Speaking, consultancy and training in the Early Years

Providing early years expertise since 2018.

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What I Offer

I work with organisations that want to think more carefully about young children, families, practice and social justice. Through Critical Early Years, I offer keynote speaking, facilitation, consultancy, staff development and bespoke training for early years settings, schools, charities, CICs, funders, organisations and sector bodies.

My work brings together early childhood research, my own practitioner experience and a commitment to equality, inclusion and anti-racist practice.

Some organisations come to me for specialist support around social justice, identity, race and inclusion. Others want to strengthen their understanding of early childhood, play, child development, relationships, curriculum or working with families. Many need both.

Speaking and facilitation

I amavailable as a keynote speaker, panellist, host and facilitator for conferences, events, training days, podcasts and public conversations.

I speak on early childhood education and care, children’s lives, play, identity, inclusion, anti-racism, social justice, policy and the wider conditions shaping early years practice.

My sessions are research-informed, accessible and grounded in the realities of practice. I aim to challenge and energise audiences while creating space for reflection, discussion and practical next steps.

Consultancy and strategy

I work with settings, charities, CICs, funders and organisations to strengthen early years projects, programmes, resources and strategies.

This can include support with programme design, practice frameworks, equality and inclusion strategy, anti-racist practice, staff development, sector engagement and research-informed resource development.

Previous consultancy includes work with Scouts UK and BBC Children in Need.

Training and staff development

I design and deliver bespoke training for teams working with, or around, young children and families. This includes early years settings and schools, as well as charities, CICs, cultural organisations, family services and funders whose staff may not have formal early years training.

Sessions can support teams to build foundational early childhood knowledge, deepen their understanding of play, development, relationships and curriculum, or explore more specialist areas such as equality, identity, anti-racism, inclusion and social justice.

Training is tailored to the organisation, audience and context. I can offer introductory sessions, whole-team CPD, reflective workshops, facilitated conversations and longer programmes of support.

Research, evaluation and knowledge exchange

Research sits at the heart of my work. Through Critical Early Years, I bring a strong research base to speaking, training, consultancy and collaborative projects.

I am open to conversations about evaluation, research-informed writing, knowledge exchange, practice resources and collaborative projects. Some work may connect to my university role and academic partnerships where appropriate.

I’m also available for interviews and media contributions on early childhood education, policy, inclusion, and social justice.

EXPERTISE

My expertise spans early childhood education and care, including play, child development, curriculum, pedagogy, communication, identity, belonging, working with families, inclusion, equality, race and racism, anti-racist practice, gender, LGBT+ inclusion and social justice.

I am especially interested in how organisations understand young children’s lives in context: their relationships, communities, identities, opportunities, inequalities and everyday experiences.

I regularly contribute to national and international training, consultancy, writing and conference activity, and I develop bespoke content for particular settings, teams, projects and organisations.

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Who I’ve worked with

I work with early years settings, schools, universities, charities, CICs, funders, organisations, membership bodies, local networks and sector organisations.

My work is particularly useful for organisations that support babies, young children and families, but whose teams may come from different professional backgrounds. I can help staff build confidence in early childhood knowledge while also thinking carefully about equality, inclusion and social justice.

  • "You say it is better to try and get it wrong than not try at all, this has stuck in my head since seeing you, and I would like the staff and I to try to do our best for the children we take care of."

  • "I really liked how you emphasised the self-care needed in anti-racist work while also not letting us off the hook - gently pushing us to confront our roles and privileges in racist structures."

  • "I was captivated by your words and your goal to champion diversity in early years and directly face discrimination and how it can be dealt with."

  • "Listening to Shaddai carefully explain key concepts with examples was brilliant. The openness of everyone taking part, including shaddai, made the course a safe place to discuss racism."

  • "It was so great to have you on the panel and you really seamlessly move through the different layers of your content in a nuanced yet accessible way."

  • "Sharing your research and personal experiences added a unique depth and perspective to the discussion, making it a remarkable learning experience for everyone involved."

  • "I firstly wanted to say how amazing and inspirational you are. I am a class teacher at X School and I came away so inspired. I have been sharing lots of the messages from the day with staff since being back in school."

  • "I like the interactive style and the way in which the presenter makes the session accessible. Really thought provoking and interactive."

  • "made me think about how important it is to have conversations with children and staff within my setting. Feel empowered by new knowledge to be confident with challenging adaptations to practice."

  • "You have inspired the students by acting as a role model for resilience and dedication as well as demonstrating first hand alternative routes into the sector."

  • "Speaking from own background and practitioner experience, very informative on social issues. Really thought-provoking, really enjoyed the handouts to take away and focus on in more detail."

  • "Shaddai’s warmth and openness, the way he kindly challenged us to look both inward and outward so as we could reflect as individuals and take practical steps in interactions with the children in setting."

  • "The training was so well-structured and tailored to our work specifically, and it felt like you provided a really open and caring space for talking and thinking about such complicated and difficult things."

  • "I think the mix of talking from our personal experiences, the historical and theoretical context, and practical exercises and discussion was really brilliant."

  • "I definitely feel more comfortable talking about anti-racism and taking action to identify, react to and work against racism in my working life and my personal life as a result of this training."

  • "Specifically, I am coming away from this training with a clear understanding of where and how racism exists for children under 5 and the adults that interact in their learning environment."

  • "I felt expertly facilitated to contribute to conversations and particularly appreciated Shaddai’s promotion of the importance of “listening spaces” as well as conversation spaces."