CST Early Years Summit 2026

Clío Brown is the National Director of Early Years and Early Reading  for E-ACT. Having worked in the education sector for 14 years she has held a variety of roles from teaching positions to EYFS lead, assistant headteacher, DSL and lead practitioner for another large school trust. Clío contributes to Tes on early years and SEND issues and is a regular conference speaker. Clio is passionate about raising the profile of the vitality of the early years and is on the Board of Trustees at Early Education.

Professor Sam Wass is a child psychologist and neuroscientist who studied at Oxford, London, and Cambridge. He leads the Institute for the Science of Early Years in East London, which is one of the most demographically diverse areas of the world, and a major focus of their research is to explore how early living environments influence early attention, learning and stress. He studies typical and atypical development, including ADHD, autism, and anxiety, and collaborates on international projects studying early development. Sam has published over 100 academic articles and a book, and is one of the top two percent most-cited researchers in his field. He frequently appears in the media as an expert in child development, advising the UK Departments of Education and Health, charities like Save The Children, and brands such as Kinder, LEGO and Disney+. He was an on-screen scientist in five series of Channel 4’s award-winning The Secret Life of 4- and 5-Year-Olds.

Swabra is the Headteacher of Forest Academy, part of the Inspire Partnership Trust, and brings over 15 years’ experience across education sectors. She holds a Master’s degree in Leadership from UCL and is a founding member of the Chartered College of Teaching. Her leadership is rooted in a belief that strong early years provision lays the foundations for lifelong outcomes. She is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, ensuring that no child’s socio-economic background limits their early development or future potential. Swabra is passionate about raising aspirations and creating environments where children thrive from the very start of their education. She has led a DfE Attendance Hub and now leads Forest Academy’s DfE RISE Attendance and Behaviour Hub. She has contributed to the DfE Attendance Toolkit and presented at DfE Reception–Year conferences, supporting national efforts to improve early attendance, engagement and readiness for learning.