Mrs STEPHANIE LEACH

Steph is a Senior Lecturer in Primary and Childhood Education and is the Art Lead for the Primary Education team at Edge Hill University. Before starting at Edge Hill, Steph was a primary school teacher for 21 years. She worked in a number of different schools where she explored her interests in the arts, mental health and wellbeing. As Art Lead she was instrumental in securing her last school a gold Arts Mark, was trained as an Arts Award Accreditator and developed partnerships with local artists and cultural providers such as Bluecoat, Tate Liverpool, National Museums Liverpool and Dot Art. She also designed and ran a number of arts-based projects including working with professional artists, involvement in The World Reimagined Globe Project, the development of a scultpure trail in the school grounds and development of the Sensory Garden. 

As Mental Health Lead, she was part of the Inclusion Team and this furthered her interests in equality, diversity and inclusion in education for all. She worked closely with Edge Hill University, Everton in the Community and Tate Liverpool to facilitate Tackling the Blues at her school, a mental health and wellbeing programme focused on the five ways of wellbeing, delivered through sport and art strands. 

She also completed a number of professional qualifications to become a Senior Leader at her last school where she managed a team of teachers and learning support assistants. 

• Using art to support mental health
• Equality, diversity and inclusion
• Decolonisation of art curriculum
• Anti-racist art curriculum
• Primary art & design education
• Children and young people's mental health
• Trauma-informed education

Steph teaches on several courses across Edge Hill’s QTS programmes, including BA (hons) PGCE and part-time courses. She is also a Personal Academic Tutor and placement Link Tutor.

Steph is an Early Career Framework Facilitator for a cluster of Early Career Teachers (ECTs) in the north Liverpool area. She deliveres training sessions online and in person throughout the year to support the ECTs in the first 2 years of teaching.