2026 Speakers
Meet the expert speakers who joined us for a packed programme of insight, inspiration and practical early years support.
Simon Airey
Neurodiversity Consultant | EYFS & Primary Inclusion Specialist
Dr Sue Allingham
Consultant, Author and Trainer
Early Years Out of the Box
Lisa Ann Peters
PhD researcher
Institute for the Science of Early Years and Youth, University of East London
Matt Arnerich
Senior Director of Brand and Comms
Famly
Helen Battelley MA
Consultant, trainer, author and speaker
Music and Movement
Matt Bawler
Head of Early Years & Wellbeing; Author of The Courage Club book series with Bloomsbury
The Villa School and Nursery & Future Mind Foundations
Karen Boardman
Head of Department, Early Years Education
Edge Hill University
Sara Bonetti
Independent Researcher
Dr Aaron Bradbury
Principal Lecturer for Early Years and Childhood and Early Years Studies
Nottingham Institute of Education
Sarah Brown
Early Years Teacher | The Dyslexic Leader
Denise Burke
Director
United for All Ages
Stephen Burke
Director
United for All Ages
Kate Bygott-Webb
Director
Minoa Education
Carrie Caceres-Taguiang
Outreach Consultant
BeyondAutism
Verity Campbell-Barr
Professor
University of Plymouth
Josh Candy
Founder
Early Years PE
Ben Case
Education Advisor and Business Development
Tapestry
Angelica Celinska
Founder and Director
The Voice of Early Childhood
Sandy Chappell
Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist / CEO
Chatterbox Speech & Language Therapy
Brenda Cheer
ERIC Nurse and Paediatric Specialist Continence Nurse
ERIC, The Children's Bladder and Bowel Charity
Karen Chetwynd
CEO
Montessori Global Education
Ann Marie Christian
International Safeguarding Consultant
Child 1st Safeguarding Consultancy Limited
Jayne Coward
Deputy Director, Early Years Regulatory Policy and Practice
Ofsted
Andrée Davies
Director
Davies White Ltd.
Jayde Davies
Researcher
Montessori Global Education
Angelica De Assis
CEO
Keren's Nursery
Clare Devlin
Education Consultant
Clare Devlin Education Ltd
Jane Dorrian
Programme Leader - Early Childhood, Senior Lecturer, SFHEA
The Open University
Jan Dubiel
Early Childhood Education Specialist
Coram Hempsall / hey!
Imogen Edmunds
CEO
Redwing Solutions
Jack Edwards
Operations Director
Swift ACI
Lisa Eldret
BookTrust
Zelpher Ferguson
Behaviour Strategist
Aluna Behaviour Consultancy
Alison Fowle
Speech and Language Therapist
Speech and Language Link
Rob Fox
Neurodivergent Leader, Owner and Manager
Happy Bunnies Nursery School
Felicity Gillespie
Director
Kindred Squared
Dr Julian Grenier
Senior Content and Engagement Manager, Early Years
Education Endowment Foundation (EEF)
Samantha Greshoff
Early Childhood Coordinator
Waldorf UK
Tamsin Grimmer
Early Years Consultant, Principal Lecturer
Norland
Cheryl Hadland
Founder and Chair
Tops Day Nurseries
Daniel Hall
Quality Manager
Little Adventures Nurseries
Kayla Halls
Research Fellow
Middlesex University
Sophie Hayter
Qualification Lead
Kido Schools
Laura Henry-Allain
Educationalist, Consultant, Producer, Storyteller
Rowena Hicks
Speaker, author, coach
Kristy Howells
Professor of Children's Health and Movement
Canterbury Christ Church
Mercy Huessy
Research Lead
Community Playthings
Amy Jackson
Early Years Leader
Ormiston Herman Academy
Sinead Johnson
CEO
Chalk Nursery Group
Fiona Joines
Early Years Education Consultant
Rachna Joshi
Teacher and endorsed Froebel Trust Travelling Tutor
Haringey Council
Gabriella Jozwiak
Freelance Journalist
Sukhbinder Kaur
Author, Educator & Puppeteer | Neurodiversity & Inclusion Advocate
SK Author Workshops
Stephen Kilgour
Education Advisor and Outreach Teacher
Tapestry
Janet King
Sector Manager Education and Childcare
NCFE
Vanessa King
EYFS lead
Association for Physical Education
Ben Kingston-Hughes
Managing Director
Inspired Children Ltd
Kat Lakes
