Kate Silverton
Workforces carry the weight of their personal lives into the working day, and parents in particular show up frayed by the second shift at home. Wellbeing programmes rarely meet that reality. The science of how the developing brain shapes behaviour, in children and in adults, is the most useful lens organisations have to support working parents and to coach their own leaders on emotional regulation under load.
Kate Silverton is a former BBC news presenter and qualified child therapist who hosts senior corporate events and speaks to organisations on the science of emotional development, parenting, and wellbeing.
Full Profile
Why organisations work with Kate Silverton
- A trusted, recognisable broadcaster who can hold a room of senior leaders, run a Q&A with executives, and chair a panel without losing the thread, which is why McLaren, KPMG, Transport for London, NatWest, Lloyds, and American Express have used her at conferences and ceremonies.
- A qualified child therapist trained through Place2Be, with a BSc in Psychology and clinical practice, which makes her credible to parental-leave, family-benefits, and employee-wellbeing audiences in a way few broadcasters are.
- Author of two Sunday Times bestsellers on child development, including an instant Sunday Times number one, giving her a defined public thesis on how the developing brain shapes behaviour.
- Two decades of frontline reporting, including Iraq and Afghanistan for Panorama, which gives her real ballast when chairing serious conversations rather than purely celebratory ones.
- Ambassador roles with Place2Be, the Anna Freud Centre, NSPCC, and Trauma Informed Schools UK, which sit naturally alongside corporate ESG, mental health, and family-benefits commitments.
Biography highlights
- Former BBC News presenter, including BBC News at One and BBC Weekend News, and Panorama reporter from Iraq and Afghanistan.
- BSc in Psychology; qualified child therapist trained through the Place2Be charity.
- Author of “There’s No Such Thing As ‘Naughty'”, an instant Sunday Times No.1 bestseller, and its follow-up “There’s Still No Such Thing As ‘Naughty'”.
- Conference and awards host for Transport for London, KPMG, NatWest, Lloyds, McLaren, the NHS, and American Express.
- Ambassador for Place2Be, the Anna Freud Centre, NSPCC, NHS Maudsley Foundation Trust, and Trauma Informed Schools UK.
- Contestant on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, Series 16, in 2018.
Biography
Most parenting advice is folklore. Silverton’s books are a deliberate counter to that, written by a journalist who went back to the science. “There’s No Such Thing As ‘Naughty'” reached number one on the Sunday Times bestseller list on release, and the follow-up volume covered the primary years on the same evidence base.
The route to that work is unusual. Two decades inside the BBC, presenting BBC News at One and BBC Weekend News, and reporting from Iraq and Afghanistan for Panorama, gave her the public profile. A BSc in Psychology and a clinical retraining through the Place2Be charity gave her the substance. She qualified as a child therapist in 2023 and now combines clinical practice with writing and corporate work.
For organisations, the value sits in two places. The first is hosting craft. Conferences and award ceremonies for Transport for London, KPMG, NatWest, Lloyds, McLaren, the NHS, and American Express trust her to chair senior conversations and run executive Q&As without losing rigour. The second is content. When the brief is wellbeing, working parents, or the emotional regulation that sits underneath leadership composure, she has a defined thesis grounded in clinical work and published research, not anecdote.
Her ambassadorial work with Place2Be, the Anna Freud Centre, NSPCC, NHS Maudsley Foundation Trust, and Trauma Informed Schools UK keeps her connected to the front edge of children’s mental health practice in the UK, which is the source material her keynote draws on.
Key speaking topics
- Children’s mental health and emotional development
- The science of parenting and behaviour
- Working parents and family-friendly workplaces
- Employee wellbeing and emotional regulation
- Conference hosting and panel moderation
- After-dinner speaking
Ideal for
- Heads of HR, reward, and benefits leaders shaping parental and family wellbeing programmes
- Conference and event organisers needing a senior, calm, journalistically credible host
- Internal communications and leadership-development teams running wellbeing or working-parent strands
- Award ceremony and industry-event organisers seeking a trusted on-stage presenter
Audience outcomes
- A clearer model of how brain development shapes the behaviour of children, and what that implies for parents inside the workforce
- Practical language for managers and HR leaders speaking to working parents on stress, regulation, and family pressure
- A grounded view of what employer-sponsored mental health and family support actually has to do to make a difference
- For hosted events, sharper executive Q&As, tighter panel discussions, and a credible on-stage thread between sessions