Shows
My Words, My Book6 - Richard O’Neill - acclaimed storyteller, author, playwright and educator from northern England In this podcast episode, Richard reminisces about his Romani heritage and how this is central to his storytelling; he fondly shares how he was one of the last in his family to live in a caravan and travel around the UK. Richard also talks about how his storytelling includes the past, present and future and indeed how storytelling is an art. We hear from Richard about how he was inspired to write The Can Caravan, which highlights the importance of community and teamwork. Richard O’Neill MBE is an acclaimed storyteller, author, playwright and educator from northern Eng...2025-03-1725 minMy Words, My Book5 - Patrice Lawrence Patrice passionately shares the importance of diversity in families and communities and how this has influenced her work. She talks about the power of reading a wide range of books and how children learn and appreciate reading books that show characters that are outside their own experience, especially on the issue of creating empathy. Specifically, Patrice talks about how in People Like Stars the grandmother’s character is not a stereotypical representation. Patrice has written books for children of all ages, from picture books to titles for young adults. She has won multiple awards including the Waterstones Chi...2025-03-1333 min
Podcasts from the Foundation Stage Forum LimitedA deep dive into Maya and Marley and the Great Big Tidy UpBen and Jules chat with Laura Henry-Allain MBE about her latest children’s book Maya and Marley and the Great Big Tidy Up. They discuss the important themes in the book, how the story can be used in settings, and Laura shares where she finds inspiration for her stories.2025-02-0742 min
The Forest School Podcast196: Why YOUR School Needs More Stories Like Jojo & Gran Gran with Laura Henry-AllainSummary:In this episode of The Forest School Podcast, host Lewis Ames sits down with Laura Henry-Allain MBE, author, consultant, and creator of the beloved children’s show Jojo & Gran Gran. They explore the importance of representation in early years education, how to create inclusive learning environments, and why conversations about diversity should start early. Laura shares practical advice for parents and educators, emphasizing the power of storytelling in fostering empathy and understanding. Tune in to learn how YOU can make a difference in your classroom, Forest School, or home learning environment.
Key Takeaways:
The ro...2024-10-2547 min
Femme OnActive Activism: Ria CarroganThis episode Tonya speaks with Femme On creator Ria Carrogan about the importance of all acts of activism, food insecurity and poverty, parenting and podcasting! It is basically one long Ria rant!Organisations that Ria mentions:The Black Nursery Manager: https://www.theblacknurserymanager.com/Bloody Good Period - https://www.bloodygoodperiod.com/Trussell Trust - https://www.trusselltrust.org/Beauty Banks - https://www.beautybanks.org.uk/Ria also mentions some amazing children's book authors and books:Bethan Woollvin - https://www.bethanwoollvin.com/Harry Woodgate...2024-05-1444 min
TTS Talking Early YearsEpisode 20: Supporting and empowering every family with Laura Henry-Allain MBEShaddai Tembo and Laura Henry-Allain MBE return for the final episode of this series of the TTS Talking Early Years podcast, to discuss the importance of recognising the uniqueness and diversity of every family.
Laura emphasises that it's crucial to understand the family dynamics of every child in an early years setting to ensure that you can represent and support a child's self-identity. Communication plays a key part in this; listening, learning, and ensuring that every family is acknowledged irrespective of how diverse they may be.
📌 To shop for resources relevant to this podcast conversation, clic...2023-11-1624 min
TTS Talking Early YearsEpisode 19: Representation in books and resources with Laura Henry-Allain MBEShaddai Tembo is once again joined by Laura Henry-Allain MBE, an award-winning international storyteller, educationalist, producer, and consultant. In this episode, Laura and Shaddai explore why representation in resources is important throughout your continuous provision.
This episode highlights that settings should accurately reflect our culturally diverse society so that all children learn about the society in which they live; to foster respect for other cultures and to ensure that children from minority ethnic groups can relate to their environment.
