Let’s chat about inclusion.

Last week, I had the absolute pleasure of visiting Pickatale and the brilliant team at Sweet Cherry Publishing.

It was one of those days that reminds you why partnerships matter so much within the education ecosystem. I’m incredibly grateful to Emily and Sig for bringing the conversation together and creating the opportunity to connect.

The conversations centred around turning my Mr Siddiqui’s Curious Careers books into physical print books, the start of what already feels like a very exciting, challenging and genuinely fun journey ahead.

A huge thank you to Sanjee de Silva for his hospitality, energy and solution focused mindset. The sort of person who makes you leave a conversation feeling energised and excited about what could be possible.

It was also brilliant to spend time with my good friend Ger Grus, someone who cares deeply about creating opportunity for children and young people. There is something really special about seeing good people work with good people.

But there was one part of the visit that stayed with me long after I left.

I had the opportunity to meet Emma Steele and hear more about the work happening through Every Cherry, Sweet Cherry’s accessible publishing imprint.

Emma brings nearly two decades of educational experience, particularly within SEND, and listening to her and the team talk about their work was genuinely inspiring.

Their philosophy feels simple, yet incredibly powerful.

Every child deserves to feel like a reader.

When you hear that sentence, it almost feels obvious. Yet when you begin to understand the care and thought that sits behind it, you realise just how intentional inclusion really needs to be.

Their books include:

• Touch and feel elements and fidget textures within the pages
• Symbols that support accessibility and understanding
• QR codes linking to audio versions
• Signed video versions of entire stories
• Beautiful illustrations designed with inclusion in mind

What impressed me most was not simply the innovation.

It was the intentionality.

The care.

The respect.

The understanding that accessibility should never sit on the edges of a conversation or be treated as an afterthought. It should sit at the centre.

As a teacher and as a parent, seeing that level of thought being placed into creating experiences for children brought me a huge amount of joy.

Because this goes beyond books.

This is about autonomy.

This is about dignity.

This is about agency.

This is about belonging.

Potential is everywhere, but opportunity is not.

Sometimes opportunity starts with something that many of us could easily take for granted, the ability to independently access a story, turn pages, engage with characters and simply feel included.

To work in service of education is to work in the business of hope. Whether you’re in a classroom, a school, a charity, a business or a publishing house, we all play a role in helping children feel seen.

My visit to Sweet Cherry was special for many reasons, but this is the part that has stayed with me most.

I’m excited to continue exploring what this partnership could become as we bring my own books to life.

For now though, I simply wanted to celebrate the brilliant work being done by the teams at Sweet Cherry and Every Cherry.

And a huge thank you again to Pickatale for making it happen.

I genuinely cannot wait to see where future collaborations lead.

Something to think about…

Inclusion is often spoken about as something additional.

The most meaningful examples rarely feel additional at all.

They feel intentional from the very beginning.