Stuart Gallagher
Stuart Gallagher is a senior lecturer in the Centre for Children and Families (Institute of Education) at the University of Worcester, and a Fellow of the HEA. He is a nominated safeguarding officer for the centre and a course leader for the foundation degree, Collaborative Working with Children, Young People and Families. This course is delivered through blended learning and Stuart helped to design it alongside colleagues in the public and charitable sectors.
Stuart is also currently leading the development of a postgraduate certificate entitled Leading Culture Change in Safeguarding, which he hopes will launch in the near future.
Stuart’s teaching includes the leadership of two undergraduate modules which focus on safeguarding. One is a Level 4 module on the University of Worcester’s Early Years foundation degree, ‘Protecting and Safeguarding: Working Together for the Child’. The other is a Level 5 module on the Collaborative Working with Children, Young People and Families foundation degree, entitled, ‘Safeguarding Children’s Rights in Family Contexts’.
His interests lie in the development of change-makers in children’s services through higher education. He is also interested in the parts conscientious objection and professional rebelliousness can play in principled safeguarding practice within children’s and adult services. He supports students and colleagues to integrate personal development with practice change – he takes this seriously, especially the fun bits.
Previously, Stuart worked as an education welfare officer (EWO) for a number of English local authorities, a home tutor to school excluded children and a basic skills tutor for vulnerable children. He also volunteered in homelessness and asylum-seeking assistance. This prior experience of working with individuals and groups as they engaged with statutory services and negotiated their individual wellbeing and safety continues to inform Stuart’s approach to safeguarding and child protection.
Stuart was awarded a MPhil by the University of Bath in 2015 for his research on theories of learning and their contribution to serious case reviews.