Karen has had a varied career in education, starting as a primary school teacher, then becoming a school improvement advisor for a large multi-academy trust before becoming a substantive lecturer in Higher Education, focusing on Initial Teacher Training (ITT) as well as wider education courses. She is the lead for ITT for Peterborough, and has a strategic responsibility for the BEd Primary Education with QTS curriculum.
Karen re-trained as a primary school teacher following a career in the national and local civil service. She has worked in all year groups, specialising in teaching upper Key Stage 2. Alongside her teaching, she led on Christian Distinctiveness prior to being a mathematics subject lead, introducing mastery throughout the school, which then led to her being curriculum lead for the school and part of the senior leadership team. Taking these skills, she then worked for a large multi-academy trust as a school improvement advisor, specialising in mathematics and curriculum development. The MAT covered four local authorities, with over 40 schools.
Whilst teaching and advising, she also worked as a part-time lecturer on a BA (Hons) Applied Education Studies course before becoming a substantive member of staff and leading a BA (Hons) Primary Education (with QTS) course and teaching across a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate courses. In October 2024, Karen joined ARU to lead the new BEd Primary Education with QTS course running from ARU Peterborough campus in September 2024. She is the Initial Teacher Training lead for Peterborough and has strategic responsibility for the curriculum of the BED Primary Education with QTS course.
Karen currently teaches on the following modules: