Staff profile

Pam Vennart taught English for 35 years and is now a full-time teaching fellow at Durham University lecturing on both the Undergraduate Primary BA and P.G.C.E. English courses. She has worked on the I.T.E programmes for both Newcastle University and Durham in a part time capacity for several years. More recently, she was Head of English at a Northumberland secondary school as well as a S.L.E for North Tyneside. She has also produced material for use on OCR’s website for both G.C.S.E. and A Level English. Additionally, Pam ran A level English Language training nationally for this exam board.

Pam trained as a Secondary school teacher (1982-83 Newcastle) and has worked as a secondary school English teacher in North Yorkshire, Leicestershire and Northumberland, teaching across the 11-18 age range. Pam has taken on a range of roles, including Head of Department and Head of year during this time. While working as a teacher, and raising three children, Pam studied part time for her MA.

In 2017 she left the classroom and joined Durham University School of Education and is now the enthusiastic teacher of undergraduate and postgraduate students studying English and education, training to be teachers and/or developing their own research.

Pam’s research interests are in English education practices which support the learning and achievement of all pupils, developing diverse ways to stimulate creative writing and working to extend the reading experiences of all learners. She enjoys working in partnership with learners, their families, practitioners and researchers.

Pam has taught across the BA programme as well as the PGCE English and has been a seminar leader at the Teaching and Learning Conference. This year she will be subject Lead for English and module convener for the RRPP assignment.

Current teaching (2018-19):

Teaching has included contributions to courses at all levels in the School of Education,

Module convener for Primary English 3

Seminar leader BA 1

PGCE English course (2019-2020) to include:

Behaviour management in the English classroom

Ofsted, the perfect English lesson.

Planning and curriculum design at KS3 and 4

Partnership with Gosforth Academy

Chief examiner for AQA media and OCR A level English Language as VLs

Dissertation supervisor to 8 students in year 3 BA:

Lecture on Transition from KS2 to KS3 ( BA3)

Lecture on Shakespeare in Primary schools (BA3 )

Publications/ scholarship/ Professional development

Chapter in book

•  Bushnell, A, Gill, A and Waugh, D (eds) (2019) Mastering Greater Depth Writing. London: Sage.

•  Conference Attended in London May 2019

‘Outstanding English Teaching’

Outreach work with Hexham Youth initiative supporting permanently excluded students in English teaching (possibly trustee this year)

Member of NATE