Nottingham Trent University’s Associate Dean Diane Bailey

Executive women thrive at Nottingham Trent University, holding strategic leadership positions supporting more than 27,000 students across four campuses for the 13th largest university in the UK. Alongside their executive counterparts, there are also many other women who sit on the university's Board of Governors and Academic Board, leading a range of activities relating to the organisation of learning and teaching, research, scholarship, academic standards, students, and courses.

Diane's role at the University

Diane is responsible for the overall management and leadership of the Division of Social Work and Health within the School of Social Sciences. She is also Director of Research for the School of Social Sciences and Chairs the School's Research Committee.

Diane's teaching subject areas include mental health; working with individuals with complex needs; service user involvement in education and service development; organisational change and development; and adult learning and research skills.

An exciting career in mental health research

Prior to joining Nottingham Trent University in 2010, Diane held the position of Reader in Social Work at Durham University from 2005.

Between 1995-2005 Diane was employed by the University of Birmingham where she held the role of Principal Lecturer in Mental Health. In 2002 during her time at Birmingham Diane was a National Teaching Fellow for excellent teaching in interdisciplinary mental health education.

Diane is a Principal Fellow of the HEA and a Chartered Member of the CIPD. She is a registered social worker with the HCPC.

Key research areas

Diane has extensive practice experience in mental health research and practice. She has over 20 years' experience evaluating the education, development and workforce change in health and social care. Diane has established interdisciplinary centres of excellence in mental health education and research and is committed to the involvement of people who use services and their families in all aspects of service design delivery and evaluation.

Diane's current research projects include providing Early Help Services to children and young people in Nottinghamshire and Talk About Self Harm (T-A-S-H) a project to promote self-help in primary care for young people who self-harm.

External activity

Diane is Co-President of the Association of Professors of Social Work. She is also the external examiner for the MA in Mental Health (Approved Mental Health Professional) AMHP Programme at the University of East Anglia and the External Examiner for the MSc in Recovery at the University of Hertfordshire. Diane is also Edictor in Chief of the Journal of Mental Health, Training, Education and Practice.

Sponsors and collaborators

Diane is currently leading on a range of projects using a Participatory Action Research Approach to improve outcomes for people using health and social care services. She works with a range of service user groups including Making Waves, Launchpad, SEA, and harmless in Nottingham.

Diane's recent research has involved her in working with Rampton Hospital, various prisons, the Discovery Museum in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nottinghamshire Probation Trust, Nottingham University and the Galleries of Justice. Di has previously collaborated with and maintains current links with Durham and Darlington PCT.

She also has links into the National Offender Management, and a range of prisons and secure hospitals across the Country. Diane works with a number of health trusts and social care organisations including: Ashfield District Council, Nottingham City Health, Northumberland Tyne and Wear Trust, Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottingham City Housing Association and The Service Delivery Organisation of the Department of Health.