Born in Rochdale, Sian gained both her BA in History and MA in Medieval Studies from University College London before training as a Chartered Accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers. She spent a decade working in the public and third sectors on a range of projects.

After relocating to Bristol, Sian became a Co-opted Governor of her local school, Parson Street Primary School, sharing her finance and accounting expertise. After becoming a parent, Sian realised she wanted to contribute more to the education sector and so retrained as a teacher with Teach First. After relocating again to North Devon, she is now an English teacher at a secondary school.