Theresa Casey

Theresa Casey is an independent consultant and writer with a particular focus on children’s human rights, inclusion and play.
Theresa marries direct, practical experience from a range of children’s settings in the UK and overseas, with her skills in writing, creative project development and communication.
She works closely with small, national and international charities and public bodies to produce results with distinct character, impact and quality. Her work uses jargon-free, plain English, with awareness of accessibility and inclusion.
Theresa’s resources and publications include: – toolkits, handbooks, booklets and online content for people who work for, or with, children and young people.
Resources for parents and carers and for the people who work with them.
Campaigning documents, briefings and video projects for people who want to make change happen – child-friendly information and reports – academic papers, journals and books. Theresa is an experienced trainer and engaging public speaker.
With more than 25 years’ experience, she is based near Edinburgh in Scotland but works across the UK and further afield.

Clients

Thrive Outdoors, Inspiring Scotland
Children’s Parliament
Play Wales
Commissioner for Children and Young People Scotland
Children’s Play Policy Forum
International Play Association: Promoting the Child’s Right to Play (IPA)
PlayRight

Qualifications

BA Hons Drawing & Painting, Edinburgh College of Art
Post-graduate Playwork, Moray House Institute of Education Awards
International Play Association (IPA) Honorary Life Membership
Play Scotland: 25th Anniversary Award (Outstanding publications)

Experience

Theresa understands the voluntary sector. She previously chaired a local charity helping it establish itself as a respected service provider; and in another role, was the elected President of an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) which successfully energised its membership and worked directly with UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
She is proud of the impact of resources she has delivered. IPA Play in Crisis for Parents and Carers was produced during the coronavirus pandemic and subsequently updated for other challenging situations around the world, and translated into more than 10 languages including Ukrainian, Japanese, Turkish and Arabic. The popular Loose Parts Toolkit (2019) remains the Thrive Outdoors (Inspiring Scotland) most downloaded and requested resource.
Guides such as Listen, engage, have fun: Guide on involving children in child rights impact assessment (CRIA) and child rights impact evaluation (CRIE) demonstrate Theresa’s ability to work with complex ideas to produce accessible, user-friendly material. The Guide (2022) was a result of collaboration with three respected human rights bodies, for the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland.
Theresa has learnt a great deal about accessible communication from her dyslexic children.