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  3. Eunice Lumsden

  • Eunice Lumsden is Professor of Child Advocacy and Head of  Childhood Youth and Families at the University of Northampton. She is a Route Panel Member for the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and has several academic advisory roles for governmental and non-governmental organisations. Nationally, she has been a member of several external expert groups advising the Government on Early Years qualifications and health inequalities. Eunice led the development of the Early Childhood Graduate Competencies for the Early Childhood Studies Network. She has also advised on workforce development and Early Years for French Administration in Belgium, UNICEF and the Professional Association of Child Development in Turkey, Save the Children, the International Step by Step Association, the Royal Society of Arts and Camden Borough Council. The Mayor of Istanbul and UNICEF invited Eunice to participate in activities that led to Early Childhood being included in the Sustainable Development Goals.

    She has considerable expertise in working with a broad range of professionals, both nationally and internationally, within education, health, policy and social care. As a registered Social Worker, she has extensive practice and research experience working with children, young people and families.  She has also received awards for her ‘Changemaking’ work and research in early childhood and infant mental health. In 2021 she was chosen as a Women of the Year  in the prestigious Women of the Year Lunch for her advocacy work for children. She was also awarded the Picasso Jaspar Award for Inclusion and Diversity, by the GEM network at UON.

  • Professor Lumsden has over 20 years teaching experience in Higher Education and was awarded a Teaching Fellowship for her work transitioning students into Higher Education.

  • Professor Lumsden has contributed to several research projects and has a special interest in early years processional development, child maltreatment, adoption and poverty. Her work on multi-professional and interagency work has been recognised internationally and cited in Practice Principle 2: Partnerships with professionals (2011), an evidence paper for the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Australia as warranting special mention because of its ‘ relevance to, and impact on, Australian early childhood education and care’.

    Her doctoral research was into the development of a new professional role and status in the early years, Early Years Professional Status. Her research interests include the professionalisation of the Early Childhood workforce, child maltreatment, children’s rights, social justice, diversity, child poverty, children ‘Looked After’ and adoption. Her book on child protection was shortlisted as the best professional book of the year in 2018.

  • For publications, projects, datasets, research interests and activities, view Eunice Lumsden’s research profile on Pure, the University of Northampton’s Research Explorer.