EIF - Key Persons
Briefing 14 Dec 2017 Social and emotional learning: Supporting children and young people's mental health
Blog 26 Jan 2018 The evidence base on social and emotional learning is complex and far from comprehensive, but teachers need our ‘best bets' now
Blog 22 Apr 2022 Supporting early intervention that works for minority ethnic families
Blog 27 Sep 2022 Creating change for minority ethnic families seeking vital support - and how you can help
Blog 13 Nov 2020 Life during lockdown in England: charting the impact on young people's mental health
EIF report 28 Feb 2022 Leading and delivering early childhood services: 10 insights from 20 places across England and Wales
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director, Policy & Practice
- Contributor
Ben leads EIF's work on the early years and parental conflict, and supports local leaders and commissioners on the practical implementation of early intervention with a focus on systems.
He joined EIF in 2015 having spent the previous decade working in local government on children's strategy and partnerships, most recently as a strategic joint commissioner for Solihull Council and Solihull CCG leading on early help in the early years, emotional wellbeing, support for children with disabilities, speech and language therapy and domestic abuse. Ben is social work qualified and started his career working in children's homes in Birmingham, before he specialised in children's rights and participation, working for Save the Children UK and the Children and Young People's Unit.
Guide 30 Mar 2022 Supporting healthy relationships among minority ethnic parents: A practical guide
Tool 26 Oct 2021 Developing a relationship support pathway for families: A support pathway model
Blog 14 Jun 2021 Zooming in, zooming out: what the Early Years Transformation Academy tells us about system change and using evidence
EIF report 19 Nov 2020 Planning early childhood services in 2020: Learning from practice and research on children's centres and family hubs
Case study 9 Jun 2020 Closing the gap on speech, language and communication in the early years: local case studies
Briefing 17 Feb 2020 Why reducing the impact of parental conflict matters for schools
Press release 4 Apr 2019 Five local areas named as participants in year-long academy to radically rethink local early years services
Blog 10 May 2019 Children's centres and beyond: understanding the changing face of integrated local early years support
Video 7 May 2019 EIF webinar: Using the maturity matrix as part of an Early Years Peer Review
Blog 4 Apr 2019 Introducing the fantastic five: with our local partners in place, the EYTA is ready to launch
EIF report 4 Apr 2019 Engaging disadvantaged and vulnerable parents: An evidence review
Video 1 Apr 2019 EIF webinar: Understanding the evidence on speech & language development
Past event Realising the potential of early intervention: The early years, Bristol 21 March 2019, Bristol
Tool 14 Nov 2018 EIF maturity matrix: Speech, language and communication in the early years
Blog 29 Aug 2018 ‘If you do nothing else…' Why EIF is creating the Early Years Transformation Academy
EIF report 2 Feb 2018 Building trusted relationships for vulnerable children and young people with public services
Blog 23 Sep 2016 From evidence to practice: why it's time to ask about relationships
Job Titles:
- Senior Local Development Adviser
Bethan joins EIF following a career in local government, initially in service design and more recently as a commissioner for children's health and wellbeing with a particular focus on children's community health services and domestic abuse.
At EIF, Bethan works practically with local areas to support them in understanding and overcoming the barriers to implementing effective early intervention.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Trustee of the National Childbirth Trust
Carey Oppenheim is an independent consultant, a trustee of the National Childbirth Trust, and serves on the advisory board of the Institute of Policy Research at the University of Bath. She is writing a book with Naomi Eisenstadt on parents, poverty and the state, and taking up a practitioner/research fellowship at the London School of Economics in 2018.
Carey is former chief executive of the Early Intervention Foundation. Her previous roles include being co-director of the Institute of Public Policy Research and a special advisor to the former Prime Minister, Tony Blair MP, between 2000 and 2005, working on child poverty and children's rights, work-life balance, social security and employment policy.
Carey has also been a senior lecturer in social policy at South Bank University and acting deputy director and head of research at the Child Poverty Action Group. She chaired the London Child Poverty Commission, which developed policies to tackle poverty in the capital city. Between 2010-13 she trained to be a teacher and taught history and politics.
