(And it is great to be exhibiting with my grandad too!).

Winter Exhibition 3–22 December 2025 The Minories, 74 High Street, Colchester, CO1 1UE Open Wednesday–Sunday, 10:00–16:00 (Closed 12 December) A wonderful way to round off the year and to contribute to the local art community!

I am pleased to share that my Ice Skates piece is included in the Colchester Art Society Winter Exhibition.

This will be my first time attending this event, I am excited to join and contribute to the conversations shaping the next generation of educational research. I am grateful to BERA for supporting my attendance through my Early Career Researcher Career Development Funding.

I will be speaking on “Locating the Researcher-Self: Establishing Positionality through Autoethnographic Inquiry”, exploring how early-career researchers can work reflexively and with clarity when situating themselves in their research.

Two BERA announcements in one week, what a treat! I am delighted to share that I will be presenting at The ECR Journey: Developing Criticality and Confidence: Becoming a Decisive Educational Researcher, taking place on 25 March 2026 at The Studio, Birmingham.

I am looking forward to Sessions 2 and 3 and to seeing how our thinking and our evolving identities continue to develop across the series. Appreciation to Diane for supporting the session and the tech!

We opened up rich discussions about what it means to inhabit the educator dimension of our EAR identities and spent time working with the Network of Enterprises to surface hidden layers of our roles. @nsead1

I had a wonderful evening yesterday, facilitating Session 1 of Leading Art & Design: Exploring Your Educator–Artist–Researcher Professional Identity in the Post-16 Sector with the National Society for Education in Art and Design (NSEAD). @nsead1

A timely reflection as we approach the end of the year, and a powerful reminder that small actions, done consistently, can transform our practice (Masterson, 2025). Grateful for the insight and the energy she brought to the group!

Her session, “A Wellbeing First Approach to FE,” offered thoughtful reminders about sustaining ourselves in demanding roles. Courtney encouraged us to consider one key question: “What do you do to support your own wellbeing as a busy teacher?”

Huge appreciation to Courtney Masterson for joining me and my trainee teachers online yesterday evening to explore approaches to wellbeing, for ourselves and for the learners and colleagues we work with.

With thanks to the British Educational Research Association (BERA) for funding this conference as part of my Early Career Researcher Career Development Fund award.

I am grateful to the review committee for the opportunity to contribute to this important conversation, and I am looking forward to connecting with colleagues and learning from the wider community.

My presentation, “Navigating Identity: Reflections on Becoming a Teacher-Researcher,” will offer a brief insight into my ongoing work on professional identity formation and the role of practitioner research in FE and adult education.

I am pleased to share that I will be presenting at the British Educational Research Association (BERA) Teacher Conference 2026, Research Making a Difference in the Classroom, hosted at Birkbeck, University of London.

The full article will be shared later this month as part of their #FusionDecember theme on family, in all its forms and definitions. Appreciation to Dr Lou Mycroft FRSA for your thoughtful editing. Head over to Instagram to stay up-to-date with Fusion: www.instagram.com/reel/DRuSY88...

From early memories of Mum studying with the Open University to both of us finding our way into adult education and HE, our story traces how education becomes lived practice, shared space, and family legacy. Huge thanks to fusion.mag.uk for showcasing voices from across their community.

I am delighted to be back writing with Fusion this December, and even more as this time I brought my mum, Jude Cairns, along too. We contributed a joint piece, A Family Affair, reflecting on how learning, teaching, and creativity have shaped our lives across generations.

A few highlights coming up include the first session of the NSEAD course I am facilitating on the 3rd, the Christmas artists’ meet-up at The Minories on the 10th, and a series of festive WEA courses, including a session on festive art fundamentals on the 17th! www.wea.org.uk/courses/arts...

I am looking forward to stepping into December tomorrow. The month ahead brings together book writing, teaching, and art-making.

Freedom! A powerful word. I decided to just give myself freedom in the studio and played with some paint and some water. It was quite joyful. Some more playing will follow before I hand it over to Tina to do her thing.

I am delighted to be returning to The Minories this January for our second Creative Retreat Day, a full day dedicated to focused, supported making! Book here: www.trybooking.com/uk/events/la...

I love research and writing, so this is a dream session for me. I hope the MA learners feel the same and leave with tools that strengthen their academic practice!

We will distil research ideas into one sentence, use freewriting prompts, craft found research poetry, experiment with research-as-recipe approaches, introduce colour-coding strategies, and build momentum through focused “shut up and write” blocks.

