Miss Claire Harris

I have the privilege of leading the Primary Initial Teacher Education Phase and the associated courses with the team of Course Directors and Primary ITE tutors.

As a Senior Lecturer and a mathematics specialist, I also particularly enjoy teaching on a range of primary Initial Teacher Education courses to support student teachers to develop their subject and pedagogical knowledge and confidence when teaching primary mathematics.

I have also provided a range of staff development for schools, mainly in relation to primary mathematics and, having held the lead role for those newly embarking on their teaching role, for those involved in the induction of new teachers.

One of the aspects of my work I am most proud is the work I completed on an international basis within a World Bank funded project with the Palestinian Ministry for Education and universities in the West Bank and Gaza. The specific focus was aimed at further developing in-service and pre-service teachers pedagogic and content knowledge in primary schools across Palestine and resulted in writing a series of teacher education modules used with all teachers to further develop their understanding of effective learning and teaching.

I joined the university in 2013 having worked in primary education since 1999 in a range of roles including classroom teacher, Numeracy Consultant for the Local Authority, and in leadership within a number of Primary Schools. 

While all aspects of Primary Mathematics fascinate me, I am particularly interested in enabling all pupils to learn and make progress in mathematics, and specifically those with barriers to learning. Dyscalculia, considering particular areas of challenge and, importantly, how teachers can support pupils with features associated with Dyscalculia are my particular interest. 

Until recently and for the previous five years, I have been a Director of a Multi-Academy Trust: Our Community Multi Academy Trust. In addition to sitting on the Board of Directors, I held the role of chair the Standards committee.