Blog 24 Jul 2020 Seven years making the case for early intervention: Carey Oppenheim and Jo Casebourne, in conversation
EIF report 12 Feb 2015 Spending on late intervention: How we can do better for less
Prof Nick Pearce to join the Early Intervention Foundation as chair, as Dame Clare Tickell DBE steps down from role
Christine is the former Chief Executive of C4EO (Centre for Excellence and Outcomes in Children and Young People's Services). C4EO's aim was to identify and disseminate ‘what works' in order to significantly improve the outcomes of children and their families, working with every Local Authority in England, Health Services and the Voluntary and Community sectors.
She established and led the previous Government's ‘Narrowing the Gap' national programme which identified leading practice in improving outcomes for vulnerable children and young people and helping close the ‘gap' between advantaged and disadvantaged groups.
She was formerly the Director of Children's Services, Telford & Wrekin Council (1997-2007) and under her leadership, the Council was awarded Beacon Status for ‘Integrating Children's Services' and ‘Early Intervention (Children at Risk)' and Centre of Excellence (Prime Minister's Delivery Unit). Christine was the President of the national Association of Chief Education Officers.
Previously a teacher, psychologist and Director of Education, Christine has advised the British Government on education, child poverty, safeguarding and early intervention and has also advised the Australian, Netherlands and Russian Governments. She has been an adviser to the LGA Children and Young People's Board on all aspects of children's services and supported the development of leadership training for Directors of Children's Services, through the National College and the Virtual Staff College.
She is currently a member of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales; sits on the Advisory Board for the Office of the Children's Commissioner and chairs two Local Authority Children's Improvement Boards.
Christine was awarded the CBE for an outstanding contribution to education.
Claire Bethel was formerly deputy director in the Department of Health responsible for children and young people's health and wellbeing, focusing most recently on children and young people's mental health, leading to the development of the Future in Mind report and the first stage of its implementation. Prior to that, she was responsible for policy on social exclusion and the health aspects of interpersonal and public space violence, including work on domestic and sexual violence and abuse, gangs and knife crime and the prevention of violence.
In 2005, she helped to set up the Office of the Children's Commissioner, where she became the first director of policy and research. Other work has included military health, the development of the Children, Young People's and Maternity National Service Framework, and leading a primary care organisation in the NHS.
Since leaving the DoH in 2016, Claire has been consulting on a wide range of issues including the impact of interparental conflict, child sexual abuse and exploitation, and the children and young people's mental health workforce.
Before joining EIF, Elspeth completed her PhD and worked as an ESRC postdoctoral fellow at the University of Cambridge, researching aspects of child language development. Her PhD in linguistics, within the field of experimental pragmatics, investigated how children learn to make inferences to understand what people mean in conversation (their pragmatic development). During her postdoctoral fellowship, she also looked at how this connects with learning how to make reading inferences in the classroom. Previously she completed a BA in Russian and German at the University of Cambridge, and has lived and worked in both Russia and Germany.
She has also worked as a research assistant on projects about multilingual language development and family language policy, and has been an active team member of the Cambridge Bilingualism Network, a public engagement initiative which seeks to disseminate and promote research findings and evidence-based practice to multilingual families and to practitioners.
Ian joined EIF from Durham University, where he was studying for a PhD in education, focused on psycholinguistics, personality and its relationship with learning outcomes (such as language attainment). His PhD has also focused on testing the robustness of evidence regarding the value of the ‘year abroad experience' in relation to linguistic growth.
Ian worked on a number of systematic reviews as a research assistant, covering a range of topics including personality variability and continuing professional development. Prior to his PhD, Ian completed a BA in German and TEFL at Swansea University and an MSc in applied linguistics and second language acquisition at Oxford University.
Consultant paediatrician Dr Jide Menakaya to join the Early Intervention Foundation board of trustees
Dr Jide Menakaya is a consultant paediatrician with extensive experience in the assessment and management of most illnesses that affect children. Jide has particular expertise in disorders that affect new-born babies and children in the first few years of life.
Jide is well versed in general paediatric diseases, is an instructor in neonatal life support, and a provider of advanced paediatric life support with the Resuscitation Council UK. With qualifications in medical education and quality improvement in healthcare, he has championed numerous courses for healthcare professionals in the UK and overseas, published research studies on children and young people, and implemented several innovative clinical services for children in and outside the health service.
