In this seminar, Sinead Harmey (UCL IOE) and Fliss James (UCL IOE and East London Research School) share the journey of their ‘Write from the Beginning Project’.  Write from Beginning, is an approach to emergent writing that emerged from conversations about supporting young writers. It was subsequently developed in collaboration with children, parents, and educators through community engagement and development grants from UCL East Community Engagement Funding.  In this seminar, Sinead and Fliss will share their reflections on putting engagement before research, the lessons they learned, and the implications for their project going forward. Sinead Harmey is an Associate Professor in Literacy Education and Director of the International Literacy Centre in the Department of Learning and Leadership at UCL Institute of Education.  Her research focuses on describing and supporting early writing development for young children from pre-school to early years.  She is co-editor of Literacy, a journal of the United Kingdom Literacy Association. Fliss James is doctoral student in UCL IOE with an interest in early years education, language and communication, and educator professional development.  Fliss is Director of East London Research School and Assistant Headteacher of Sheringham Nursery School and Children’s Centre