My current position is Dean of the Faculty of Education and Humanities at the University of Northampton, where I have worked for almost 5 years. I'm responsible for the academic quality and standards of the Faculty which includes the following subjects: History, English and Creative Writing, Education, Children and Young People, Early Years, Initial Teacher Training, Educational Linguistics, Special Educational Needs and Inclusion and Teacher Continuing Professional Development. Previously, I worked at Manchester Metropolitan University as Head of Partnerships, collaborating with hundreds of primary and secondary schools plus several FE colleges in training significant numbers of beginning teachers at undergraduate and postgraduate levels across the Greater Manchester area. I began my career in higher education leading a secondary Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) course in Art at St Martin's College (later to become the University of Cumbria). At St Martin's I also taught undergraduate Fine Art students life drawing, painting, and sculpture, later moving on to running a large MA in Education for experienced teachers. Before my roles in higher education I taught art and design for six years in a secondary school in London and for three years at Luton Sixth Form College. I've been very lucky in my career to combine my two passions in life-education and art-and to work with some incredibly talented students and educators who have all inspired me in different ways. I have one son aged 21 and currently live in Olney.