Hi Rosie,
I have explained this very clearly in my writing on Dependent Origination. If you are interested, here is the link.
Dependent Origination-Another Perspective - Essays - Discuss & Discover (suttacentral.net)
Just for context, as Soren has quoted from DN15, consciousness and name & form and name & form and consciousness are reciprocally connected. Many misunderstandings about DO has arisen due to not-understanding this concept.
With Metta