Job title: BBC Education Editor for Children's Magazines
Employer: BBC Worldwide
Location: White City, London
Duties
I am responsible for providing educational support and guidance to editorial teams on issues relating to child development. This involves ensuring the content of the magazines is educationally sound and writing educational plans for appropriate magazines from which the editorial teams work.
I work on the BBC's whole range of pre-school and education titles. This means I have to keep up to date on the latest educational and child development issues, changes and trends. I represent the department and its magazines as the expert on all educational and child-development issues, for example on radio interviews and internal and external talks.
Start date January 2002.
Likes/dislikes
I like the exciting buzz around children's media, which strives for excellence in its work for all children. All staff, including editors and designers, try to ensure that the work in this area reflects the interests and developmental needs of young children. The department takes the child's media experience seriously in terms of how the editorial and design can offer increasingly creative ways to encourage children themselves to be imaginative and creative. I enjoy spending a fair amount of time speaking on radio about child-related issues linked to our BBC magazines.
I am also enjoying being a part- time PhD student at the Institute of Education and my supervisor is Professor David Buckingham. My chosen area of study concerns an examination of how character-led magazines for children are used within the home in conjunction with other media, such as television and online materials. The research dovetails well with my everyday work and informs and challenges my thinking. I enjoy talking (as all my colleagues will confirm) and I regularly provide talks and workshops about children's media for all staff within the department.
I dislike the tube journey to work but try to make the most of the journey by burying myself in a book and reading research linked to my study!
Best achievement
I won the Fab! Award for Best Ambassador for the BBC in 2004.
Training
I trained as a teacher and taught for many years. I have a Masters degree in Education and I am undertaking a PhD in Media. However, the most important training I have ever received for my current position has to be time spent with young children themselves, chatting to them, listening to their thoughts and opinions, observing and analysing the way in which they think and pondering on what stimulates and encourages them to be brave in their pursuit of creativity and imagination.
I am sure that we will never come to a place where we feel we know everything we need to know about children - they will continue to surprise us and show us that they are capable of thinking and behaving in increasingly creative and imaginative ways.
Listening to what children have to say seems to be the key. All staff within the department regularly visit nurseries and schools to analyse the way in which the activities within BBC magazines are useful to young children and, quite simply, which ones they appear to enjoy and which they perhaps find too challenging.
Career path
I started out as a primary school teacher and then became a lecturer in education and childcare, which led to running a child education programme.
Around that time, I became an author for children and then wrote books for adults too. I worked as a head of a primary school and then became a consultant for the early years unit at the DfES. Following this, I took up my current post at BBC Worldwide.
Career progression
My position is unique in this business and I enjoy the dynamic place it offers in the world of media and children.
Advice
Work in children's media is rewarding and, with the appropriate training and experience, there are work opportunities, in journalism, development of DVDs, books, audio, music, programming and magazines. The BBC website is useful for advice on working in this area.
Interest/hobbies
I have a pet parrot who has strong opinions and I regret teaching him how to talk! I also own an opinionated cat who demands to be fed at the drop of a hat and I have kept a dog, ducks and chickens, all of whom got on very well together and ruled my life! I have been privileged to become a published author - writing story books for children and books about child development for adults. I spend the rest of my spare waking moments either giving talks about child development or involved in charity activities for children.
Further information
* Work experience is often a useful place to start: www.bbc.co.uk/jobs/workexperience/television.shtml
