I am an Economic and Social Research Council funded doctoral researcher at the Institute of Education, UCL. My research considers youth agency and young people's experiences of care in state secondary schools. For my thesis, I am exploring how, why and if young people can become more actively involved in creating caring communities within their schools. I am particularly interested in participatory and collaborative research methodologies, and co-facilitate an inter-university reading group on this topic. I am an experienced teacher and have held a variety of leadership posts in schools.