Ms Liz Lefroy

Biography

Liz’s first degree was a BA (Hons) in History from Durham University, and she then went on to do a PGCE in secondary education at Bristol University. Liz moved to Edinburgh where she became a lecturer in an FE college and then Education Officer in local authority day services for people with learning disabilities.

Working for Shropshire County Council in 1992 as part of an innovative scheme to secure employment for people with learning disabilities was an early example of what might now be called co-production. An MA in Psychology at Keele University gave Liz the opportunity to explore the theoretical underpinnings to her work, her final dissertation focussing on models of advocacy.

Moving to the voluntary sector in 1996, Liz managed a staff team supporting people with visual impairments and complex needs. As Training Officer in the same organisation, she worked hard to find creative ways of involving service users, many without formal means of communication, in staff training and development.

Liz was employed by (then) NEWI in June 2006 as Service User and Carer Co-ordinator for the BA (Hons) Social Work, and quickly became involved in other degree programmes (e.g. Nursing and OT) and in teaching on both the Social Work and the Foundation Degree in Therapeutic Childcare programmes.

As a widely published poet, Liz is particularly interested in the use of creative approaches to learning and teaching and completed an MA in Creative Writing at Keele University in December 2011.