Julie Cigman has had a varied career in education, since her first job as a young teacher in a village primary school, younger than the children’s parents, wondering why they were coming to her for advice about their children. After gaining an M.Ed in Literacy at the University of Sheffield, she worked as a reading intervention teacher, and wrote parents’ leaflets for PEEP (Peers Early Education Partnership) while running early literacy groups for young children and their parents. She worked her way up, then down the age range, finding her home in Early Years as a Nursery teacher and then in promoting high quality Early Years provision through her writing, training and consultancy.



She spent 3 years in initial teacher training as Foundation Stage lead on a post-graduate Early Years teacher training course in Oxford, designing and delivering training and co-ordinating school placements and support.

Most recently, Julie has worked as an advisory teacher for Oxfordshire County Council, offering support and training to schools and early years settings. She has trained in all aspects of the EYFS, specialising in early Communication, Language and Literacy, Equality and Diversity, English as an additional language, and boys’ learning.

Julie offers conference workshops and presentations and bespoke training and consultancy to Early Years practitioners in schools, day nurseries, pre-schools, children’s centres, and childminders.

She is currently chair of the Gloucestershire branch of Early Education.

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Dr. Suzanne Zeedyk is a research scientist fascinated by babies’ innate capacity to connect. Since 1993, she has been based at the University of Dundee (Scotland), within the School of Psychology. Her academic career began in the USA, where she completed her PhD at Yale University.

In 2011, Suzanne stepped away from a full-time academic post in order to establish an independent training enterprise. Its aim is to help the public understand all that science has discovered about the importance of emotional connection for human health and happiness. It’s working! Approximately 40,000 people have now attended her speaking events, and she reaches over 50,000 people a week on social media. She works internationally with organisations who are keen to think more deeply about fostering connection, compassion and resilience.

In 2014, Suzanne broadened her public reach even further by founding the organization connected baby. She and her team work to help parents and professionals make practical use of the science of connection. Relationships matter – as much for human brains as for human hearts.

Kim is co-director of Step Into Purposeful Play Ltd offering bespoke training and visits working alongside practitioners, parents and children. The focus of her recent work has been physical development for early years, using physical activity for health benefits, family learning and implementing Healthy Lifestyles programmes. Kim is co-author of ‘Promoting Purposeful Physical Play in the Early years through Physical Literacy’ which is a self-learning programme for Early Years Settings and their Practitioners.

Dr Julian Grenier led on the revision of Development Matters for the Department for Education. He has independently written guidance to support practitioners, teachers and settings in understanding and implementing the updated Development Matters. 

Julie has delivered services for children with SEND and their families for over 35 years. She has led and managed both inclusive and specialist early years provision. Consultation with families has been at the heart of her work and she has worked with families to develop services. She set up the Early Years Inclusion Team in Hillingdon and more recently managed outreach services to schools and settings (Inclusion and Sensory Intervention Teams), support to families (Early Support, Outreach, Portage and SENDIAS services). In Dec 2016 Julie led the local area Ofsted/CQC inspection.

Julie Mountain is the Director of Play Learning Life CIC, and the author of several books on outdoor play for the Early Years. Julie specialises in helping schools and settings create and use innovative, exciting, sustainable and affordable outdoor spaces. She is also Operations Director at Learning Through Landscapes and was part of the original Learning Outside the Classroom initiative. Julie is also a founder member of the International School Grounds Alliance, which is working worldwide to raise the profile of the value of learning beyond the classroom.

Dominic is Professor of Early Childhood and Primary Education at the University College London (UCL), Institute of Education (IOE), and Head of the Department of Learning and Leadership. Dominic is President of the British Educational Research Association (BERA) from 2019 to 2021. He is a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS), and of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). Prior to his current role at the IOE as Head of Academic Department Learning and Leadership Dominic was Faculty Director of Research, Consultancy and Knowledge Transfer, in the Faculty of Children and Learning. Dominic has significant experience in music that began with his undergraduate studies at The Royal Academy of Music. Before joining the IOE Dominic was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Cambridge. He was also appointed as the first Director of Music-Making at Churchill College Cambridge, where he was a Fellow and Director of Studies for Education. In the past Dominic was a Reader at Liverpool John Moores University, and a teacher with experience working in London, Bradford and Huddersfield in infant and junior phases.

Kay has worked in Early Years and primary settings since 1981. This has included supporting children with additional needs, especially behaviour, and their families. She led the Early Years Inclusion Team in a London Borough for 6 years, which involved supporting private, voluntary and independent sector settings to develop more inclusive practice.

