Sarah is a Senior Lecturer in Children, Young People and Families. Having initially trained as a nurse Sarah then completed a Diploma in Professional Studies in Health Visiting. She later completed the Certificate in Education (Education and Training in the Post Compulsory Sector). Sarah has undertaken a degree in Professional Training and Development, a Masters of Arts in Childhood Studies, ULTRA (University of Leeds Teaching and Research Award) Course and a Certificate in Counselling Skills in the Development of Learning. She is also registered for a doctoral study.

Before joining Leeds Trinity University Sarah worked in a variety of settings both educational and non-educational.  She worked as a:

• Health Visitor – This job required Sarah to provide health promotion and health education to young children and their families as well as offering support to parents.

  For seven years   in addition to her generic health visiting role Sarah provided a health visiting service  specifically for women and their children who had escaped domestic abuse and were residing in a women’s refuge.

• Tutor within a college of further education – This required Sarah to prepare, deliver and assess modules of learning within both further and higher education.

• Staff Nurse (Emergency Department) – This required Sarah to provide nursing care to patients within the department.

• Specialist Nurse Safeguarding Children – This required Sarah to deliver safeguarding training to health care staff as well as contributing to the delivery of multi-agency training.

• Paediatric Liaison Health visitor – This required Sarah to facilitate communication between the hospital and the community setting.

Sarah has a specific interest and expertise in:

• Personal/professional development and reflective practice. The relationship between formal, informal learning and the work place. This is Sarah’s main research interest.

• Safeguarding Children. Sarah has often trained and taught within the work place and within educational institutions on safeguarding children

• Domestic Abuse. Sarah’s practical experience in supporting women and their children affected by this issue has contributed to her own teaching and learning in this area

Her research areas are personal and professional development and reflective practice. She can be consulted by external organisations and professionals on personal/professional development and reflective practice as well as safeguarding children.

Sarah also presented a conference paper titled ‘What is the value of story and storytelling in higher education for both early years students and their tutors?’ at the 10^th International Conference on Practice Teaching and Field Education in Health and Social Work, April 2014.

Sarah teaches a variety of courses at Leeds Trinity University. She teaches:

• BA Working with Children, Young People and Families

• BA Early Childhood Studies

• BA Professional Practice

• Foundation Degree