Dr Rachael Stone

Rachael Stone is a senior lecturer in primary education, specialising in teaching English. She currently holds the role of curriculum lead for English and phonics. She has a Master's degree in English literature and a Doctorate in Education.

Rachael is a Senior Lecturer in Primary Education at CCCU, specialising in teaching English. She leads a highly qualified and dedicated English team and is particularly passionate about children’s literature, fostering a love for reading and writing among young learners. Rachael teaches across all Initial Teacher Education (ITE) courses, including PGCE and Primary Education programs. She is also part of a team that delivers professional development to partnership schools in Kent and Medway.

Rachael is keenly interested in teachers’ and middle leaders’ professional development and how they understand and navigate their roles within the educational setting. She is currently part of the Education Research Schools Partnership (ERSP) group, which aims to support research in partnerships across all education sectors in southeast England to improve the experiences of the pupils and students we work with.

Before joining CCCU in 2015, Rachael held various roles specialising in teaching English, including serving as a leading teacher and advisor to the local educational authority. 

Rachael’s passion for inspiring children to develop a love and enthusiasm for reading and writing has led to her involvement in several research projects. Together with her fellow researcher, Dr. Susan Civale, she has worked on fostering enthusiasm and engagement with classic texts, starting with the lesser-known Mary Shelley short story, “The Mortal Immortal.” They adapted the original text to make it accessible to younger children and devised a series of workshops to create a graphic novel.

Collaborating with reading leaders at Blean Primary School, Rachael develops research projects as part of her work with the Education Research Schools Partnership (ERSP) group. These projects examine the impact of poetry on reading for pleasure and the influence of children’s literature throughout the broader curriculum on fostering engagement. Initiating a research project with her students, she examines the influence of children’s literature in schools, classrooms, and the wider community. This project explores how children’s literature is understood and utilised in educational settings.

Additionally, Rachael is interested in teachers’ and middle leaders’ professional development, particularly in understanding their roles. With fellow researcher Dr Phil Stone, she has investigated how teachers are professionally developed in schools and how they are making sense of their roles as middle leaders. Across all of Rachael’s research, she is keen to represent the voices of participants, and this research project is no exception.

Rachael is a member of the United Kingdom Literacy Association (UKLA) and a representative for the southeast of England. The UKLA works to improve literacy for all children.