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  1. Louise Connolly
    Louise has established a career in education over the last 24 years. Having previously worked with the University as a Visiting Tutor for three years before joining the team permanently, Louise joined Bishop Grosseteste University in September 2020 in a permanent role as a Senior Lecturer in Initial Primary Teacher Education where she now works on both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Louise leads academic writing, research modules and also supervises masters students through their dissertations. Prior to joining the university academic team, Louise was a teacher in primary schools for nearly 20 years. Throughout her time in school, she carried out a number of roles such as Foundation and Key Stage One Leader, English Lead, History Lead and was also a Special Educational Needs Coordinator for 15 years. She later became a Head Teacher of a large primary school in a deprived area in Nottinghamshire and was also the Safeguarding Lead and Special Educational Needs Coordinator for a Multi-Academy Trust.Louise completed a Masters in Education in 2019 and predominantly focused on areas of Special Educational Needs and Emotional Health. Louise achieved Fellowship with the Higher Education Academy in 2021 and is in the final stages of her PhD where her topic of interest is around worry and wellbeing in undergraduate student teachers. She is a review editor for an educational journal and also an external examiner for Initial Teacher Education at another university. Louise also enjoys a role as a Primary School Governor in a local school. Louise has previously written articles on educational areas of interest in the TES and other educational magazines. She had her first book published by Sage in 2022 in their Super Quick Skills series about proofreading essays and also recently had an article approved for publication by The Teacher Education Advancement Network (TEAN).
  2. Dr Ursula McKenna
    Dr Ursula McKenna is Senior Research Fellow in Implicit Religion at BGU where she is located within the Department of Theology and the World Religions and Education Research Unit. Upon completion of her BA (QTS) she was awarded an Economic and Social Research Council MA studentship and obtained an MA (with distinction) for her work on religious education for children with special educational needs in the primary school. While combining a part-time research post with a job-share class teaching position she then completed her doctorate. Her research was an evaluation of the Building E- Bridges programme, a project which advocated the use of email in primary schools to promote interfaith dialogue amongst pupils across the UK. For fourteen years Ursula taught across the primary age range and as research fellow at the University of Warwick (1999-2021) she contributed to the PGCE Primary and Early Years Religious Education module and the MA in Religious Education by distance learning course. She has undertaken supervision of dissertation students on BA and MA Education Studies degrees and has co-supervised research students. For twelve years she was editorial assistant for the British Journal of Religious Education, co-ordinating the refereeing process for all submissions and special issues.
  3. Sean Ingoldsby
    Sean Ingoldsby has extensive experience of teaching in early years and primary school settings, and in tertiary education both in the UK and overseas. Over the course of his career, he has taken on a wide range of coordination and leadership roles including early years coordinator and primary SENCO positions and more recently, on a variety of undergraduate teacher training programmes specialising in, Early Childhood Education, Educational Technology and TESOL, each of which is leveraged in his teaching on the BA Education Studies programme. Sean currently leads modules on inclusion and diversity, the impact of context in the learning process, and of diverse perspectives on education on both national and global policy and practice, and educational research. His research interests include the impact of context on learning, embodied cognition and educational technology.
  4. Paul Staples
    Paul has a wide range of experience across the education and youth work sectors. His most recent position was as a curriculum lead for Higher Education courses in an FE college. Paul has worked for several third sector and education organisations, including the Prince’s Trust and Lincolnshire County Council. Paul has experience of managing education settings including alternative education and supporting NEET young people in deprived areas of the county. Academically Paul undertook the Applied Studies in Children and Youth Work BA (Hons) at Bishop Grosseteste and gained a 1st class honours degree with JNC, and then went on to complete a Masters in Education at BGU.
  5. Ami Montgomery
    Position: Deputy Head of ITE Programmes Current Role and Responsibilities As the Deputy Head of ITE Programmes since April 2024, Ami provides strategic and operational oversight for a diverse portfolio of programmes, including primary, secondary, and further education ITE, as well as postgraduate teacher education programmes. She collaborates closely with the Head of ITE Programmes to support the overall strategies of the Faculty, ensuring the quality and standards of courses, managing staffing, and leading the ITE Leadership Group. Approved Individual Licensed Practitioner (ILP) Ami is an approved Individual Licensed Practitioner (ILP) of The Bell Foundation’s Language for Results services, demonstrating her commitment to enhancing language education and supporting learners with English as an Additional Language (EAL). Academic Experience Teaching and Learning: Ami has extensive experience in designing and delivering high-quality educational programmes. She has contributed significantly to curriculum development, teaching material design, and the delivery of modules across various levels. Her expertise includes areas such as Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), EAL, Multiculturalism, and Initial Teacher Education. Research and Knowledge Exchange: Her doctoral research seeks to explore the intercultural dialogic teaching and learning interactions within UK primary classrooms, with a focus on the relevance of linguistic and cultural capital for inclusion. The study uses a multimodal ethnographic approach, employing a NEW and adapted T-SEDA (Toolkit for Systematic Educational Dialogue Analysis) toolkit for analysing classroom interactions. It highlights the importance of fostering intercultural communicative competence and inclusive pedagogies in enhancing social cohesion and equitable educational opportunities. The findings provide insights into the nature of intercultural dialogic interactions and their impact on social cohesion and social justice in the UK primary classroom setting. Ami continues to actively engages in research, knowledge exchange, and scholarly activities, seeking opportunities for income generation and contributing to the institution’s research profile.
