I have a Doctorate investigating education policy and the emotions, a BA Hons in Conflict Management, teaching PGCE and a Masters in Educational Research. For the past 20 years I have worked in education as a researcher, lecturer and writer, for a range of organisations including The Department for Education, Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, Home Office, Warwick University and as an advisor to the Welsh Assembly Government.

Previous research includes:

• cowriter and piloting of the Personal Learning and Thinking Skills Programme (QCA)
• running an evaluation of the Manchester NEETS training programme on behalf of the Department for Education
• writing and developing a national social and emotional framework for the Welsh Assembly Government
• and writing a personal and social development framework for the Graded Qualifications Alliance.

I am a researcher and writer on education policy with particular interest in the discourse of wellbeing in UK schools and the impact of disadvantage and poverty on young peoples life experiences.I generally approach my work through the frame of critical discourse analysis.  My current research is focused on a) UK education policy and devolution across the UK with specific emphasis on social and emotional learning and b) the development of Anchor initiatives as an emerging form of localised commnunity development. Further to this I am also engaged in the Just GM project and a localised Pupil Voice network in Manchester schools. My doctoral thesis was - The new labour discourse of social and emotional learning across schools in England and Wales as a univeral intervention; a critical discouse analysis