Ann-Marie Mc Auliffe was principal officer at NCB between 2001 and 2006. During her time at NCB she worked with the Early Childhood Forum and the Local Authority Early Years Network. She has also worked directly on numerous policy areas including lobbying on the Childcare Act 2006. Ann-Marie completed a Masters in Early Childhood Education at the University of Sheffield and has written for a number of journals and magazines, including Nursery World.Alison Linsey led the development of NCB’s parliamentary work, including lobbying on Bills passing through Parliament such as the Childcare Act 2006 and the Children Act 2004. Alison also worked on NCB’s Child Impact Assessment project, with the Children’s Legal Centre, producing child impact statements on Bills for parliamentarians. These analyse the potential impact of legislation on children from a human rights perspective. In 2006 Alison took up the post of Parliamentary Adviser for Barnardo’s.John Fowler was deputy head of education, culture and tourism at the Local Government Association from 1997 to 2002. He currently undertakes management work in local government and writes on education and children’s services policy and legislation. Experience includes: secondary school mathematics teacher, examinations manager, community education worker, parent, school, college and university governor, local authority officer, and local authority member. He has been the main author, or contributed to, 12 books including books on the Education Acts of 2002 and 2005 and the Children Act 2004.