Jide has a passion for promoting the health of all children. He works with children and their families in a holistic way to ensure that they return to full health as quickly as possible.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive
- Chief Executive Officer
- Contributor
Dr Jo Casebourne joined EIF as chief executive in August 2017. Previously, Jo served as director of development at the Institute for Government, leading the institute's work on public services and English devolution, after earlier stints as director of public and social innovation at Nesta and director of research at the Centre for Economic & Social Inclusion.
Jo has spent the last 20 years conducting research on public services, social innovation, disadvantaged groups in the labour market, welfare-to-work, employment and skills, work-life balance and childcare. Jo's PhD examined the impact of welfare reform in the US and the UK on work and poverty for lone-parent families.
Press release 30 Jun 2022 Family support services need to do more to meet the needs of minority ethnic families
Coverage 19 May 2022 Most children getting less than the recommended amount of physical activity to grow up healthily, survey finds
Press release 23 May 2022 Comment on publication of the final report of the Independent Review of Children's Social Care
Coverage 15 Apr 2022 Only one in 10 Britons confident they know how to help domestic abuse victim
Press release 15 Apr 2022 Nearly two-thirds of UK adults do not know that children are now recognised as victims of domestic abuse
Blog 3 Mar 2022 3 planks of an integrated family support system: establishing the local conditions for national policy to succeed
Blog 22 Feb 2022 Improving outcomes for children: could ‘levelling up' herald a new approach to policy-making?
Coverage 23 Dec 2021 Nearly 16,000 children to be exposed to domestic abuse over Christmas, says charity
Coverage 23 Dec 2021 BBC Radio coverage of domestic abuse and children at Christmas
Press release 1 Jan 2022 Donna Molloy, director of policy & practice receives OBE for services to vulnerable children and young people in New Year's Honours list
Press release 23 Dec 2021 Rising costs put extra financial pressure on families this Christmas
Press release 23 Dec 2021 At least 16,000 children likely to be exposed to domestic abuse this Christmas
Blog 22 Dec 2021 Let's make Christmas the most wonderful time of the year for all children
Press release 15 Nov 2021 Only one in three teachers feel equipped to help stop cyberbullying
Coverage 27 Oct 2021 Budget 2021: More money for youth services and 'family hubs'
Coverage 21 Oct 2021 Pupils face income loss of £46,000 due to Covid disruption
Coverage 21 Oct 2021 More than £13bn needed to make up for lost learning, latest figures show
Blog 29 Sep 2021 Working for all children: launching our new equality, diversity and inclusion strategy
Coverage 2 Sep 2021 Schools can tackle bullying by teaching children anger management and empathy, study finds
Coverage 2 Sep 2021 Times Radio interview on adolescent mental health and schools
Blog 31 Aug 2021 Joining forces: why we're excited to be moving into the Evidence Quarter
Coverage 2 Aug 2021 Universal CBT based support is vital to develop resilience in students, finds EIF review
Coverage 21 Jul 2021 Taking action on levelling up by investing in future generations
Press release 9 Jul 2021 Half of UK teachers don't feel confident helping pupils with their mental health
Coverage 2 Jun 2021 ‘More needs to be done,' says Gavin Williamson, as he backs longer school days and lunches
Coverage 11 May 2021 Being a teen is tough. London teenagers share how the pandemic has made it even harder
Press release 29 Apr 2021 400,000 children affected by domestic abuse every year, showing the mountain to climb to support child victims of domestic abuse
Coverage 30 Mar 2021 From crisis in the early years to a fairer start: could we close the school readiness gap by 2030?
