Paul is a proud Boltonian, although he has not lived there since his childhood. After a degree in Biblical Studies at Sheffield University, he taught RE (and other things) in three high schools  in West Yorkshire, Wigan and Halton for 12 years, being both Head of Department and Head of Year. He has been at Edge Hill since 2006 where he has taught on Postgraduate and Undergraduate RE ITE routes, and is now programme lead for Secondary Undergraduate QTS (English, maths and RE).

Paul researches  in the fields of RE Policy and Practice, Collective Worship and Spirituality. He has also published work on mentoring and teacher development.

Paul teaches on a variety of Undergraduate ITE modules, both generic to all subject specialisms and those specific to secondary RE teaching.  He has also led, or leads, Religion modules devoted to the three Abrahamic traditions, Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

Paul is a nationally respected figure in RE.  He is the Executive Assistant of NASACRE, a Trustee of the IFN, and an REC Board member.  He is involved with the RE Policy unit, which works with policymakers to ensure that all pupils receive a high quality religious education in schools. He is a member of the Liverpool Diocesan Board of Education.

Paul has appeared on TV discussing PSHE and on Radio discussing RE.

He has writen for a number of publications including The Conversation and RE today.  He has been invited to speak at a number of local, regional and national events for RE teachers and SACRE members and his CPD sessions are very popular with RE teachers. His work has been cited by the APPG on Religion in the Media report Learning to Listen and by Ofsted in the Research Review into RE