PEDAL Conference 2026: Presentations, Workshops & Speakers

Mona Sakr is an Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education at Middlesex University. She leads Nuffield-funded research on improving the quality of provision for 0-2-year-olds in nursery settings across England. Her wider research focuses on how we can best support creativity and self-determination among the very youngest learners.

Sandra Mathers is an Associate Professor at the Department of Education, University of Oxford. She began her career as a primary school teacher and her work remains strongly practice and policy relevant. Sandra’s research explores how we can best promote high-quality interactions between adults and children, including developing and evaluating early language and professional development programmes (Talking Time, URLEY), researching parent-child joint media engagement (LIFT), large-scale longitudinal studies (Children of the 2020s, Millennium Cohort Study), evaluations of government early years initiatives (Graduate Leader Fund, Early Education Pilot for Two-Year Olds) and studying quality and inequality in early education provision.

Eileen is the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Lead at the Institute of Health Visiting, with a background as a Specialist Health Visitor in Parent and Infant Mental Health in Warwickshire. She has worked in Birmingham and London as a Mental Health Nurse in a variety of settings including a Mother & Baby Inpatient Unit. Eileen is a qualified Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) practitioner and Circle of Security Parenting facilitator and was a Principal Investigator on the NIHR‑funded Surviving Crying study. Eileen has worked in collaboration with the Institute of Health Visiting and the Royal Foundation as part of the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB) study, becoming one of the UK’s first certified ADBB referents in 2025. She is a passionate advocate for investment in the early years and for the role of high‑quality research and well‑resourced services in supporting babies and young children, recognising the profound and lasting benefits for families and society as a whole.

Sam is an Early Years education specialist with over 25 years of international and UK experience leading high-quality early childhood provision. She is skilled in establishing and scaling nursery environments, including leading new school set-ups, supporting regulatory inspections, and implementing effective systems that enhance teaching quality and learning outcomes. Sam is an expert in coaching and mentoring staff to elevate teaching practice, with a particular focus on language development, inclusive education, and SEND provision. She is committed to innovative, child-centred learning approaches, including outdoor education, sustainable practices, and community-based initiatives.