Interested in how individuals and different cultures and traditions seek to make sense of the world, I worked initially in anthropological museums, including the Horniman Museum, London, and the Solomon Islands National Museum, Honiara.  I then went on to teach Religion and Worldviews (aka Religious Education) in secondary schools in Birmingham and Oxfordshire: supporting young people to explore their own and others’ worldviews, and to raise and reflect on questions of meaning, purpose, and value.

After my son Isaac was born, I became a writer and consultant in Religion and Worldviews, producing curriculum resources for clients including Humanism UK, Neve Shalom/Wahat al Salam, and the Church of England Diocese of Oxfordshire, and researching and contributing to the development of pedagogy in Religion and Worldviews.

When Isaac was diagnosed aged four with muscular dystrophy and associated learning difficulties, a different door to education opened to me.  With very delayed literacy, attention deficit issues, and also a love of reflecting on ideas, Isaac’s complex learning profile opened up to me a wider and deeper understanding of inclusion.

I already knew that all the young people I taught were thinkers; supporting Isaac I learned much more about creating inclusive resources: using pictures, accessible text, and the Philosophy for Children pedagogy to help all learners, including those with additional needs, to engage, enjoy learning, and see themselves as thinkers.

Since early childhood I have loved drawing, and that process of observing and coming to appreciate and express something of the nature of the subject – mainly people and animals, woods and streams, and dark, ancient buildings.  Chalk pastel, charcoal, oil bars, and ink line drawings are my preferred media.

I live in Sheffield, in an old house close to woods, with my husband Stuart, son Isaac, and Isaac’s  assistance dog Elsie.