Coverage 2 Apr 2021 Under 50% of adults confident about helping a domestic abuse victim - survey
Press release 2 Apr 2021 New survey finds only four in ten adults are confident they'd know how to support a victim of domestic abuse
Video 2 Apr 2021 Improving services for children affected by domestic abuse (BBC News)
Coverage 16 Mar 2021 Children's Commissioner launches ‘once-in-a-generation' review of childhood
Blog 4 Mar 2021 Building social infrastructure: why levelling up must include enabling local places to invest in future generations
Coverage 8 Jan 2021 Don't lose sight of children's mental health during lockdown - experts
Coverage 23 Dec 2020 Christmas disruption and Covid pressure ‘heightening risk of domestic abuse'
Coverage 23 Dec 2020 'Domestic violence will soar this Christmas': Top prosecutor warns victims of abuse are more in danger since Tier 4 curbs were brought in
Coverage 23 Dec 2020 Record number of children face domestic abuse this Christmas, warns charity
Coverage 14 Sep 2020 Parents worry about children's mental health and well-being in return to school
Coverage 14 Sep 2020 Parents raise concerns over impact of school return on children's mental health
Blog 18 Sep 2020 Parents are concerned about the mental wellbeing of children returning to school - and they want schools to help
Coverage 16 Jun 2020 Early intervention services ‘unable to cope' as lockdown measures lift
Coverage 16 Jun 2020 Frontline support for vulnerable children and families heading for crisis
Coverage 16 Jun 2020 Families struggling before lockdown face even more pressure after the coronavirus pandemic
Blog 24 Jul 2020 Seven years making the case for early intervention: Carey Oppenheim and Jo Casebourne, in conversation
EIF report 20 Jan 2022 Trauma-informed care: Understanding the use of trauma-informed approaches within children's social care
Job Titles:
- Contributor
- Head of What Works, Child Development
Kirsten is a developmental psychologist with expertise in the parent/child relationship and author of the Evidence-Based Parenting Practitioner's Handbook (Routledge, 2011). Kirsten previously worked at the National Academy for Parenting Research at King's College London, where she managed the Commissioning Toolkit - a DfE funded project that assessed the quality of parenting interventions against standards of evidence and best practice.
Kirsten's research experience also includes the evaluation of the NAPP training offer, the 2011 NSPCC study of abuse and neglect, the On Track initiative and the local evaluation of Sure Start Children's Centres in north-east London.
EIF report 23 May 2022 What works to improve the lives of England's most vulnerable children: A review of interventions for a local family help offer
Coverage 2 Mar 2020 More evidence needed on adverse childhood experiences approach
Coverage 26 Feb 2020 Vulnerable children may be overlooked by reliance on trauma checklist
Before joining EIF, Shaun completed his PhD at University College London, focusing on the development and evaluation of digital interventions to support children and adolescents' mental health.
During his time as a PhD candidate, Shaun worked as an early career researcher at the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families and a visiting lecturer at the London South Bank University. Shaun holds a BSc in psychology from the University of the West Indies (Barbados) and an MSc in health psychology from University College London.
Shaun is also a chartered psychologist with the British Psychological Society. His professional interest is in evidence synthesis and the dissemination of research to reach a wider audience.
Guide 13 Oct 2022 Classroom wellbeing toolkit: Simple ways to support secondary students' mental health
Guide 1 Sep 2020 Supporting children's social and emotional wellbeing as they return to school
Press release 16 Jun 2020 Covid-19 recovery to pile on pressure for families and frontline support warn councils, early help services and schools
Blog 29 Jan 2021 As Covid's impacts on children mount, the importance of evidence in providing support only grows
Before joining EIF in August 2020, Grace spent almost two years leading the development of the policy and campaigns work on children's mental health services at Mind. Prior to this, she worked in policy and communications at ACEVO, where she focused on issues relating to health, social care and charity law.
Having also spent two years at the NSPCC and as a former trustee of an organisation in Sheffield providing services to young people affected by domestic abuse, Grace has primarily worked on policy issues relating to young people, the prevention of abuse and harm, and social justice. She is also a volunteer on the National Domestic Abuse Helpline.
EIF report 23 May 2022 What works to improve the lives of England's most vulnerable children: A review of interventions for a local family help offer
Blog 4 Sep 2020 Five reasons why social and emotional learning is critical to our recovery from Covid-19
Blog 8 Feb 2022 Giving teachers tools and resources to support a whole-school approach to pupils' mental health and wellbeing
EIF report 2 Apr 2021 Improving services for children affected by domestic abuse
Blog 18 Feb 2021 Worth the wait: new evaluation data shows positive impacts of Family Nurse Partnership on school readiness and attainment
Before joining EIF, Helen worked as a mixed-methods researcher in the Children and Families team at the National Centre for Social Research. She conducted pilot studies and randomised controlled trials to evaluate school-based interventions, including early years literacy and home learning environment programmes, a mentoring scheme for disadvantaged pupils, and a relationships and sex education teaching resource. She also conducted qualitative research exploring the barriers to early identification of young carers, stakeholder views on a children's mental health outcomes framework, and the impact of Covid-19 on students' wellbeing.
