Dr Yana Manyukhina is a senior researcher at the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Pedagogy (0–11 Years) (HHCP) at University College London. Her research is inspired by a strong commitment to advance equity, justice and fairness for children in education. She leads the HHCP’s core research theme on Children’s Agency, focusing on children’s rights, voice and agency within and beyond formal educational settings. Yana’s research applies critical realist philosophy to examine how societal and educational structures shape children’s agency and how we can create pathways for children to actively influence their own learning experiences.