Search results
-
National Caribbean Heritage Museum Helps BGU Celebrate Black History Month
As part of Black History Month Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) was proud to host a guest lecture delivered by Catherine Ross, Founder of Museumand, the National Caribbean Heritage Museum, exploring the histories and narratives of twentieth century Caribbean migration to the UK. The lecture explored the stories of some of the first pioneering Caribbean people to emigrate to the UK during the Windrush era following the Second World War. To give a personal context to these incredible stories Catherine and her team displayed items the migrants brought with them in their suitcases including ladies’ curling tongs, pre-1960s jewellery, men’s razor sets, hair products; and leisure items such as books, dominoes and harmonicas. Using these unique artefacts, collected since 1997 by Catherine for the museum, the lecture offered a fascinating insight what it meant to those who swapped Kingston for Birmingham, how they adapted to their new lives and the UK and how their presence contributed to Britain’s history through moving personal accounts, music, art, performance and crafts. Dr Sheine Peart, Lecturer of Professional Studies at BGU and researcher into features of the Black British experience, organised the event and ahead of the lecture explained why she felt such discussions were so important: “Caribbean people have been a part of British history for a millennia, certainly as far back as the Romans, but their stories have often been silenced or forgotten. Events such as this are an important opportunity to recognise and celebrate these rich stories and to do it as part of Black History Month has been fantastic.” Both Sheine and the team at Museumand hope this event will be the first of many at BGU exploring Black History. If you would like to take part in future events keep an eye on our news page or come along to one of our Open Days to find out how you can become a part of the learning community at BGU. -
New Book Aims to Help Support Autistic Children by Exploring the ‘Two Sides to Every Story’
Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) was proud to host the launch of ‘Exploring Theory of Mind with Children & Young People on the Autism Spectrum’ the latest book by Dr Clare Lawrence, Senior Lecturer in Secondary Education at BGU. Subtitled ‘Two Sides to Every Story’, the book explores how theory of mind differences, and the difficulties created by different viewpoints, can lead to frustration and confusion for children with autism. This exploration is lead by carefully structured stories featuring Bryn, who is autistic, his mother and their ‘Wise Dog’. All involve frustrating or confusing social events that befall Bryn leading to meltdowns with each story then told again from another viewpoint. Each night, Wise Dog talks to Bryn and helps him understand what has happened. Alongside the stories of Bryn, his mother and Wise Dog are a wide selection of activities which are based around the stories and are designed to further the reader’s understanding of the challenges faced by children with Autism. These activities include story board and role-playing exercises which are perfect for parents and children to work through together or for teachers to use in classroom situations. Speaking at the launch Clare discussed the positive impact she hoped the book would have: “I’ve been working on this book for a long time and I’m delighted to now see it finished and available for people to enjoy and learn from. The ability to interpret different viewpoints can be a real struggle for children with autism who, due to theory of mind differences, see their version as the truth. My hope now is that this book can educate those who come into contact with children on the spectrum on how to interact with and support children with viewpoint so different to their own”. Clare was supported in the creation of the book by her BGU colleague Aimee Quickfall, Head of Programmes Primary & Early Years ITE, who provided illustrations. ‘Exploring Theory of Mind with Children & Young People on the Autism Spectrum’ is available now. If you would like to explore a future supporting children and young people, visit our website to book your place on one of our upcoming Open Days where you’ll find out how our wide variety of exciting courses can help you reach your goals. -
What we do
Bishop Grosseteste University offers courses ranging from Foundation Degrees up to PhD level. We're dedicated to supporting our students and turning them into highly employable graduates. -
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. -
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 -
Dr Clare Lawrence
Clare is Associate Professor of Participatory Autism Research, as well as the English subject lead on the secondary PGCE course. She is a graduate of York, Oxford, Northumbria, Birmingham, and Sheffield Hallam universities. Her PhD is in parental involvement in the education of children with autism. Clare is the East Midlands Convenor for the Participatory Autism Research Collective (PARC) as well as being Lincolnshire County Council Autism Champion for BGU. -
