Born in North East England, Madeleine attended Whinney Hill Secondary Modern Girls' School (now part of Durham Johnston Comprehensive School) then Durham Girls' Grammar School (became the sixth form of Durham Gilesgate Sports College and Sixth Form Centre). She went to Madeley College of Education (later part of North Staffordshire Polytechnic), gaining a Cert Ed in 1971, then Keele University, where she gained a BEd in 1972. From University College, Cardiff she gained a CQSW and Diploma in Social Work (DipSW) in 1980.