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Dr Lynette Shotton

Associate Professor

Department: Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing

As an Associate Professor, Lynette is an experienced academic with a track record of successful senior leadership in departmental (Head of Subject; Deputy Head of Department), faculty (Director of Access and Participation) and university wide (Interim Dean of Apprentices) roles. Her expertise is underlined by the award of Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2023.

As Interim Dean of Apprentices between November 2023 and January 2025, Lynette joined the university senior executive leadership team with responsibility for the apprenticeship portfolio of 31 programmes spanning all four faculties. The portfolio is complex and subject to rigorous internal and external governance, including by the DfE and Education and Skills Funding Agency.  During her tenure, the portfolio underwent a full Ofsted inspection with the outcome of Good, and Lynette was pivotal in developing and implementing the Post-Inspection Action Plan which brought about improvements to regulatory compliance and enhancements to the student journey.

Lynette has sustained sector wide global and national strategic leadership impact as an appointed member of the Advance HE Strategic Advisory Group for Teaching and Learning, where she works with 11 other senior leaders to shape the activity and direction of Advance HE. She is also a member of the Council of Deans Strategic Policy Group for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion where she consults and advises the Council on important issues influencing the education of healthcare students across the United Kingdom.

Lynette’s work on breastfeeding education and workforce development has had both sustained and widespread impact and is both nationally and internationally recognised. A key indicator of esteem is the inclusion of her work in UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative Training, which is the most high-profile breastfeeding education package globally and is recommended in key NHS policy e.g. The NHS Plan. Through externally funded research and high-quality journal publications she has demonstrated how her work has shaped policy and practice widely across the breastfeeding workforce and is increasingly invited to present this work nationally and internationally at conferences and as an invited speaker.

Another key strand of Lynette’s work focuses on understanding and addressing educational inequality, particularly in relation to care experienced students. Here, leading funded research by the Welland Trust, she currently works with regional stakeholders (The Regional Care Leaver Steering Group) and with Become (The National Charity for Care Leavers) to advance knowledge and practice in this area.

Lynette’s work in education is both underpinned by and aligned to her professional background in nursing and health visiting and she retains current registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Lynette Shotton

  • Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
  • The impact of the Little Orange Book on how parents/carers manage symptoms of illness in children: A mixed methods study, Johnson, A., Carruthers, K., Breckons, M., Harland Shotton, L. 22 Jan 2025, In: PLoS One
  • A mixed methods evaluation of the breastfeeding memory aide CHINS, Shotton, L., Collins, T., Cordier, R., Chikwava, F., Steen, M. 1 Oct 2024, In: Maternal & Child Nutrition
  • A new memory aide to remember principles of attachment for effective breastfeeding, Shotton, L., Elliot, C., Nunn, R., Lane, K. 8 Apr 2024, RCN Education Forum National Conference & Exhibition 2024, Birmingham, Royal College of Nursing
  • Breastfeeding mothers' awareness and experience of using the breastfeeding memory aide CHINS: An exploratory descriptive qualitative study, Shotton, L., Collins, T. 1 Sep 2024, In: Reproductive, Female and Child Health
  • Care leavers’ journeys into university: A narrative study examined through a Bourdieusian lens, Shotton, L. 29 Jul 2024, In: Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning
  • Cost of living impacts on student engagement, continuation and Well-being - Staff Perspective, Shotton, L. 8 Apr 2024, Alliance of Working Class Academics
  • LATCHES – a memory aide for the principles of attachment for effective breastfeeding: findings of a regional pilot in the Northeast of England and North Cumbria, Shotton, L., Elliot, C. 15 Aug 2024, In: International Breastfeeding Journal
  • Perspective Chapter: Emotional Labour – Understanding and Responding to the Emotional Challenges of Nursing, Hareland Shotton, L. 3 Jul 2024, Nursing Studies - A Path to Success, London, IntechOpen
  • Sexual Violence and Abuse, Shotton, L. 13 May 2024, Supporting Survivors of Sexual Violence and Abuse, London, Routledge
  • Staff reflections on supporting students experiencing financial hardship, Graham, P., Hayman, R., Shotton, L., Goodall, A. 5 Jun 2024, NU EDI Conference 2024

  • Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
  • Invited talk: CHINS and LATCHES: Two memory aides for breastfeeding 2025
  • Invited talk: CHINS and LATCHES two memory aides for breastfeeding education and practice 2025
  • Oral presentation: Annual Commercialising Social Science Innovations for Impact 2024
  • Invited talk: An evaluation of the Little Orange Book 2024
  • Invited talk: Supporting care leavers journeys from FE to HE 2024
  • Other: Little Orange Book evaluation and creative dissemination of results 2023
  • Other: Little Orange Book Evaluation and creative dissemination of results 2023
  • Publication Peer-review: SAGE (Publisher) 2022
  • Consultancy: Supporting Northumberland College Transformation of health and social care 2021
  • Oral presentation: “Trying to juggle study and work”: University staff reflections on supporting students experiencing financial hardship 2014

  • Marie Millican Using creative methods to improve engagement to public health services with looked after children and young people (LACYP) in the North East. Start Date: 29/11/2023
  • Julie Alderson Being the non-traditional student in higher education: how does this impact on engagement with biosciences in undergraduate adult nursing programmes Start Date: 01/10/2023
  • Sarah Greenshields A retrospective, phenomenological study examining how care experience influences diet and eating practices. Start Date: 22/05/2019

  • Education EdD March 26 2019
  • Health MSc June 30 2007
  • Nursing BSc (Hons) September 02 2002
  • Nursing Diploma July 29 1998
  • Senior Fellow Advance HE
  • Principal Fellow Higher Education Academy/ Advance HE PFHEA 2023
  • Fellow (FHEA) Higher Education Academy (HEA) 2016
  • Nurse teacher 2010
  • Specialist Community Public Health Nursing / Health Visiting SCPHN/HV 2002
  • Nurse Prescriber 2002
  • Nurse Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) 1998

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