Staff profile

Julie Somers


Senior Partnership Development Manager/Senior Lecturer

Subject

Teacher Training

College

College of Arts, Humanities and Education

Department

Institute of Education

Campus

Derby Campus

Email

j.somers@derby.ac.uk

About

As Senior Partnership Development Manager I oversee all aspects of placement on the BEd and MEdu Primary Education programmes. I work closely with schools to ensure quality assured placements for all Primary ITE students.

I also teach across a range of modules on both the BEd and MEdu Primary education programmes.

Teaching responsibilities

I lead and teach on the Professional Practice modules in stages 1 and 2 of the BEd and MEdu Primary Education programmes, as well as on Child Development in stage 1 and Understanding the Learning Community in stage 4 which is taught at both level 6 and 7.

Professional interests

I am passionate about ensuring teaching placements are of high quality and as a result the quality assurance of mentoring and placements for a positive student experience is extremely important to me.

Research interests

Quality of mentoring and the impact it can have on trainee teachers.

The Training Requirements of a Mentor of a Primary ITE student - Perceptions of both Mentor and Mentee.

Membership of professional bodies

Qualifications

Experience in industry

After qualifing as a primary school teacher I taught in a local primary school for 14 years. During that time my roles within the school included mentoring primary ITE students from different universities, mentoring NQTs, and leading curriculum areas - History, English and RSE.