Dr Victoria Bamsey is Associate Dean for Education and Student Experience in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business at the University of Plymouth, and an Associate Professor of Education whose work is driven by a commitment to improving educational effectiveness and outcomes for disadvantaged children and young people. Her research interrogates the sociocultural conditions that shape educational engagement, with a particular focus on how inequity, exclusion and policy environments disproportionately affect marginalised learners. Drawing on Vygotskian perspectives and the concept of perezhivanie, she explores how individuals experience and navigate educational systems, providing insight into the structural and relational factors that hinder or enable participation and success.

Vicky’s publications critically examine exclusionary practices, the challenges of inclusive education in international and pandemic‑affected contexts, anti‑racist practice in early childhood settings, and the intersections of SEND policy, parental decision‑making and home education. Her work contributes to a deeper understanding of how disadvantage manifests across educational phases and how systems can be redesigned to foster meaningful inclusion and improved educational trajectories. She has secured competitive funding to advance research on EDI in higher education, early years education, and community‑focused approaches to educational development, and she supervises doctoral researchers investigating leadership, teacher identity, critical pedagogy, and inclusive practices across diverse educational settings.

Her leadership is grounded in a strong belief that improved educational outcomes for disadvantaged learners require evidence‑informed, system‑level change. As Chair of the National SENCo Advocacy Network, she directly contributes to national discussions on SEND reform and works to amplify the voices of Special Educational Needs Coordinators, whose work is central to improving provision for children with additional needs. She also co-convenes the BERA Educational Effectiveness and Improvement Special Interest Group, helping to steer national debate on the systems, pedagogies and leadership practices that most strongly influence the educational experiences of disadvantaged groups. Her membership of the British Academy EDI ThinkIn group further reflects her commitment to improving research cultures so they better include and represent marginalised communities.

Within the University, Vicky provides strategic leadership on education and student experience with a particular focus on ensuring that institutional policy, curriculum design and quality‑enhancement processes support equity, participation and student success. She has led major initiatives to strengthen learning, teaching and assessment in response to sector‑wide challenges, championed authentic assessment and inclusive pedagogies, and worked to embed skills development and knowledge‑exchange opportunities that particularly benefit first‑generation, part‑time, commuting and otherwise under‑represented student groups.

Vicky’s work is characterised by a relational, research‑informed and values‑driven approach to leadership. Whether contributing to national policy consultations, shaping curriculum guidance, supporting local authorities, or driving faculty‑wide enhancement, she is deeply committed to improving educational systems so that all children, young people and adult learners, particularly those facing disadvantage, can learn, participate and thrive.

• British Educational Research Association
• British Academy Early Career Research Network
• British Association for Early Childhood Education
• International Society for Cultural and Activity Research
• Society for Education Training
• Higher Education Academy

• Advisory member for the review of the QAA Early Childhood Studies Subject Benchmark Statements
• Reader for the QAA Advice and Guidance - Resourcing delivery of a high quality learning experience
• Chair of the National SENCo Advocacy network
• Member of the British Academy Early Career Researcher Network 
• BERA Special Interest Group Convener 'Educational Development and Quality Improvement'

• BA Early Childhood Studies
• MA Education
• Professional Doctorate in Education