I am a Senior Lecturer on the Primary Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes, both undergraduate and postgraduate, based within the School of Teacher Education and Development, the Faculty of Education.
I joined Canterbury Christ Church University in January 2016, developing my career from primary school teacher to university lecturer. Until December 2015, I was a teacher at St. Saviour’s Church of England School, Westgate-on-Sea, having taught there for twelve years. Previous to that employment, I taught at Swalecliffe Primary School in Whitstable and I started my career at St. Anthony’s Special School, Margate.
During my teaching career, I have taken on a number of leadership roles, most notably that of Literacy co-ordinator at Swalecliffe and Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator at St. Saviour’s, successfully negotiating both schools through the OFSTED experience. I have also lead RE, Humanities and PSHE. Whilst leading Humanities, I initiated a drive within the school for a cross-curricular and creative approach to teaching. Most recently, I have completed a Postgraduate Diploma Conversion in Psychology through the Open University, affording me the opportunity to apply psychological theory within the classroom as I learnt. Subsequently, I developed wellbeing programmes within PSHE working with parents, in close collaboration with the Family Liaison Officer.
My Partnership with CCCU started in 1999, when I began mentoring ITE students in school. The enjoyment I experienced in helping people develop their teaching careers has lead me to this point in my own.