Florence Olajide is an educator and writer. Born in London, she spent her early childhood in a white foster family. At six, she moved with her birth family to Lagos, Nigeria. In 1984 she achieved a BA (Hons) in Education from the University of Lagos
Florence returned to the UK in 1989 and worked as a teacher, before gaining an MA in Further and Higher Education at London University. Florence became the headteacher of a London primary school in1997. At 40, she was appointed as an Inspector of Schools in England, one of the youngest to be appointed and the only Black African at the time.
In 2006, she established her education consultancy, Inspired Futures Ltd which was commissioned by the Bermudian government to review the Bermudian educational system in 2007. In 2007 – 2008, she reviewed the quality of education in New York City schools.
In 2009 and 2010, under the UK Department for International Development (DFID) she worked as a consultant in the Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria (ESSPIN).
Florence continues to provide guidance, training and support to a range of educational institutions in the UK. In 2012, she published My Culture Yoruba, a guide for teachers and social workers supporting the education of Yoruba children. Florence’s memoir Coconut, an Amazon Best Seller, was published in 2021.
Refs: Florence Ọlájídé bio; Florence Olajide Author | Educator