I am excited to be joining the University Centre Colchester MA in Education cohort this evening to lead an online writing retreat for their first module.

This marks my first time exhibiting with Artists in the Meadows, and I am excited to be showing work in a new venue and alongside a vibrant community of local artists. If you are nearby, drop in and take a look. I would love to hear what Trust It evokes for you.

The exhibition runs throughout December at 32, The Meadows Shopping Centre, 42–47 High Street, Chelmsford CM2 6FD. Open 10-4 daily.

The piece brings together layered text, abstract forms, and mark-making that explore uncertainty, repetition, and the quiet negotiations we make with ourselves when navigating change and identity.

I am delighted to share that my artwork Trust It will soon be on display as part of Artists in the Meadows: Best Exhibition Ever.

It's all in the layers. Some pre-painting and pre-drawing before the drawing and painting. Another identity outcome for my upcoming exhibition at Patch Colchester in February! Did you know I used to want to be a chef 👩‍🍳

Course dates: • Session 1 — 3 December 2025 • Session 2 — 4 March 2026 • Session 3 — 3 June 2026 Format: Online, 4–6pm Cost: £75 (NSEAD members) / £150 (non-members) I am looking forward to starting this journey with the first group! @nsead.bsky.social

If you are working in the post-16 sector and want structured space to explore your professional identity, you can find full details and enrol using the link below. Sign up here: www.eventbookings.com/b/event/lead... @nsead.bsky.social

Across the programme, we will work with the network of enterprises, visual methods, provocations, and reflective tools to support deeper understanding of practice in post-16 art and design. @nsead.bsky.social

This three-part online National Society for Education in Art and Design course invites colleagues to examine their professional identities through the lens of the Educator–Artist–Researcher (EAR) framework. @nsead.bsky.social

Session 1 is ready to go, and I am looking forward to welcoming the first cohort on 3 December for Leading Art & Design: Exploring your Educator–Artist–Researcher Identity in the Post-16 Sector. @nsead.bsky.social

Yesterday evening, painting in the near dark. Some prep for something new! #Studio #ArtStudio #NewArt #BTS #WorkInProgress #Paint #Board #CreativeColchester #ColchesterArtist #EssexArtist #AbbieCairns

My works make up just a small contribution to this exhibition that brings together a mix of established and emerging local artists. A huge well done to everyone involved in shaping Better Together. It is a thoughtful, generous show and well worth a visit.

It is always a joy to see my work at The Minories. It is kne of my favourite places to show my work. Within Better Together, I am showing three interconnected pieces that explore togetherness and identity.

I finally made it into The Minories to see Better Together, and the exhibition closes this weekend. If you can, pop in before Sunday to catch it.

The discussion helped crystallise what ESD can look like in practice across FE (including adult ed!) and skills, moving beyond statements of intent toward meaningful, embedded action. Thanks to ETF for an engaging and timely session.

Yesterday’s Education Training Foundation Spotlight on Education for Sustainable Development session with Geoff Flower and Julia Musson was genuinely thought-provoking.

If you are interested in the lived realities of EARs, or in how professional identities shift within art and design education, I hope you find the discussion useful! Read the blog here: www.nsead.org/publications...

In the blog, I draw together these reflections to consider how identity, community, and practice continue to evolve across our sector.

The piece reflects on NSEAD members’ responses to the recent Educators, Artists & Researchers (EAR) special issue of AD magazine that I guest edited. The issue set out to explore how EARs navigate layered identities, practices, and professional commitments across diverse contexts.

I am pleased to share my first National Society for Education in Art and Design (NSEAD) The Art Educator Blog, Continuing the Conversation on Educator, Artist, Researcher Identities.

Frances' expertise, spanning SEND leadership, anti-racist practice, neurodiversity advocacy, and inclusive curriculum design, shaped a rich discussion that will stay with our trainees as they develop their pedagogical identities. A lot to think about. A lot to take forward. Thank YOU, Frances.

We explored: multiple, overlapping identities within SEND intersectionality and systemic inequities Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems and what this means for learner support professional boundaries, agency, and the ZPD as a lens for practice

Francis led a powerful session that prompted critical reflection on identity, inclusion, and the responsibilities we hold as educators.

Huge appreciation to Frances Akinde for joining our University Centre Colchester Year 1 trainee teachers yesterday.