Faces of Reading

While at Reading I have developed in so many different ways. At a professional level, when I arrived I was in charge of the secondary history teacher training course. I was soon asked to take responsibility for the MA in Teaching and Learning, and shortly after that I became programme director for the MA in Education programme.

More recently I have been School Director of Teaching and Learning (SDTL) – this was a very varied role, but the main focus was on ensuring all of our students have a really positive academic experience with us. I was involved in leading initiatives within the Institute of Education to enhance the quality of our teaching and learning provision, monitoring the quality of our programmes, and supporting the implementation of university wide projects. As SDTL I sat on the senior management group for the Institute of Education and line managed a number of staff. My role therefore involved working with lots of colleagues within Education and across the University.

Since stepping down as SDTL I have taken on more teaching and supervision of PhD students, and have been able to develop my research interests – in particular, I have been looking at the experience of LGBTQ+ students in schools. I also feel privileged to have been involved with many interesting national and international projects, most notably the Council of Europe’s ‘Pestalozzi’ teacher training programme.

On a personal level, I joined Reading at a point where I was coming out as transgender. My colleagues have been tremendously supportive and I work in an environment where I am accepted and respected for who I am. My colleagues are very used to me presenting whichever way I feel comfortable, which can shift from day to day.

Working at Reading is very much about people – the staff are truly committed to their students and the university is committed to developing and supporting both staff and students.

I work full time, but I work from home 4 days a week. Managers are very good at giving us that flexibility.

I have Becker Muscular Dystrophy, and people have been very supportive without being patronising. Part of the reason for working from home is to help manage my fatigue. I live in Reading, I came here when I was 18 as a student and have more or less stayed here ever since. I had been commuting to Oxford – I was at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust before – which was getting a bit too tiring. It's better now I'm working a lot closer to home.

The team from Estates and Facilities also came in and created a kind of frame by my desk so I can get up easily, which has been really helpful. Everyone in the office will help out if I need anything too; it's been a positive experience.

The HR team was really helpful in going through my options with me, and my manager helped to make sure my responsibilities were split between the other Business Partners while I was on leave. Because of this, I was able to help my wife, Khrystyna, but I also had the opportunity to get to know my son.

What I found is that going to work is the easy part. At home, you have to dress and feed your child, bathe them and read to them, make sure they sleep and take part in activities. And just being there for them is integral. That time is very hard to achieve when you’re working: you come home, de-stress, and do all the basic necessities, but just spending time with your child is when you really bond with them and see what type of person they’re becoming. Thanks to the University’s flexibility, I got that time with Luke.

Read more about family leave at the University of Reading. 

I am the person who takes charge of mooting in the Law School. This is similar to a mock trial where students play the part of a lawyer, and lecturers or practising barristers play the part of judges. It is very popular.

I also share responsibilities for the Erasmus programme in the Law Department. We are looking to expand the reach of the programme to beyond Europe, creating as many high-quality partnerships around the world as we can.

I have always enjoyed teaching law. It's an amazing thing to have fresh minds come at things you have been teaching and studying for decades. You just never know what a student will say or think, and that's very exciting.

In the last few years, I have set aside a couple of hours each week for informal coffee and questions in a University cafe. Students come along and chat about anything they find interesting or do not understand. I find that this can often be more productive time than formal seminars and lectures.