Let Me Wonder

Jayneen Sanders (aka Jay Dale) is an experienced Australian early years educator, children’s book author, and publisher.

She began her teaching career in the 1980s as a primary school teacher in rural Queensland, Australia. She then moved to Melbourne, Victoria, and taught at several inner-city schools.

In 1985, Jayneen transitioned her career to become an educational editor and publisher.

In the early 1990s, Jayneen and her partner moved to Japan to work as English teachers, where they lived for over three and a half years. Jayneen’s first daughter was born during their time in Japan.

Upon returning to Australia, Jayneen began working as an educational author and packager. She has since authored and produced numerous award-winning titles for the educational publishing industry. Jayneen is also an accomplished children’s book author, with works featured in literacy series such as ZigZags, Totally Kidz, Deadly and Incredible, and a children’s picture book series for Penguin.

Jayneen is currently the lead author of the literacy series ‘Engage Literacy’, published by Capstone, for which she has written over 150 titles.

A mother of three daughters, Jayneen served as a school councillor at her local school for over seven years. This extensive experience, both as a teacher and a parent, inspired her to address the crucial question within her community: ‘What are we doing in schools to protect our children from inappropriate touch?’ Realizing that little was being done, she utilized her authoring and publishing skills to write ‘Some Secrets Should Never Be Kept,’ aiming to help parents, carers, and teachers discuss this sensitive subject and encourage children to speak up.

Following the positive reception of ‘Some Secrets Should Never Be Kept,’ Jayneen recognized the need to expand on prevention education. She pursued professional development in Protective Behaviours and attended numerous conferences on the topic to enhance her knowledge in keeping children safe and providing them with age-appropriate and empowering education on body safety and consent.

Jayneen subsequently developed and published a comprehensive Body Safety and Respectful Relationship Teacher’s Resource Kit. She has also written many more children’s books focusing on body safety, consent, respect, gender equality, social and emotional intelligence, and diversity and inclusion.

Currently, Jayneen works alongside her partner, Mark Sanders, running Educate2Empower Publishing. Her ongoing dedication to the safety and empowerment of children continues, with new manuscripts and free downloadable resources consistently in development.