Louise Connolly is a Senior Lecturer in Initial Primary Teacher Education at Bishop Grosseteste University where she is a cohort leader. She also teaches across a range of different trainee teacher modules and leads an academic research module. Prior to joining the university, Louise was a teacher in primary schools for nearly 20 years. Throughout her time in school, she carried out a number of roles such as Phase Leader, English Lead and was also a Special Educational Needs Coordinator for 15 years. She later became a Head Teacher of a large primary school in a deprived area in Nottinghamshire and was also the Safeguarding Lead and Special Educational Needs Coordinator for a Multi-Academy Trust.

Louise completed her Masters in Education in 2019 and predominantly focused on the areas of Special Educational Needs and Emotional Health. She is now undertaking her PhD and is studying mental health in Initial Teacher Education.