Helen holds a BA in experimental psychology from the University of Oxford and an MSc in psychology of education from the Institute of Education, University College London.
Guide 16 Mar 2022 How to evaluate training on reducing parental conflict: A practical guide for local areas
Case study 16 Mar 2022 Walsall: Planning and conducting an evaluation of a local reducing parental conflict intervention
Case study 21 Feb 2022 Walsall: Developing a theory of change and logic model for a local reducing parental conflict intervention
Guide 7 Feb 2022 Supporting healthy relationships among separating and separated parents: A practical guide
Case study 17 Dec 2021 Walsall: Mapping the local workforce involved in reducing parental conflict
Blog 6 May 2021 No time like the present: using EIF's practical evaluation guide to understand the impact of local support for reducing parental conflict
EIF report 28 Aug 2020 Reducing parental conflict in the context of Covid-19: Adapting to virtual and digital provision of support
Past event Realising the potential of early intervention: The early years, London 5 March 2019, London
Guide 30 Mar 2022 Supporting healthy relationships among minority ethnic parents: A practical guide
EIF report 13 Mar 2018 Intervening early to prevent gang and youth violence: The role of primary schools
EIF report 23 May 2022 What works to improve the lives of England's most vulnerable children: A review of interventions for a local family help offer
EIF report 30 Aug 2022 Common elements: An innovative approach to improving children's outcomes in early childhood education
James joined EIF after completing an MSc in Behaviour Change at University College London. James' thesis focused on identifying the barriers and enablers to the delivery of a school-based alcohol intervention in UK secondary schools using the Behaviour Change Wheel.
Before this, James worked as a teaching assistant at primary schools in the UK and Russia delivering 1:1 interventions with special educational needs (SEN) children. James also holds a BSc in Psychology from the University of Warwick.
Blog 21 Jul 2021 Doing more of what works: new evidence provides insight and opportunities for change in how schools support good mental health
Case study 28 Mar 2023 Birmingham: Engaging partners and wider services in developing a needs assessment
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Chief Executive of Ipsos
Kelly Beaver is chief executive of Ipsos in the UK. She has been with Ipsos for over a decade and was previously managing director of Ipsos's UK Public Affairs division which supports government clients to monitor and understand public opinion, behaviours and societal trends, design public services and policies, and to determine what works in achieving social and economic policy objectives.
Kelly has led a wide range of notable research programmes including the REACT study tracking Covid-19 prevalence across England, public attitudes work ranging from the use of evidence, Brexit and vaccines, through to a key piece of work with the Royal Foundation on the importance of the Early Years. Prior to joining Ipsos, Kelly held roles across various consultancies including PwC and KPMG and specialised in public policy evaluation.
Kelly holds several honorary positions external to Ipsos in academia and charities. She is passionate about the use of evidence in decision-making and her roles outside of Ipsos enable her to make a wider contribution to the social sciences discipline in promoting its use. She is a Fellow of the UK Academy for Social Sciences, a board member for the Campaign for Social Science, a visiting senior research fellow at King's College London and a Trustee for the Government What Works Centre for Early Intervention. She currently sits on the advisory panel for the Resolution Foundation's ‘Economy 2030 Inquiry'.
In 2022, Kelly received an MBE for services to academia, research and the Covid-19 response.
Kelly is a regular commentator in the national press and broadcast media. She is experienced at presenting to senior audiences on public and business leader opinion and societal and consumer trends across a range of topics including trust, gender equality, employee engagement, leadership, and many others.
EIF report 23 Apr 2020 Covid-19 and early intervention: Evidence, challenges and risks relating to virtual and digital delivery
Job Titles:
- Senior Research Officer
- Contributor
Prior to joining EIF, Miriam worked with the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) on an evidence gap map on digital health interventions. Besides the quality appraisal of included studies, part of her work was the quality control of the dataset being created.