Quality and Practice Lead, Early Education Policy
Ofsted
Rachel Lawrence
Founder & Lead Educator
Where The While Ones Learn
Neil Leitch
CEO
Early Years Alliance
Rita Lemos
Nursery Manager
Acorn at Rowans Day Nursery
Juliet Leonard
Speech and Language Therapist
Speech and Language Link
Catherine Lippe
Head of Nutrition and Policy
Nursery Kitchen
Syenna Lister
Deputy School Lead
Ringwood Waldorf School
Catrina Lowri
Teaching Director
Neuroteachers
Sarah Mackenzie
CEO
Storal
Stacy Mann
Director of learning, quality and operations
The Early Years Company
Adam Marycz
Early Childhood Educationalist, Teacher, Writer, Trainer and Early Childhood Advocate
Rachel Mayo
Administrator
Montessori Global Education
Francis McGlone
Visiting Professor of Neuroscience
Manchester Metropolitan University UK & Aalto University
Jo McIntyre
STAR Development Liaison
Montessori Global Education
Tim McLachlan
CEO
National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA)
Prof Mark Miodownik
Professor and Head of the Plastic Waste Hub
University College London
Catherine Mole
Chief Executive
Dingley's Promise
Yasmin Mukadam
Early Years Educator and Yoga Professional
Sophie Mustoe-Playfair
Speech and Language Therapist
Speech & Language Link
Charlotte Ng
Founder
Earthlings Outdoor Learning Services
June O'Sullivan, OBE
Chief Executive
London Early Years Foundation, London Institute of Early Years
Natalia Ortega
Head of Nursery
Woodentops Abbeville
Preeti Patel
Director of Programmes
Montessori Global Education
Alex Patterson
Director
Active8
Kate Peach
Early Years Consultant & Co-founder
Peachwell
Hayley Peacock
Founder and Director
Atelier 21 Future School
Sarah Pengelly
Programme Manager
Human Values Foundation
Tom Percival
Author-Illustrator and BookTrust Writer in Residence 2026
BookTrust
Christopher Phoenix
Keynote Speaker and Workshop Facilitator
Phoenix Support for Educators Pty Ltd
Sandi Phoenix
Managing Director & Principal Facilitator
Phoenix Support for Educators Pty Ltd
Emma Pinnock
Founding Director
Essential Education Group LTD
Jodie Poole
Founder & Lead Educator
Where The While Ones Learn
Tom Richardson
Operations Director
Naturally Learning and Cornish Early Childhood
Tanya Richardson
Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood
University of Northampton
Sue Robb
Best Start in Life Champion
Department for Education
Clare Roberts, OBE
CEO & Founder
Kids Planet
Clare Robinson
Early Years Director
Minoa Education
Sarah Ronan
Executive Director
Early Education and Childcare Coalition
Mona Sakr
Early Childhood, Associate Professor
Sarah Sanger
Founder & Principal
The Woodentops Nurseries
Nikki Sewell
Regional Operations Director
Grandir UK
Alice Sharp
Managing Director
Alice Sharp Ltd
Claudio Sisera
Head of Diversity and Inclusion
Male Childcare and Teaching Jobs
Jay Sparkle
Early Years Support Manager
Happy Days Nurseries & Pre-Schools
Cameron Sprague
Head of Nurseries
Stramash Social Enterprise
Clare Stead
Founder and Creator
Oliiki App
Sarah Steel
Founder
The Old Station Nursery
Nancy Stewart
Project Lead, Birth to 5 Matters
Early Years Coalition
Catherine Stoneman
UK CEO
Kido
Joven Trinidad
LEYF
Princess Souassou Tsiagbe
Early Years Tech Integration Consultant
Jo Turley
Managing Director
Ashbourne Day Nurseries
Viki Veale
Senior Lecturer: Early Years and Primary Education
St Mary's University
Richard Waite
Freelance Early Childhood Professional, Technology, Online Safety Advisor
Waite.EYTS
Cheryl Warren
Trainer and Consultant
Aperion Training
John Warren
Managing Director
John Warren Consultancy
Stephanie Warrender
Teacher and Director
Laulau Learning UK
Adam White
FLI PPLI ' Director
Davies White Ltd.
Elisabeth Whitebread
Founder
NappyLoop
Lorna Wigley
Quality & Training Director
Childbase Partnership Ltd
David Wright
Ambassador
Paint Pots Nurseries