Laura goes on to explain that education is a key tool for ensuring that racist attitudes do...2023-11-0919 min
TTS Talking Early YearsEpisode 18: How can early years educators promote anti-racism with Laura Henry-Allain MBEShaddai Tembo is joined once again by Laura Henry-Allain MBE, an award-winning international storyteller, educationalist, producer, and consultant. In this episode, Laura and Shaddai explore how educators can promote anti-racism in their settings.
Laura explains the importance of including the whole team, parents, and wider community to embed anti-racism across all areas of your early years setting and practice. Anti-racism should be considered throughout all areas of your setting, environment, and interactions.
Laura also shares that resources and books could contain imagery and terminology that is discriminatory; therefore, reviewing these and their appropriateness is vital in...2023-11-0221 min
TTS Talking Early YearsEpisode 17: Understanding our differences with Laura Henry-Allain MBEShaddai Tembo is joined by Laura Henry-Allain MBE, an award-winning international storyteller, educationalist, producer, and consultant. Laura will cover the topic of understanding and celebrating our differences.
In this episode, Laura discusses inclusive practices, emphasising the importance of continued training on matters of diversity for every setting. She sheds light on the negative impact of phrases such as 'I don't see colour' and how this unintentionally dismisses the experiences of others.
Laura also offers her advice for speaking out on matters of inclusivity and diversity in settings.
📌 To shop for resources relevant to this po...2023-10-2619 min
Black Ballad Presents: The Survival GuideMum Guilt, The Importance Of Community & SO MUCH MORE! (with Laura Henry-Allain MBE, creator of JoJo & Gran Gran)In this wide-ranging conversation with Laura Henry-Allain MBE, Black Ballad's CEO and co-founder Tobi Oredein discusses Laura's groundbreaking work, JoJo & Gran Gran and they get real about working motherhood and mum guilt.Follow Laura on Twitter and Instagram.Laura's book 'My Skin, Your Skin: Let's Talk About Race, Racism and Empowerment' is available now and you can watch the latest episodes of JoJo & Gran Gran on BBC iPlayer.Follow Black Ballad on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. Let us know what you think about this episode on Twitter by using the...2022-05-221h 08
Black Ballad Presents: The Survival GuideWe're back!Black Ballad Presents: The Survival Guide is back for another season, talking about all the things we don't speak about enough.We have guests including Jamelia, Black Mums Upfront and Laura Henry-Allain MBE (the creator of JoJo & GranGran), and talking about fun topics such as sex after childbirth, when to tell your kids they're black and how to deal with teenagers.Subscribe now so you don't miss an episode when we launch! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.2022-03-1601 min
Oxford Education Podcast25: Talking about race, racism and empowerment with Laura Henry-Allain MBELaura Henry-Allain
In this episode of Diversifying Reading with Shareen Wilkinson, Shareen talks to Laura Henry-Allain MBE about the Lit in Colour research and diversifying children’s publishing, why we need to talk to children about race in school and at home, and how to be anti-racist.
Laura Henry-Allain MBE is an award-winning international writer, speaker and consultant. She is the creator of the well-loved CBeebies characters JoJo and Gran Gran as well as the series' associate producer. She is also executive producer on a few shows that are currently in development. She is the vice-president of the British Association fo...2021-11-1841 min
Everything Under The Sun87. What is racism & why is it bad? Ft special guest expert Laura Henry-Allain MBE, how does a Mummy chicken save her chicks if a fox tries to eat them?On this award winning show we answer three questions from Tabitha, Emma and Christopher with help from special guest expert Laura Henry-Allain MBE Laura is a writer, parenting expert, Early years advisor, inspirational speaker, creator of the CBeebies show JoJo and Gran Gran and has written a new book called Your Skin, My Skin. You can win a copy of her book on this week’s episode by entering our competition! Check out the pod for more info. Laura explains what racism is, how it is basically bullying, why it is ba...2021-10-2120 min