Sara Bell
Head of Department, Mental Health and Learning Disability
Biography
Sara Bell is Head of Division for Nursing and Healthcare Education for the Warrington campus. This forms part of the School of Nursing and Midwifery within the Faculty of Health Medicine and Society. Sara provides strategic direction, and academic leadership for the division as well as supporting growth and financial sustainability. She is also responsible for the support and development of academic staff within teaching, learning and research activities. She has key areas of focus for Warrington which include, enhancing student satisfaction, retention, progression on all programmes, providing and facilitating appropriate support for students, and widening participation. Sara is an experienced nurse academic, within the field of learning disability nursing, and Trainee Nursing Associates, particularly the apprenticeship provision. She is a Registered Learning Disability Nurse, Specialist Community Practitioner, Registered Nurse Teacher and a Senior Fellow of Advanced HE. Before commencing employment with the university Sara held roles within learning disability nursing specialising in children, young people, and health inequalities.
Teaching and Supervision
Sara is an experienced senior lecturer within the field of learning disability nursing, with a focus on working with families, carers and children, the concept of health inequalities, leadership and management and specialist community practice. Sara is also an experienced master’s level supervisor, successfully supporting a number of students to complete their dissertations on the MA Art Therapy programme
Research and Knowledge Exchange
Sara’s earlier research interests have been focused on the recruitment and retention of student learning disability nurses, with a particular focus on why people choose this filed of nursing. This work began to shape the changing focus locally and nationally on strategies to increase the knowledge and understanding of the role of a nurse withing the specialist filed of learning disability. Sara’s current research is exploring the knowledge that non-professional carers have of cancer within the learning-disabled population.