  6. Dr Angela Barley
    Angela joined BGU in August 2015, after two years as the primary manager for a nationwide teacher training company. Angela managed a programme which led to QTS/PGCE for both SCITT and School Direct trainees and was involved with both QTS and PGCE marking and assessment. She also designed and delivered training sessions which were delivered nationally as part of this role. Angela worked for Lincolnshire County Council/CfBT from 2008 to 2013 as an Early Years Consultant working with local schools and settings on improving provision and raising standards for young children. Angela designed and delivered EYFS training for both early years’ setting and school practitioners. Angela was also an area SENCo for a small group of nurseries in Lincolnshire within this role. Angela is an accredited EYFS Profile moderator and was part of the local authority moderation team, arranging and leading moderation events across the county. Angela also taught for eight years in a large primary school, leading Literacy across the school. Teaching Angela is the Cohort Leader for the Primary Teaching Studies (5-11) programme. She also works across both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes within teacher development. Angela has a particular interest in the areas of the EYFS, Phonics, early language and assessment within the EYFS. Angela works as a University Based Mentor across undergraduate and postgraduate teacher development programmes. She is part of the university working groups for Early Years, Phonics and English. Angela is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
  7. Dr Clare Wheat-Gooing
    Dr Clare Wheat-Gooing joined BGU in 2014 and has taught on a variety of programmes across the institution for Primary and Secondary and Undergraduate courses. Clare currently teaches PGCE Secondary Music and is the Programme Leader for BA(Hons) Music and Musicianship, is the Director of the BGU Singers and conductor for the Bishop Grosseteste University Chapel Choir. Her Master’s degree focused on the outreach and education projects of British opera companies, while her ongoing PhD research analyses the performance styles in comic opera, light opera and operetta from 1870-1945. Clare gained her first degree and Master's from the University of Sheffield and her PGCE from the then Bishop Grosseteste College. Before coming to work at BGU Clare worked as a Secondary School teacher teaching Music, Dance and Drama. She also worked as a Primary School teacher and latterly for the North Lincolnshire Music Service. Clare is Musical Director for the Shower Singers Community Choir in Scunthorpe and performs as soprano solo for various choral societies and with Jonathan Gooing (accompanist) in vocal recitals. Teaching Clare teaches mostly on the PGCE Secondary course
  8. Dr Ashley Compton
    Dr Ashley Compton joined BGU in 2000 and has taught on a variety of programmes across the institution. Her main teaching areas are research, mathematics, music and PE. Her master’s degree focused on children’s musical listening preferences, while her doctorate studied the relationships between creativity and assessment on undergraduate teacher education. She is also interested in gymnastics and volunteers as a coach for a local gymnastics club. Before coming to BGU Ashley was a primary teacher, and also worked as an advisory teacher for mathematics for Lincolnshire County Council, spreading the joys of numeracy throughout Lincolnshire. Teaching Ashley teaches mostly on the BA (Hons) Primary Education course but also contributes to the primary PGCE and supervises PhD and EdD students. She has created bespoke inset for teachers on mathematics, music, creativity and research, in the UK, Bermuda and at an EU summer school in Crete. Ashley is an accredited Professional Development Lead for mathematics and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
  9. Prof. Claudia Capancioni
    Prof. CLAUDIA CAPANCIONI, Dott. (Urbino, Italy), MA & Ph.D (Hull, UK), SFHEA Professor in English Literature and Programme Leader for English ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7127-6202 Claudia is a Professor of English Literature and Programme Leader for English, including the MA English Literature and MA Children’s Literature and Literacies. She is a Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). At BGU, she leads the Research & Knowledge Exchange Unit, ‘Voicing the Past: ‘Culture, Legacy, and Narrative’. She is also the academic lead for the Sandford Award, and a member of the Research Ethics and Quality Assurance Committees. She is the Membership Secretary of the British Association for Victorian Studies (BAVS). The contribution of women to literatures in English is her scholarly pursuit, with a focus on the long nineteenth century, the twentieth and twenty-first century. She specialises in Victorian and contemporary women writers, life and travel writing, adaptation, gender and translation studies. She has a keen interest in multigenerational literary legacy, intellectual circles, intertextuality, and transnational studies. She has also published on detective fiction, the Gothic, Anglo-Italian literary and cultural connections, and Joyce Salvadori Lussu. Her publications include translations into English of Italian literary texts. She teaches nineteenth-century and contemporary literature, literary theory, and research skills at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She previously taught Victorian literature and Modernism at the University of Hull, where she was awarded her Ph.D.
  10. Dr Julia Lindley-Baker
    Julia Lindley-Baker coordinates and teaches on undergraduate programmes in Special Educational Needs and Inclusion(SENI) across the university. Having originally trained as a special needs teacher with a focus upon the primary age range, she has taught and held senior leadership positions in a range of different settings, always with a special education focus. Julia joined the staff of Bishop Grosseteste University in 2010, following ten years as Vice Principal of a special educational needs college. Teaching Julia co-ordinates and teaches on a wide variety of modules drawing upon her knowledge and understanding of SENI. Her teaching interests include the sociology and history of special needs, pedagogy of special needs and the diverse nature of inclusive practice. She also has extensive experience of delivering inset and CPD for teachers and teaching assistants. She has delivered training locally, nationally and internationally. She is recognised as a senior fellow by the higher education academy (SFHEA).

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