I joined Strathclyde University in April 2019 as a Teaching Associate(Early Years). After graduating with a degree in Sociology from the University in 1995 I worked as a play leader in out of school care, preschool and playgroup settings. I have since completed the PGCE(Primary), PGCE(Early Childhood Education) and CREDL(Religious Education) and have worked in both Scotland and England during my teaching career. I have been a primary teacher, nursery teacher and children’s centre manager, teaching across local authority and private sectors.

In 2015 I was appointed team leader for the Building the Ambition team within North Lanarkshire Council(NLC) and successfully delivered a series of awareness raising CPD sessions to staff from funded providers across the authority. I recently completed a secondment as a Quality Assessor with the Early Learning and Childcare Expansion Team at NLC, supporting the delivery of the government funded 1140 hours of ELCC. This role focused on the development of quality outdoor play environments and on supporting staff teams in developing their outdoor improvement plans. I was also a member of the NLC 1140 Hours Quality Steering Group. 
 
I graduated with a MEd Early Years Pedagogue with Distinction at Strathclyde University in 2018, completing a dissertation titled “Emotion Coaching: Moving from Behaviourism to Nurture in a Nursery Class.” Current research interests relate to empathy, attachment, emotion regulation and neuro-nurturing. Research is continuing with a PhD at Strathclyde University, with a research proposal titled “Emotion-Coaching for Early Years Educators: promoting teacher meta-emotion and teacher empathy as a strategy for enhancing young children’s wellbeing and behaviour.”

In my current role as a Teaching Associate, I enjoy supporting undergraduate and postgraduate students across the BA Childhood Practice, BA Primary Education, PGDE Primary and MEd Early Years Pedagogue.