, and genuinely work for all children, families and educators.

This is not about blame or perfection. It is about responsibility, honesty and sustained effort.