London Area, United Kingdom
Dr June O’Sullivan OBE is CEO of London Early Years Foundation (LEYF), which she developed into the UK's largest childcare charity and social enterprise. With 1000 staff across 43 nurseries in thirteen London boroughs, LEYF is building a better future for London's children, families and local communities through a commitment to excellence in Early Years education, training and research. As CEO and creator of the UK's leading childcare charity and social enterprise since 2007, June continues to break new ground in the development of LEYF's scalable social business model including the first Early Years Chef Academy and the London Institute of Early Years. She remains a tireless campaigner, looking for new ways to influence policy and make society a better place for all children and families. June is a champion of community-based, multi-generational early years education as the basis for greater social and cultural capital to deliver long-term social impact. She continues to advise Governments as well as a range of organisations, academics and services at home and overseas about how best to implement a social enterprise vision for early years. June is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Trustee of Booktrust, and her local library Upper Norwood Library Trust. She supprts City University CityVentures Business Entrepreneur Programme and Imagine If at Reading University. She is a member of the London Mayor’s Skills Advisory Partners Board, Sutton Trust Advisory Board and Institute for Apprentices and Technical Education. June was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours in 2013, for her services to London’s children. In 2023 she was awarded an OBE for her services to Education. She won the Social Enterprise UK 2021 and 2025 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Middlesex. In 2016 she was voted one of Debretts most influential 500 and in 2017 she won the NMT Most Influential In Early Years Award. In 2018, she was the runner up Veuve Cliquot Woman of the Year Award. June has an MA in Primary & Early Childhood Studies, an MBA from London South Bank University. She completed her PhD in developing sustainability informed staff in the Early Years at the University of Wolverhampton in partnership with the Centre for Research in Education and Childhood (CREC) She is a published author and researcher and sought after speaker and media commentator on Early Years, Social Enterprise, Child Poverty and Sustainability.
London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) is the UK's largest childcare charitable social enterprise. Our core purpose is to build a better future for London's children, families and local communities through a community nurseries providing excellence in Early Years education, training and research. Established in 1903, we now employ 1000 staff across 43 community nurseries in thirteen London boroughs, making a real difference to the lives of 4300 children and their parents every year. The LEYF approach is designed through the LEYF Social Pedagogy which shapes the service and ensures we offer the best service to children, we currently exceed the national UK Ofsted ratings. The London Institute of Early Year offers high quality training courses for Early Years staff from apprenticeships to our own degree in partnership with University of Wolverhampton. This means staff have a pathway from Level 1 to Level 7 when they arrive at LEYF. We have also set up the first Early Years Chef Academy with a specific Cache accredited qualification. Our recent work to develop Green Leyf has led to a new Level 4 Cache endorsed Level 4 qualification called Sustainability in the Early Years and our community of practice Action for Sustainability in Education.
Supporting the London Mayor to develop an inclusive business strategy for Londoners
Promote and work in partnership with the University a social entrepreneur