Carol Hayes has worked in early years for the last 40 years as a teacher and tutor. She worked at Staffordshire University for six years as a principal lecturer and academic group leader, where she helped to develop a thriving early childhood studies department with programmes from foundation degrees to Masters in early childhood. Her specialist areas are cognitive development, language, literacy and communication and her main research interests are dyslexia and communication difficulties and the role of graduate teaching assistants in the workforce.