Dr. Francis Farrell BA (Hons), PGCE, MA, EdD.

Francis is a Senior Lecturer in Religious Education and led the PGCE Secondary RE course at Edge Hill for 14 years.  He previously taught in Yorkshire, Lancashire and Trafford where he was Head of Faculty in a Grammar School.    He delivers the Buddhism Module on the Undergraduate programme, contributes to MA teaching and supervises MRes and Doctoral students.  His main focus now is research  and he is particularly interested in the theories of learner identity and development of innovatory practice based on conceptual and empirical research. On Twitter as @Rhizomatics65

Dr Chris Greenough, BA(Hons), PGCE, MA, PhD.

Chris is a Senior Lecturer in Theology and Religion. He teaches on the BA Secondary Religious Education degree and the BA Education and Religion degree and supervises MRes and Doctoral students. Prior to joining Edge Hill, Chris worked for 15 years in secondary schools in Lancashire, including five years as Assistant Headteacher with responsibility for behaviour, welfare, safeguarding, staff development and teaching and learning. Whilst working full time, Chris completed his PhD at the University of Birmingham. His research interests include the  use of life stories and personal experiences as a source for theology, especially in relation to gender and sexuality. Twitter: @DrGreenough

Heather Marshall BA (Hons), PGCE, MA.

Heather is an Associate Tutor who leads our Subject KNowledge Enhancement Course.  She also undertakes school observations and teaches on the BA Education and Religion, the BA Secondary RE with QTS and the PGCE RE courses.  She taught RE in south Liverpool for 10 years, really enjoying the challenges and rewards of teaching to KS3, GCSE and A level.  She has also worked with Bristol and Sheffield Hallam Universities.  Heather is passionate about the aims and values of the subject, sitting on Liverpool SACRE.  She helps to organise and run an local RE teacher network in the Merseyside area, including contributing to CPD events. Having contributed a chapter to Engaging Religious Education (Schmack et at, 2010), she recently embarked on a Doctorate in Education focusing on the importance of RE in counter terrorism/extremism agenda.

Sjay Patterson-Craven BA (Hons), PGCE, MA.

Sjay is a Senior Lecturer in  Education and leads the PGCE Secondary RE course at Edge Hill.  She has previously taught on the BA Education and Religion degree and non-QTS Primary courses.  Prior to working at Edge Hill, Sjay worked as an RE teacher in South Manchester for 12 years, 6 of these spent as Head of Religious Education and Head of Humanities and was Chair of the South Manchester Humanities collaborative. In addition to her roles as an examiner with AQA and Edexcel, she has previously worked with  the ITT team at Manchester Metropolitan University and  is currently completing an Educational Doctorate looking at the use of agency by beginner teachers.

Dr Harith Ramli, BA (Hons), MPhil, DPhil.

Harith is a Lecturer in Theology and World Religion. After receiving his doctorate in 2012, he has worked as a lecturer at various higher education institutions, including SOAS, University of London and the University of Nottingham. He is a member of the OCR Religious Studies Consultative Forum, and has worked with OCR in the development of their A-Level Religious Studies curriculum. His primary area of research is the history of Islamic thought, looking especially at the formation of the mystical tradition of Islam known as Sufism.

Paul Smalley BA (Hons), PGCE, MA.

Paul is a Senior Lecturer in Religious Education at Edge Hill University where he leads the Undergraduate Secondary RE QTS course, and teaches on both the BA Education and Religion and the Postgraduate programme. He is interested in research around Religious Literacy, Lesson Study and  RE and Collective Worship policy.  He previously taught in high schools in Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cheshire for 12 years, being both Head of Department and Head of Year.  He is the Chair of the National Association of Standing Advisory Councils on RE,  vice-chair of Halton SACRE and an Authorised Representative to the RE Council of England and Wales. On Twitter as @PabloPedantic

Maggie Webster BA (Hons), PGCE, MA.

Maggie is a Senior Lecturer in Primary Education where she is the RE coordinator for Primary programmes and is a year leader for third year part time trainees. She teaches on both the BA Education and Religion and the BA Secondary RE with QTS courses.  She has worked in Newham as an RE and Collective Worship Co-ordinator and then as an EAL teacher. She has also worked at the British library as a museum educator and in St Helen’s as a Literacy Consultant. She is the author of Creative Approaches to Teaching Primary RE and Creative activities and ideas for pupils with English as an additional language. She is currently completing a Doctorate looking at religious and spiritual expression on social networking spaces. On Twitter as @maggiewebster