Dr Caroline Guard

Caroline joined Thrive at Five in April 2026, after spending 16 years working in higher education as a Senior Lecturer and Researcher. Her research has focused on the voice, agency and rights of very young children as well as workforce resilience and professional development. She has worked closely with the early years sector both in practice and in recent years as an ethnographic researcher. Most recently Caroline worked at The University of Oxford on the Best Start for Life Workforce Evaluation.