Teacher Development Mentor Lead
In 2004, I graduated from the University of Leeds with a BA (Hons) degree in English. I later went on to study a masters in Journalism before working as a national newspaper journalist. In the mid 2000s, I retrained as an English teacher and completed my PGCE at Liverpool Hope University, before studying a master's in Teaching and Learning.
I taught English Language and Literature and spent some time as a middle and senior leader in schools for 15 years while also studying for a master's in Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University. I am now about to complete my viva for a Doctorate in Education at the University of Glasgow.
In addition, I write educational books and have published 'Preserving Positivity,' 'Mentoring in Schools' and 'Humans in the Classroom' with upcoming titles for Crown House and Routledge, as well as contributing chapters in numerous education books.
I am currently working at the Department for Education as an ITT Quality Advisor and have served on various expert panels at Teach First, the Chartered College of Teaching and serve as a school governor.
I speak at a wide range of conferences and events and deliver CPD internationally to schools on staff wellbeing, mentoring, and social justice, as well as workshops for more able pupils in English. I run the national MentorED conference and GCSE Boost YouTube channels, where academics from across the country make mini-lectures for GCSE students on more conceptualised ideas.
I am in the unique position of delivering the Core Content Framework (CCF) at Sunderland, the Early Career Framework (ECF) in my Local Education Authority (LEA), and also delivering the new National Professional Qualification in Leading Teaching Development (NPQLTD) in Manchester, so have an excellent knowledge and understanding of teacher development and the 'Golden Thread' and how these strands align.
I host the Making Mentoring Matter podcast and edit Mentoring Magazine.
Teaching and supervision
- PGCE English
- Mentor training across the School of Education
- Masters supervision
Research interests for potential research students
- Mentoring
- Teacher retention of experienced teachers
- Experienced teacher identity
- Bourdieu and disadvantaged students
- Emotional intelligence when teaching literature at GCSE
Research
- Experienced teacher identity
- Covid-19 policy and experienced teacher identity
- The media portrayal of teachers and professional identity
- Recruitment and retention of teachers
- Impactful mentoring strategies
- Cognitive science and mentoring and coaching teachers
- Subject specific mentoring
- GCSE English Literature and Language
- Teaching and teacher training
- Mentoring
- Staff wellbeing
- Teacher identity
- Academic criticism for GCSE teaching
- Challenging the most able
- Preserving Positivity (John Catt, 2020)
- Mentoring in Schools (Crown House, 2021)
- Humans in the Classroom (McNidder and Grace, 2021)