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. -
Dr Nick Gee
Dr Nick Gee is the Dean of Faculty at Bishop Grosseteste University, with responsibility for academic delivery of the University strategy. He was originally appointed to BGU in 2015, as Head of School, becoming the inaugural Dean of Faculty in September 2019. Prior to joining the University, he held the posts of Associate Dean in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in the School of Education, at the University of East Anglia. Nick read Geography at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford, and completed a doctorate at the University of East Anglia with a thesis investigating perceptions of evolving community sentiments for participants undertaking residential fieldwork, adopting an ethnographic methodology. His current research interests include outdoor education, subject knowledge, notions of community and progression into higher education, and he also has expertise in geographical fieldwork. Nick has authored over 70 scholarly/academic journal articles, contributed to Chapters in academic and professional texts, and acted as a consultant for GCSE, A level, undergraduate and postgraduate textbooks. He has undertaken funded research for the East of England Development Education Network and the College of West Anglia, and currently leads a British Council-funded (2019-21) international student mobility project. In 2018 Nick was invited by the British Embassy Bangkok, The Department for International Trade and the Teachers’ Council of Thailand to deliver specialist input on the importance of subject knowledge, to inform the Southeast Asia Teachers Competency Framework. He holds a Visiting Professorship at Nakhon Ratchasima Rajabhat University and has undertaken a variety of partnership, knowledge exchange and recruitment activities in China, Cyprus, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Thailand. -
Dr Phil Wood
Reader in Education Dr Phil Wood is an educational researcher with a background in Geography and Education and a commitment to interdisciplinary teaching. He is currently a Reader in Education at Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln, having previously been an Associate Professor at University of Leicester (2006-2018). Before beginning his career in higher education, Phil was a Geography and Advanced Skills Teacher at two schools in Lincolnshire. Phil’s research is centred on understanding the nature of change in education. This involves a number of interests including work on practice and change through the use of lesson study as a basis for change in pedagogic practice, use of dialogue as a basis for pedagogic and organisational change, and consideration of organisations as drivers of change. More recently, he has developed an interest in change and time, researching life histories of older teachers, the temporal complexities of workload, the writing experiences of doctoral students and the possibilities and problems of the slow movement in education. -
Dr Helen Bushell-Thornalley
Helen has oversight of Secondary PGCE for Physical Education and Dance, leadership in secondary mentor training and Educational Ethnography research in the Education Master's programme team. Helen had an International career of fourteen years, playing Hockey for England and Great Britain and coaching professionally within this sport. During the 2018 Helen was part of the former Women’s International group during the Hockey World Cup. Helen’s first degree is in Sports Science and her subsequent qualification as a secondary Physical Education teacher at Brunel University. Throughout her school career, she was Head of Department of Physical Education department and then as Head of Sixth Form in an outstanding school of over 1200 pupils in London. Helen then moved from her role in leadership to work with undergraduate, PGCE, GT, OTT and Master's in Education degree students at St Mary’s University. Helen took on a leading role within mentoring and coaching Secondary Physical Education Specials at St Mary’s University for four-years QTS degrees and PGCE programmes. During ten years at that institution, Helen held leadership roles in Education at Academic, and Programme Director levels and course leads and completed her Master’s degree from Surrey University. This research developed an institutional Academic Tutoring System ATS, focusing on tutor support for degree classifications and target setting for undergraduate QTS students through Action Research. In 2012 Helen embarked on her Doctorate in Education at Bishop Grosseteste University. The focus of Helen’s research is in Physical Education and School Sport and how the Olympic movement has politically influenced practices in the UK, from its origin in Victorian Britain and then during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Explore BGU
Browse our wide range of degree courses and find the perfect one for you.
Open days are the best way to find out what BGU has to offer.
Download your copy of our prospectus to find out more about life at BGU.