Melanie Peter

Dr. Melanie Peter serves as a Senior Lecturer and Course Leader in the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Social Care at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge. A published authority in special education, she specializes in creative pedagogy using drama, movement, and dance for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with expertise spanning early years education, autism, and family partnership models.

Her academic credentials include:

• BA and MA in Social and Political Sciences (University of Cambridge)
• PGCE in SEN/Early Years (University of Bristol)
• MEd in Education (University of Cambridge)
• PhD by publication (University of East Anglia)
• RSA Diploma in Drama-in-Education
• OFSTED Registered Inspector qualifications for Nursery and Primary/Special Schools

Peter's research fuses Social Constructivist and Humanistic principles to develop inclusive teaching methodologies, particularly for children with severe, profound, and complex learning needs. Her work emphasizes drama as pedagogy for socially challenged children and evidence-based frameworks for training inclusive educators through action research cycles.

Analysis of her publications reveals a consistent trajectory from foundational work on drama-autism interventions (2002) toward contemporary focus on sustainable teacher training models (2010-2014). Key thematic clusters include communication strategies for complex learning difficulties, movement-based inclusive pedagogy, and arts-integrated SEN curricula, demonstrating evolving application from classroom practice to systemic professional development.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• Learning and Teaching Award (Anglia Ruskin University, 2012-13)

Peter actively supervises doctoral research on autism interventions and multi-agency family collaboration while leading development of a new MA in Special Needs Collaboration. Her grant portfolio exceeds £80,000, featuring Department for Education projects on SEN in initial teacher training (2008-2013), special school placement models, and national curriculum resources for severe learning difficulties.

She coordinates the Eastern Region SEN in ITT Network, facilitating cross-institutional partnerships between HEIs and special schools, and serves as SEN governor for a secondary school while contributing to national policy through DfE consultations and journal reviewing for Sage Publications.