Kay completed her PhD research into the development of social competence in young children at Sussex University. She worked part time with the National Strategies as an Early Years Regional Adviser until 2011 when she became a Director of Linden Learning, an ethical educational training and consultancy business.

Kay has a particular interest in exploring what life is like in our early years settings for two year olds and the way in which children with additional needs and their families are included effectively. This has led to her most recent book that uses case studies to explore the SEND Code of Practice 2014.

Len was a Founder Director of the British Heart Foundation National Centre for Physical Activity and Health, and  had a long and distinguished career with Loughborough University. Although he retired in 2003, Len remained a senior advisor to the BHF National Centre. He was also a consultant on two major early years projects promoting purposeful physically active play with practitioners in EY settings and with parents.

Len was a firm favourite with the LEAF membership, and was our keynote speaker on two occasions: October 2016 and March 2014.

Sadly he passed away in May 2017.

In honour of the huge contribution he made to Early Years practice, LEAF dedicate every October conference in his memory. We strive to plan a keynote speaker who celebrates outdoor learning, physical play, and working with parents in partnership in order to continue his legacy.

Pauline is Head of Integrated Early Years Service for Tower Hamlets 

Professor Iram Siraj started her career as an early years teacher and has been an academic and researcher for almost 30 years, holding positions at the universities of Warwick, London and the University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia. She researches the impact of home learning, staff training, quality, pedagogy, curriculum and assessment on young children's learning and development, particularly those from vulnerable backgrounds. Iram has coauthored over 80 books and published research reports as well as around 200 refereed journal articles and chapters in scholarly texts.

A firm favourite of the LEAF membership, Julie is an independent Early Years Adviser and visiting Professor of Early Childhood Education at Oxford Brookes University. She held the post of Early Years Adviser in Oxfordshire for 11 years, before which she was lecturer in early childhood education at the University of Reading. Julie has held a variety of posts as chairperson of different early years organisations nationally. In her work she draws on her own research projects which engage her in constant contact with practitioners in both schools and settings. She is author of a number of articles on early childhood education as well as her books ‘Starting from the Child’ (4th edition 2013); ‘The Foundations of Learning’ (2002) and ‘Moving On to Key Stage One’ (2010). Her current book, ‘Interacting or Interfering?’ is due for publication early 2016, and draws on recent research into effective interactions between practitioners and children aged six months and six years.

Wendy has been exploring the unique qualities of human learning and development for over 30 years. She is currently addressing a growing concern about societal values and well-being and the importance of safeguarding natural development in the early years through the Save Childhood Movement. In 2013 SCM introduced National Children's Day UK as a national annual celebration of childhood. Wendy is a fellow of the RSA, the founder of the Unique Child Network, and a contributor to the acclaimed books 'Too Much, Too Soon' and 'Born Creative'.

Margaret Edgington has had a long and successful career specialising in early years and is nationally respected and admired as an inspirational Educational Trainer and Early Years Consultant. 

Gina is a renowned autism expert, who has established her own Gina Davies Autism Centre. A qualified Speech and Language Therapist, Gina turned her passion for communication development into practical and joyful intervention strategies for parents and professionals dealing with autism. She has worked with hundreds of children who have autism in schools, nurseries and residential settings, and directly with parents, carers and families.

As well as being an accomplished conference speaker and highly acclaimed practitioner in autism, Gina has established parent groups, social skills groups, language and communication services. She has set up and run programmes in specialist and mainstream schools, working closely within the educational framework.

Dr Margot Sunderland is Director of Education and Training at The Centre for Child Mental Health London, Honorary Visiting Fellow at London Metropolitan University, Associate Member of the Royal College of Medicine, and a Child Psychotherapist with over thirty years’ experience of working with children and families. She is the author of over twenty books in the field of child mental health, which collectively have been translated into eighteen languages and published in twenty-four countries. Her internationally acclaimed book, “The Science of Parenting” (Dorling Kindersley) won First Prize in the British Medical Association Medical Book awards 2007 Popular Medicine section. (Paperback version entitled “What Every Parent Needs to Know”). The book, endorsed by one of the world’s leading affective neuroscientists, Professor Jaak Panksepp, is the result of ten years’ research on the long-term effects of adult-child interaction on the developing brain. Dr Sunderland has two doctorates, one in child psychotherapy, thesis entitled “The Application of Art and Science to the Psychological Treatment of Children".