: Vanessa Sullivan

Vanessa Sullivan is the Deputy Head at St Peter’s CE Primary in mid-Essex. Before joining St Peter’s, she was part of the Senior Leadership Team at a school in Tendring and served as a member of the Management Board for Tendring SCITT (formerly known by that name).

With over 25 years of teaching experience, Vanessa has worked in a variety of settings across Essex, including Colchester Central and Tendring, teaching across both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. In addition to her leadership role, she teaches Year 5/6 and leads both Religious Education and English.

Her academic interests include vocabulary acquisition, reading comprehension, writing development, memory, metacognition, and the broader role of neuropsychology in pedagogy. She has also worked extensively with children with a wide range of Social, Emotional,
and Mental Health (SEMH) needs.

Vanessa is a strong advocate for Research-Informed Practice in education and is pleased to see its increasing recognition and application in schools. She is deeply passionate about classroom teaching, believing that direct engagement with students allows her to better understand the challenges and innovations that impact practitioners. She looks forward to collaborating with colleagues on new projects and supporting the dissemination of research findings that can benefit school leaders, teachers and students.

For inquiries, she can be contacted at vanessa.​sullivan@​st-​peterscofe.​essex.​sch.​uk