Miriam is a philosophy and political science graduate (from Tuebingen, Germany) and has a strong interest in the relative strengths and weaknesses of different research methodologies. She completed her MSc in social policy research at LSE, where she improved her knowledge on both qualitative and quantitative methods and discussed the potential of carefully applying mixed methods to get a more comprehensive understanding. While at LSE, she supported the pan-European thinktank 89 Initiative as a policy researcher.
Past event Supporting students' mental health and wellbeing through everyday interactions in school settings 3 November 2022
Blog 13 Oct 2022 ‘Every interaction is an intervention': how our new practical guide can support teachers to support students' mental health
Guide 13 Oct 2022 Classroom wellbeing toolkit: Simple ways to support secondary students' mental health
Blog 8 Aug 2022 New UK data adds to a mixed picture for mindfulness and mental health
EIF report 21 Jul 2021 Adolescent mental health: A systematic review on the effectiveness of school-based interventions
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Social Research Consultant
Naomi is a highly experienced social research consultant who specialises in helping organisations to design, commission, deliver and use research better. She has over 16 years of applied research experience working across a range of policy areas for government departments, local government, private and third sector organisations.
Naomi was formally head of social attitudes at NatCen, where she led a mixed-method research team and oversaw the British Social Attitudes Survey. Previous posts have included head of children and young people at NatCen and head of qualitative research at the Institute for Public Policy Research.
Job Titles:
- Local Development Adviser
Olivia is an accredited training facilitator and qualified independent domestic abuse advocate with extensive experience working in the specialist domestic violence courts.
After completing her MA in Human Rights in 2015, she started her career in early intervention services working in a supported housing project for young mothers and babies. Since then, she has she has worked in varied frontline and consultancy roles in the violence against women and girls (VAWG) sector. This includes as a training and development lead, delivering trauma-informed training to a range of audiences including the NHS, police, social care, universities, and workplaces to improve the responses to stalking, domestic abuse and sexual violence.
Olivia is passionate about communicating evidence to local stakeholders in a way that is practical and accessible, to close the gap between research and practice.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of Trustees
- Contributor
- Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Institute for Policy Research
Nick Pearce is professor of public policy and director of the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Bath.
Previously, Nick has been head of the No 10 Policy Unit, director of the IPPR think-tank, and a special adviser in the Home Office and Department for Education and Employment. He is a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, an honorary fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and chair of trustees at Tavistock Relationships.
Joining forces with What Works for Children's Social Care: How the decision to merge puts us all on a strong footing
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Professor of Play
Paul Ramchandani is LEGO Professor of Play in Education, Development and Learning at Cambridge University, UK. He also works as a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist in the UK National Health Service and was previously Professor of Child and Adolescent Mental Health at Imperial College London. He undertook his medical studies in Southampton before obtaining a degree in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a DPhil at the University of Oxford.
Paul's research has focused on mental health and he has a particular interest in the development of play and the prevention of emotional and behavioural problems in the early years of life. This includes the development and testing of psychological interventions.
Reshard Auladin has a background in the criminal justice, law enforcement, mental health, and charity sectors. He is a non executive-director on the board of the National Crime Agency and a member of the joint audit panel of the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime and the Metropolitan Police.
A magistrate for over 30 years, he sits in family courts in north London and was previously vice-chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority. He is a trustee of the Bell Foundation, an education charity, and runs a business in the mental health care sector.
Robyn started at EIF in 2019 after seven years working as a Higher Level Teaching Assistant with children aged 11 to 18.
She studied an open degree with modules focused on science, environment and politics, and supports several environmental campaigns in her spare time.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Head of Policy at the Local Government Association
Sally Burlington is head of policy at the Local Government Association (LGA). In this role, she leads the LGA's work on social policy issues, bringing a deep understanding of the national perspective and the evidence about policy and practice and what works to improve outcomes in local communities.
Sally has had a wide-ranging career in policy and strategy development, particularly focusing on policies to tackle poverty and disadvantage. Originally joining HM Treasury as an economist, she worked on a range of policies, including leading the secretariat of the Review of Young Children's Services in 1997, which produced Sure Start, after which she became the first official in the Sure Start Unit. She joined the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Social Exclusion Unit in 2002, and from 2004-07 she led the secretariat for Sir Michael Lyons' inquiry examining local government and how it is funded. She returned to the Department of Education to lead policy on children in care and early intervention from 2007-12.
