I graduated with a B.Sc (Hons) in Psychology from Southampton University in 1976. I then worked for a year as a technician in the Audiology Departmnent of the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research at the same University. I then did a Primary PGCE (also at Southampton) before working as a teacher at a Special School in Southampton. Here I spent a term teaching children with moderate learning difficulties. I then went to another Special school in Totton where I worked as a class teacher for six and a half years, again teaching children with moderate learning difficulties. During this time I attended Southampton University part-time, doing an MA (Ed). Also during this time I became Chairman of the Southampton and District branch of NCSE (National Council for Special Education.)

In 1985 I was appointed to the post of Lecturer in Education at La Sainte Union College of HE in Southampton where I taught on the B.Ed and PGCE courses. My main responsibility was for Special Educational Needs courses within Initial Teacher Education. I worked in this capacity for twelve years and during this time was promoted to a Principle Lecturer for leading a “transferable skills” programme within the College. From 1996-8 I did a part-time Diploma in Counselling at Southampton University.

In 1996/7 LSU College was taken over by the University of Southampton, and it became known as “New College”. So the University of Southampton then became my new employer. From that time I began teaching Psychological Studies within the Applied Social Sciences degree programme.

In 1998 I began a part-time M.Sc in Health Psychology within the University of Southampton and graduated in 2000. In 2001 I gradually became involved with a new Foundation degree: Working with Children, which was then being developed, and I am now Programme Tutor for this programme, being responsible for its day-to-day running. The students are all part-time mature students who work with children up to the age of twelve. They are mostly classroom assistants but some are nursery managers, pre-school Heads and Nannies. The aim of the Programme is to give them opportunity for career development. The first cohort were enrolled in February 2003. I teach on this Programme and I also teach on the Primary and Secondary PGCE course within the School of Education. Because of my responsibilities on the Foundation degree, under the University re-organisation, I transferred to the School of Education.

Last year I received Chartered Status from the British Psychological Society.