Ellie’s work in the field of Early Years has spanned two decades and has seen her work with a range of charities and local authorities. Starting out as a Portage worker in a deprived Sure Start area in inner London, Ellie has kept those early experiences with her throughout her career, and has always strived to improve the lives of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable children in our society. Holding an MA in Child Centred Interprofessional Practice, a significant part of Ellie’s career has been spent on the development and leadership of Children’s Centres.
As Assistant Director of the Early Childhood Unit at NCB, Ellie leads a team of experienced Early Years professionals and oversees influential national Early Years contracts. Ellie’s team developed the highly regarded Making it REAL (Raising Early Achievement in Literacy) home learning programme in conjunction with the University of Sheffield, which is now rolled out in over 80 local authorities in England. Ellie also currently oversees the team delivering on the Early Years Stronger Practice Hub programme for DfE, and the NCB led Early Years National Quality Improvement Network.
Ellie continues to build on the work of the Early Childhood Unit across a range of policy, research and practice development initiatives, working closely with the sector through ECU’s extensive networks.