Claire Cullinan
Managing Director
Biography
Claire Cullinan (nee Collins) leads CCC and, over the past 20 years, she has led/ supported projects in the UK and Europe in Further Education/ Colleges (UK), adult education (UK and The Netherlands), TV and film bodies (UK) and prison learning (England). Examples include:
- ‘Advancing Equality in Further Education’, An online course to develop knowledge and understanding of equity and diversity in Further Education and training.
- ‘Educating Yourself In Prison: An Inside Job’ support for prisoners to take part in educating practices whilst in prison.
- ‘Taal voor het Leven’ (Language for Life), Dutch national adult literacy programme.
- Supporting TV and film professionals to develop inclusive practices and train as industry trainers on behalf of ScreenSkills UK.
A wider selection of projects that CCC have led/ co-led can be seen here.
Between 2016 and 2022, CCC ran large scale national action research programmes for post-16 teachers in England, and currently supports teacher research in Scottish colleges. Information about these programmes can be found here, where an anthology of post-16 teachers’ action research reports can also be accessed.
Claire’s professional background is in adult literacy and language and her first national role was for the Skills for Life improvement programme, supporting colleges, prisons, training providers and local authorities to develop their adult literacy provision. Her work found her in many settings, from bus depots to universities, and she developed deep knowledge and expertise about adults’ literacy practices in work and life. Claire later lived in the Netherlands, supporting the Dutch Reading and Writing Foundation to design their national adult literacy programme, drawing on lessons learnt from her work in England. Claire is the production editor for the RaPAL network, which focuses on adult literacies as social practices.
Something personal
“I like spending my time walking (with my wife and dog), playing outdoor ping pong (in almost any weather), and cycling: I live by the coast and, having grown up in landlocked Birmingham, being close to the sea is a source of constant joy for me. I also love travelling but I worry about climate change and so try not to take planes too often these days. I think we can learn about the world without going too far from home – I went to a conference in Mexico online last year where we were treated to a live band, sang together and I met some really cool and interesting people. It’s not quite as exciting as going to the other side of the world but I think we need to adapt and try to find ways to still connect and learn together.”
Get in touch with Claire if:
You would like to know more about a project CCC is involved with or if you’d like to talk about working with CCC as a partner.