About

Following my first degree, I enjoyed a successful 10-year career in sales and marketing. In 2005, I embarked upon a career change, studying Occupational Therapy at Sheffield Hallam University, graduating with a BSc (Hons) first class. Subsequently, I worked at Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council with responsibility for managing and delivering Occupational Therapy services for customers in need of housing-related support. I gained considerable experience of working with people from all age groups who have complex housing and social needs. After seven years I moved into a strategic role with a service development remit to deliver an innovative therapy resource across adult care, specifically for reablement and single point of access. In January 2017 I completed MSc Professional Health and Care Studies at York St John’s University, gaining a distinction. I enjoyed the research element of this course and decided to return to academia in October 2017 to undertake a 1+3 PhD in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the University of Sheffield. I completed MA in Social Research in 2018 and continued onto the PhD.

Teaching responsibilities

Programme Lead for MSc (pre-reg) in Occupational Therapy.  I am FHEA accredited and teach at the University of Derby across the Pre-reg BSc and MSc Occupational Therapy programmes, along with the Advanced MSc Occupational Therapy programme.

• Currently supervising five, level 7 students in their MSc Independent Scholarship module. I work flexibly to meet each learners’ individual research needs through supervision, formative, and summative feedback
• Internal moderator for Independent Scholarship on the Advanced MSc programme 
• Internal moderator for Group Work Skills, a level 5 module on the BSc programme
• Module lead for Occupational Beings and Occupational Performance, level 7 module on the MSc pre reg programme.  Learners have an opportunity to develop their understanding around occupation
• Prepare, deliver, and assess BSc level 6 students in Environmental Design for the Specialisms in Practice module. High quality blended/face to face teaching offer incorporating external visits, practical workshop sessions, case studies, external visitors and journal club
• Module lead for Evidence Based Practice, Research and Quality, for MSc level 7 pre-reg students. High quality blended/face to face teaching to deliver a comprehensive high-level plan
• Module lead for distance learning MSc module, Community Focussed Occupational Therapy.  I manage the content and delivery of this module to reflect recent trends and policy
• Excellent scores in quality guidelines and positive feedback on the EvaSys module evaluation

Professional interests

• External Examiner at the University of Brighton on the MSc Occupational Therapy (pre-registration)
• Research - service integration, community-based practice, housing, ageing, interdisciplinary collaboration, including non-academic partners
• Teaching - embedding evidence base into learning, research and practice, empowering learners to consider research career pathways, preparing learners for employment

Research interests

September 2017 to present: University of Sheffield - Doctoral Researcher

• ESRC PhD studentship; White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership Collaborative Award
• Collaboration with non-academic partners, Sheffield City Council, to deliver real-world impact
• The study will examine housing aspirations of older homeowners to inform a range of policy and management responses in better planning and management of housing and related services

Research - service integration, community-based practice, housing, ageing, interdisciplinary collaboration, including non-academic partners

Membership of professional bodies

• Fellowship of HE Advanced (FHEA accredited)
• Health and Care Professions Council, Registration Number: OT61274
• Royal College of Occupational Therapists, Registration Number: BT0236484
• RCOT Specialist Section – Housing, Registration Number: 1880
• Research and Education Lead for the NEC of the RCOT Housing Specialist Section
• RCOT Trent Region
• Sheffield Occupational Therapy Clinical Academics (SOTCA)
• Housing Studies Association
• British Society of Gerontologists

Qualifications

Recent conferences

• June 2017 – RCOT Conference Paper presented and Abstract published
• June 2017 – Journal Publication
• November 2017 – Presented at ‘Occupational Therapy Professional Forum’ Sheffield Teaching Hospitals in #OTweek2017
• February 2018 – Presented at SHOUT and SOTCA ‘Different ways into research and innovative practice: sharing our experiences’
• June 2019 – RCOT Conference Paper presented and abstract published
• July 2019 – Chartered Institute of Housing Blog published on their corporate website
• September 2019 – Pop Up University in Sheffield, publicising PhD research at an event for the general public, “A home for life? Understanding the aspirations of older homeowners”
• October 2019 - Sheffield City Council Tenant Conference and Exhibition October 2019 - Delivered a workshop around ageing and housing, debate during and after the workshop
• December 2019 – Invited to deliver conference paper at, ‘One size does not fit all’ Older people’s housing conference and exhibition, CIH Cymru
• February 2020 – Presentation delivered at Derby University Occupational Therapy Society Inform event
• November 2020 – Housing Studies Association Conference Paper accepted
• April 2021 - Housing Studies Association Conference Paper accepted
• July 2021 – BSG Conference
• November 2021 - RCOT Housing SS International Conference
• November 2021 – College Health, Psychology and Social Care Research Showcase event
• April 2022 – Housing Studies Association Annual Conference, ‘A home for life? Applying complementary theoretical frameworks from health and social science to better understand housing aspirations in later life.’
• June 2022 – RCOT Annual Conference – ‘Housing must be the foundation if we are going to ‘Build Back Better.’

Experience in industry

June 2017 to June 2018: Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council – Change Leader

• Strategic role 12-month contract to deliver service improvements in Adult Care and Housing
• Senior management role reporting at Board level
• Development of an Occupational Therapy service in Single Point of Access, this innovative, award-winning team is responsible for screening referrals into the Council and delivering Occupational Therapy solutions to prevent, reduce and delay care in line with Care Act principles. The service significantly reduced response times for customers, integrated Occupational Therapy into frontline social care services and delivered financial savings
• Scoping review of Occupational Therapy in reablement, a project to reduce night care calls and review of technology to move from double to single-handed care were wider service development programmes I was involved with during this role

May 2010 to June 2017: Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council –

Housing Occupational Therapy Manager

• Extensive experience of working with people from all age groups with a wide range of needs
• Clinical duties supporting clients by developing housing, equipment and adaptation solutions, prioritising referrals to the service, planning workflows and managing a caseload of clients with complex needs
• Excellent leadership skills; proactively manage risk and change
• Management of staff and students; and management support across the wider department
• Recruiting, training and developing staff, acting with integrity at all times
• Committed to my personal development and the development of others
• Involving clients in the improvement of services and have delivered real change driven by evaluating services and incorporating feedback from our clients
• Collaborate with colleagues and negotiate on behalf of customers and our service, including with external partners across health, adult care, private and third sector organisations
• Project management skills in this area of practice delivering innovative housing schemes
• Comply with HCPC and Council policy and procedures, including safeguarding, data protection, confidentiality, equality and diversity
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, and I can communicate ideas and proposals in an effective, persuasive manner to diverse audiences
• Efficient administration and organisation to produce client records and informative reports

Additional interests and activities

To keep physically and mentally well I enjoy participating in sport, especially running and swimming. I often volunteer to marshal at local running events when I am not racing. I am a keen walker and can often be found in the Peak District with friends or family on a weekend.

I am a dog lover and I volunteer for the Cinnamon Trust, a charity that arranges walkers and short stays for the pets of older people and people with disabilities.

In the media

A home for life? Understanding liminal space as a place to “just be” in later life - Blogs - Housing LIN

Recent publications

Brown, H., & Howlett, F. (2017). A critical evaluation of the “short stay project”–service users’ perspectives. Housing, Care and Support, 20(2), 71-84