About Read Play Create
Hi, I’m Vanessa
Teacher. Leader. English specialist. Founder of Read, Play, Create.
I’m a former primary teacher and school leader with experience across EYFS to Year 6, including leading English across the primary curriculum.
Today, through Read, Play, Create, I support early years settings and primary schools to strengthen language, literacy, purposeful provision and progression — with practical support rooted in what actually happens in classrooms and settings.
Where it all started.
Books have always been at the heart of what I do.
Reading was one of the things I loved most from an early age, and when I became a primary teacher I quickly realised just how powerful books and stories could be within children's learning.
As my career developed, I became an English lead, overseeing English from Nursery through to Year 6. That gave me a much broader understanding of how early language, reading, vocabulary and children's experiences connect with the readers and writers they become later.
And it made one thing very clear to me:
What happens before children are expected to read and write matters enormously.
I LOVE that as the bridge into what you do now.
Then came Archie — and Read, Play, Create
Read, Play, Create really began with my son, Archie.
He had a speech and language delay alongside sensory needs, so I started creating play experiences specifically for him — using stories, sensory play, repetition, movement, simple language and carefully chosen resources to help him engage, communicate and build confidence.
Everything was designed around what he needed.
And when I saw how well it worked for him, I started thinking:
If this can help Archie, it could help other children too.
That was the beginning of Read, Play, Create.
What started as something very personal grew into story-led sessions for other children and families, all built around the same principles — giving children meaningful reasons to communicate, explore, imagine and learn through play.
And that experience still shapes the way I work now.
Read, Play, Create originally began with immersive story and play experiences for young children and their families.
I spent hours thinking about how a book could come off the page — creating environments where children could explore, talk, imagine, build, problem-solve, retell and make their own decisions through play.
And those sessions taught me a huge amount.
I saw how much children communicated when they had something meaningful to talk about.
How a carefully chosen resource could completely change the direction of play.
How the way an adult interacted could either extend an idea — or unintentionally take over.
And how the most beautiful activity in the world meant very little if we weren't clear about what we actually wanted children to learn.
That experience now sits at the heart of my consultancy work.
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Read, Play, Create has evolved
The way I work has changed, but the principle behind it hasn't.
I now combine my experience of teaching, leadership, English and hands-on early years practice to support schools and settings with:
Language & Literacy
Purposeful Provision
Progression
Adult Interaction
Curriculum Development
Practitioner Development
My aim isn't to tell settings what their classrooms should look like.
It's to help teams think more clearly about what they want children to learn, recognise what is already working and make practical decisions about what needs to happen next.
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The story is the vehicle. The learning is the purpose.
Experience behind the work
Before starting Read, Play, Create, I spent over 13 years working in primary education, teaching across the primary age range and taking on leadership roles including Head of Year, Head of Department and English Lead.
As English Lead, I worked across Nursery to Year 6, looking at how language, reading and writing develop over time and how the foundations built in the early years carry through into later learning.
That experience now sits alongside everything I’ve learned through Read, Play, Create — designing practical learning experiences, working directly with young children and families, and seeing first-hand how language, play, interaction and carefully planned provision can support children’s confidence and communication.
So when I work with a setting, I’m bringing together both sides of that experience:
classroom and leadership experience
+
practical early years and language-focused work
And that combination is what shapes the way I support schools and settings now.
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14+ years in primary education
EYFS to Year 6 experience
Former English Lead
School leadership experience
What working with me looks like
Practical support for real settings
I know how easy it is for education to become overloaded with initiatives, paperwork and things we feel we should be doing.
My approach is deliberately practical.
We'll look at where you are now, what your children need, what your team is already doing well and where a small number of carefully chosen changes could make the biggest difference.
You won't leave with fifty new jobs.
You should leave with greater clarity about what matters next and why.