Information about the regional advisers
On this page you can read about the background to our regional advisers.
Monica is passionate about the involvement of families in developing local, inclusive family-centred support. She has experience of developing local family services’ partnerships and networks supporting babies and their families, play and early learning, digital family hubs and youth services.
Contact email: [email protected]
Karla has a strong foundation in education, having taught across all primary phases from nursery to Year 6. She led literacy development as a lead teacher for Coventry LA’s Every Child a Writer project, supporting schools to raise standards and embed effective teaching practices. She also managed an outdoor forest nursery site, promoting innovative approaches to early years learning.
Within Family Hubs, Karla coordinated services for children and families, leading on early years development, speech, language and communication as well as communications and marketing. She developed strategies to strengthen early years provision and improve communication pathways for families. Karla works collaboratively with partners and values strong relationships as essential to achieving shared goals and delivering joined-up approaches that make a real difference.
As a National Adviser for the National Centre for Family Hubs, Karla supports local authorities to embed family hub models, share best practice and drive innovation. Her vision is to ensure every child and family can access high-quality, integrated support that empowers them to thrive.
Contact: [email protected]
Jayne’s work is underpinned by a belief in the importance of early intervention as the way to achieve lasting outcomes for babies, children and young people. She has over 25 years' experience of developing integrated early help systems that are able to deliver services to families in new and more accessible ways. This experience is across the NHS and Local Government. As part of this, she developed family hubs in Westminster City Council, where she was Head of Early Help.
Her leadership strengths lie in managing transformational change and bringing different agencies together to collaborate and coproduce a shared vision and operating framework always with the aim of transforming service delivery for families and improving long-term health and educational outcomes.
Contact email: [email protected]
Natasha qualified as a social worker in 1990 and has extensive experience as a children’s services leader across several Local Authorities in a wide range of roles. She initially worked in generic social work and then specialised in children and families supporting children in need, child protection, looked after children and care leavers and later became a manager. She has since held a number of senior roles and developed successful and award winning initiatives and projects to address issues such as parental substance misuse, domestic abuse and anti social behaviour.
Natasha has led the development and implementation of the Troubled Families programme and more recently has had responsibility for early help, youth justice and emergency duty social work services
Natasha brings an extensive knowledge of children’s service practice and transformation. As a leader and now a qualified coach she focuses on developing people and ensuring practice and leadership at all levels is nurtured. She has focused on the development and leadership of women and global majority colleagues as both a social justice issue and essential to offering services that have cultural competency and reflect the people we serve.
Contact email: [email protected]
Ann began her career in Yorkshire over 30 years ago setting up and managing some of the pathfinder projects which led to the national investment and in turn legislation around early years, and broader family services. She set up and managed some of the very first Sure Start programs, including a rural program in Cornwall where she is based today. Ann went on to manage the transformation of 40 children centres into locality based family centres for 0 to 19s.
Ann has worked on national support contracts for over 15 years including the rollout of the two year-old and 30 hour entitlements.
Today Ann works as a freelance consultant for the LGA and has led over 30 reviews to ensure the early years and childcare agenda directly supports a range of local authority strategic priorities. She also works for local authorities direct, and charities small and large and has a passion for equality and inclusion.
Ann also co-directs a community interest company which aims to reduce inequalities and improve outcomes.
Contact email: [email protected]
Nicola has decades of experience in the early years. Her professional background includes working as an early years practitioner, children’s centre worker and as a local authority officer. She has also taught early years qualifications in further and higher education. She values relational working and collaboration and aims to ensure that this is integral to her practice in her position as a Regional Advisor.
More recently Nicola has led on facilitating regional communities of practice across the nine regions under the Early Language Local Innovation and Excellence (ELLIE) Programme as an Early Years Advisor in the Children’s Service Improvement Team and considers this a rewarding opportunity to share and collaborate with a focus on sector led improvement. She is enthused to take on the role as the North East Regional Advisor for National Centre for Family Hubs and build regional connections.
Contact email: [email protected]
Kate Freeman is an independent consultant working with local authorities, early years services, family hubs, schools, parents and carers, health and voluntary organisations. Her previous experience and qualification is Speech and Language Therapy, having worked in this role with the NHS, independently and as Director of Programmes with a national charity focusing on speech, language and communication needs.
In 2021, Kate trained as a Ministry of Justice Registered Intermediary, working with vulnerable witnesses in the police and court system. Kate has also provided bespoke consultancy work through the Local Government Association and managed SEND, early years and children’s services peer challenges in a range of local authorities.
With a focus on speech and language support and SEND in early years and across the age range, Kate works to enable partnerships across services; systems for families, children and young people; and to develop staff confidence. Kate has also authored the Words Together series of books focusing specifically on early language development.
Contact email: [email protected]
Emily Hackett has worked at the LGA for over three and a half years, leading the organisation’s work on children’s health. Her portfolio has included a broad range of public health policy areas, including health inequalities, health visiting, school nursing, healthy weight, oral health, teenage pregnancy, inclusion health, placed-based approaches, and health integration. Prior to joining the LGA, Emily was a Senior Public Health Specialist at a metropolitan borough council in the West Midlands for nearly three years. She also held roles at the West Midlands Combined Authority, working across diverse policy areas such as transport, employment and skills, and within the Mayor’s Office.
Contact email: [email protected]
Flora Wilkie has worked at the LGA for over four years, predominantly as the policy lead for early years, youth services and youth justice. She has also covered policy areas related to unaccompanied asylum seeking children, children’s social care and children’s mental health. For the past 9 months, Flora has had a split role at the LGA, working with as a Programme Manager in the children’s improvement team. Prior to joining the LGA, Flora was a Commissioning Manager for children’s health and wellbeing services at a county council where she’d worked for over five years.
Contact: [email protected]