Meet the Team

Gillian-Francis McNeil 

Teaching Fellow in Educational Leadership 

Gillian joined the university in 2022 after 15 years working in the primary and additional support needs sectors. During this time, she worked in a range of roles, including leading a local authority response to the Scottish Attainment Challenge (numeracy and maths lead) and serving for 6 years as a Depute and Acting Head Teacher. Gillian gained the Specialist Qualification for Headship (Into Headship) in 2021 with distinction. She is the Module Leader for module 1: Developing as a Strategic Leader. 

Gillian is also a part-time Doctor of Education (EdD) student, with her research focusing on the role of schools and school leaders in supporting children affected by domestic abuse. She leads on Child Protection and Safeguarding across Initial Teacher Education programmes. In addition to this, her professional interests include educational leadership, with a particular focus on the role of activism in school leadership as a catalyst for wider system change.