Marianne Beamish

Membership Grade: Full Member
Current Position: Senior Lecturer
Reserved Seats: Disability/FE Colleges

I welcome the establishment of a professional body for the sector in which I have worked for over 20 years.

To have national recognition for the excellent work I see evolving around me all the time, in the successful F.E. college where I teach, is encouraging and exciting.

My work, past and present.

For 33 years I have relished the job of teaching. Since qualifying as a teacher in 1975 I have taught a range of subjects, to a wide age range, in several contexts in East Anglia, initially in schools and latterly in F.E.

My current role is Senior Lecturer in Foundation Studies at the West Suffolk College. I lead a dynamic team of lecturers and Learning Support Assistants, delivering Foundation Learning programmes to young people whose disabilities include SLDD, ASDs and complex needs. The work we do is stimulating and challenging, often innovative and never predictable.

I have always been an active trades unionist, I am joint local branch chair for UCU, and a Health & Safety Representative for UCU.

I have recently been a BBC contributor, have had involvement in local community arts projects and I am a parent with sons, who are in school, university and working as an NQT in a London comprehensive school.

What I can offer the Advisory Council   

  • Breadth (and length!) of teaching experience in different settings.
  • As a current practitioner, an understanding of the highs and lows of the job- and some suggestions about improvements.
  • A conviction that inclusion should be central to our work in PCE, all learners should be enabled to progress personally,academically and vocationally, all staff should have equal opportunities to develop their professional skills. I believe we must continually identify and remove barriers.
  • An understanding of life and community in the East of England.

In conclusion, I would like to represent the voice of the practising teacher on this Advisory Council, I would like to see the learner put at the heart of everything we do in the sector and I would like to act as an advocate for the profession.