Staff profile

For 15 years I taught in primary schools in Yorkshire, during which time I was an Executive Deputy Headteacher and achieved my NPQH. Since then, I was the Teaching for Mastery Lead of a Maths Hub and was part of a Trust School Improvement Team. I was then sought to be the Curriculum Development Project Lead for a Local Authority. Throughout this time, I was an associate member of the primary team for the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) designing and leading, monitoring and evaluating local and national workshops. 

I joined the School of Education at Durham University in 2020, as an Assistant Professor. 

I teach on the PGCE and BA Primary Education programmes. Currently I am the Curriculum, Assessment and Student Experience (CASE) Programme Lead for the UG programme in the School of Education.  I lead the Primary Mathematics Education team and a Leadership module.

I also work alongside the director of CDP and outreach in ITE at the university. I have passion for participant-centred learning. I began enacting this passion when I  worked in the Local Authority and explored they way we delivered learning to teaching colleagues and headteachers.  Working in the CPD and outreach centre will allow me to continue to investigate how we actively engage participants in their learning  as we design, implement and evaluate the impact of sustained learning in the professional development provided.

• Mixed age classes -I have always been fascinated by mixed-age schools, and believe in the importance of the role small schools play in their communities. However, I have found that there has been limited research into the nature of effective teaching in mixed-age classrooms. I aim to build and further pursue the mathematical and pedagogical research in this area. Currently I am working alongside school partners to plan and deliver mathematical content effectively across mixed-age classes.
• Mastery in primary mathematics -I am currently exploring evidence of greater depth in mathematics in pupils’ responses, and the role of questioning to check pupils’ knowledge systematically
• Questioning in the now -I am currently investigating the role of direct feedback as a pedagogical tool in the primary classroom from the perspective of practitioners and pupils.