In her spare time, she jointly runs a Sunday drop-in for the homeless in Croydon
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Chief Executive of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
Sharon Kemp was appointed chief executive of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council in February 2016, and has worked within the public sector for over 20 years across community safety, neighbourhood management, community cohesion, performance and partnerships.
Sharon started her career within the Greater Manchester Police Force and went on to spend six years in Blackburn and Darwen, working in the Regeneration Department, then two years at the London Borough of Haringey as assistant chief executive in the aftermath of the Baby P case. Prior to arriving in Rotherham, Sharon was the assistant chief executive for people and then strategic director (reform) at Manchester City Council from September 2009.
Steph graduated from Cardiff University with a BSc in Neuroscience with a year in industry, before working as a graduate student at the Institute of Neurology, UCL. While working at UCL Steph developed and validated a computational model of movement-related motor cortical dynamics using human neuroimaging data.
Steph has also conducted market research for her small business, worked in a secondary school, and throughout her time at Cardiff and UCL was active in science education outreach projects, including co-organising a neuroscience conference for secondary school students.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director, Impact and Knowledge Mobilisation
- Contributor
EIF report 30 Jun 2022 Improving the way family support services work for minority ethnic families
EIF report 29 Oct 2021 Improving support for families facing multiple and complex problems
Blog 14 Jun 2021 Zooming in, zooming out: what the Early Years Transformation Academy tells us about system change and using evidence
EIF report 16 Jun 2020 Covid-19 and early intervention: Understanding the impact, preparing for recovery
Briefing 30 Apr 2020 Developing a behavioural approach to knowledge mobilisation: Reflections for the What Works Network
Blog 10 Apr 2018 Serious violence strategy: Government needs to start engaging with the evidence base
EIF report 13 Mar 2018 Intervening early to prevent gang and youth violence: The role of primary schools
Blog 14 Dec 2017 Let's not forget the importance of social and emotional skills in the debate about children's mental health
EIF report 17 Nov 2015 What works to prevent gang involvement, youth violence and crime: A rapid review of interventions delivered in the UK and abroad
EIF report 17 Nov 2015 Preventing gang and youth violence: Spotting signals of risk and supporting children and young people
Guide 11 Aug 2015 Early intervention: A guide for frontline police officers and PCSOs
Job Titles:
- Local Development Advisor
Sue is seconded from Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) to help partnerships make sense of and apply evidence locally, in their day-to-day early intervention work. Sue's focus is on maternity and early years and reducing parental conflict agendas, and linking these into the development of local Family Hubs.
Sue is passionate about designing and improving public services to ensure families get the best help as soon as they need it.
While at HCC, Sue implemented the Parenting Support strategy and the local children's centres programme, culminating in the My Baby's Brain and Five to Thrive programme. Later, Sue was operational manager of the Supporting Families Programme, where she helped implement a partnership approach to embed whole-family early help, including leading a partnership workforce development programme. In 2018, she was seconded to DWP to lead the team of Regional Integration Leads to help local areas implement a system response to reducing parental conflict, before returning to HCC to improve the integration of SEND and early help in Hertfordshire.
Blog 18 Feb 2021 Worth the wait: new evaluation data shows positive impacts of Family Nurse Partnership on school readiness and attainment
Coverage 10 Mar 2020 ‘No quick fix' for identifying and supporting children at risk from abuse and neglect
EIF report 26 Feb 2020 Adverse childhood experiences: What we know, what we don't know, and what should happen next
Guide 2 Sep 2019 Activities and toys that support caregiver-child interaction in the early years
EIF report 19 Dec 2018 Key competencies in early cognitive development: Things, people, numbers and words
Tool 14 Nov 2018 EIF maturity matrix: Speech, language and communication in the early years
Blog 21 Sep 2022 A crucial part of the puzzle: finding the right role for trauma-informed approaches in public services
EIF report 31 Oct 2017 Commissioning parenting and family support for Troubled Families
Briefing 27 Sep 2018 Why reducing parental conflict matters for local government