My mother-in-law, Anne Sanderson, who has died aged 85, was an educationist in South Yorkshire and beyond who fought fiercely for the rights of all children, especially those from underprivileged backgrounds, to enjoy top-class schooling.
Anne had a successful career in the late 1970s as a deputy head and headteacher at schools in Sheffield. She was a senior lecturer in primary education at Sheffield Polytechnic (now Sheffield Hallam University) from 1984 to 1988, and wrote several well-received books about early years teaching, including a series called Models for Writing (with Chris Buckton), before becoming senior adviser to Barnsley schools, specialising in language development and English. Later, she was invited to help improve teaching standards in Saudi Arabia, Hungary and Hong Kong.
