I am a Primary Teacher in the Scottish Borders with a linguistics background. I have a PhD and MEd in Children’s Literature and Literacies from the University of Glasgow and completed the PGDE at the University of Edinburgh.

In October 2025 I joined the Centre of Teaching Excellence on secondment two days a week. I am currently with the Rural Education Hub at the Dumfries Campus.

In recent years I have led CPD in the potential of children's literature and reading for pleasure, including supporting practitioners to complete their own enquiries, and more recently in listening and talking – advocating for the explicit teaching of oracy skills and highlighting the impact on learners across contexts.

My research interests fall in two areas:

Teachers as researchers

I am fascinated by the complex relationship between research and practice. I am particularly interested in teacher agency and autonomy in enquiry, as well as the use of innovative research methods. I am currently leading practitioner enquiry in my authority with provisionally registered teachers.

Children’s literature and literacies

My interests include evolving concepts of multiliteracies, multilingualism, reading for pleasure and oracy.  

My MEd dissertation explored how picturebooks can bring learners’ first language and culture into the pre-school classroom while my PhD explored the multiliteracies learners develop when translating both the verbal and the visual in international picturebooks.

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