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Dr Heather Ellis

@heatherlwellis.bsky.social
4.8K followers 2.7K following 162 posts

SFHEA, FRHistS | Historian of education & knowledge Uni of Sheffield www.sheffield.ac.uk/education/peopl… | Co-Investigator @esrcschoolmeals.bsky.social www.theschoolmealsproject.co.uk | Co-Editor History of Education

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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
This week sees the publication of new School Food Standards for England. Our @esrcschoolmeals.bsky.social research shows that school meals are never just about nutrition. I spoke to the Yorkshire Post about why school meals should be seen as social & educational infrastructure. 🍉 🥦 🌮 🍽️ #histed
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Enjoyed talking to Steph Watkins on BBC Radio Guernsey about plans to introduce primary #schoolmeals there by 2030. Drawing on our @esrcschoolmeals.bsky.social research, we discussed what it takes to build a service from scratch🍎 #histed @sheffielduni.bsky.social tinyurl.com/ysenuxsf (10:15-10:30)
bbc.co.uk
Radio Guernsey - Listen Live - BBC Sounds
Listen live to Radio Guernsey on BBC Sounds
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Read more about our findings on persistent stigma and free school meals here! 🍎🍽 @royalhistsoc.org @histedsocuk.bsky.social @sheffielduni.bsky.social sheffield.ac.uk/news/120-yea...
sheffield.ac.uk
120 years of school dinners: How canteen stigma shapes lives for decades
As pupils across the UK head back to school, new research reveals canteen choices can shape children’s lives for decades, and argues universal school meals are the key to ending the long-standing stig...
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Great to talk to Ellie Coulton this morning on BBC Radio Sheffield about our @esrcschoolmeals.bsky.social research into persistent stigma around free school meals #histed @sheffielduni.bsky.social @royalhistsoc.org @histedsocuk.bsky.social @ichre-ioe.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
bbc.co.uk
BBC Radio Sheffield - Ellie Colton at Breakfast, 09/09/2026
Wake up with a smile with Ellie and everything you need to know in South Yorkshire.
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
On my way to the International Committee of Historical Sciences (CISH) Centennial Conference in Leipzig on the Past, Present and Future of History
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Nice to see this out in the world! "The Teaching-Research Nexus in Literary and Philosophical Societies in Late Eighteenth- and Early Nineteenth-Century Britain: The Case of Manchester" Many thanks to the editors for guiding the book through to publication😊 #histed shorturl.at/2GIzA
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Enjoying presenting our ongoing research from our @esrcschoolmeals.bsky.social research at @ische-news.bsky.social 47 in Athens! 🏛🇬🇷🌞 #histed
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BBF | Bibliothek für Bildungsgeschichtliche Forschung des DIPF @bbfdipf.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
🌍 Die BBF ist im Sommer wieder international unterwegs! 📍 Los geht´s: #ISCHE47 | Panel “Digital Approaches to the History of Education: Methods, Sources, and Practices” | mit @josefinewaehler.bsky.social @m-lorenz.bsky.social #DanielErdmann & Chair @kpriem.bsky.social ▶️ bbf.dipf.de/de/aktuell/t...
bbf.dipf.de
Die BBF auf der ISCHE 47 im Panel »Digital Approaches to the History of Education« — BBF | Bibliothek für Bildungsgeschichtliche Forschung
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Looking forward to seeing this out in the world soon... 🥳 'The Teaching-Research Nexus in Literary and Philosophical Societies in Late 18th and Early 19thC Britain: The Case of Manchester' #histed www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...
taylorfrancis.com
The Teaching-Research Nexus in Literary and Philosophical Societies in
This chapter examines the development of the teaching and research nexus in Britain before the rise of the modern research university. It focuses on the role of
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Enjoyed sharing our research into building engaged online learning communities at the Collaborative Pedagogic Research Symposium today with Linda Wilkinson and @jaynefinlay.bsky.social It also saw the launch of the International Pedagogic Research Network!
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
If you're planning a visit to The School Food Show 2026 at the NEC today or tomorrow, please check out the touring version of the 'School Dinners' exhibition, our collaboration with the @foodmuseumuk.bsky.social! We are celebrating 120 years of #schoolmeals in UK and how to make them even better 🍎🥦🍽
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History of Education Society UK @histedsocuk.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
An obituary for the late Roy Lowe is now out in the History of Education Journal, written by Gary McCulloch. Read here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....
tandfonline.com
Professor Roy Anthony Lowe OBE (1940–2026)
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Interesting day in Groningen @rug.nl, hearing about the work of PhD students in the morning, followed by great discussions at the afternoon's DEEP Day. I enjoyed giving a keynote lecture on my Classics and Science research and hearing about other people's research #histed @sheffielduni.bsky.social
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Lovely day marking the opening of the touring/pop-up 'School Dinners' exhibition in the Houses of Parliament, which the @esrcschoolmeals.bsky.social team worked on together with @foodmuseumuk.bsky.social 🍽🥪🥕 #histed @histedsocuk.bsky.social @sheffielduni.bsky.social @ichre-ioe.bsky.social
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Enjoyed talking to the News From Nowhere Club in Leytonstone last night with Martha Vandrei on the past, present & future of Lit & Phils #histed For more on Lit & Phils see our article in History Today www.historytoday.com/archive/feat...
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Looking forward to giving the keynote talk at this year's DEEP Day in Groningen (Dutch Expertise Centre in the Theory & History of Education & Psychology) Title: Beyond the Two Cultures: Classical Learning and the Making of Modern Science #histed @sheffielduni.bsky.social @histedsocuk.bsky.social
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History of Education Society UK @histedsocuk.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
🇮🇪 The deadline for abstracts has now passed, but there is plenty of time to register for the History of Education Conference in November. 👇 Here is all you need to know about booking accommodation:
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History of Education Society UK @histedsocuk.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
🌞 Enjoying the Bank Holiday weather? Don't forget to submit your abstract for the HES Conference - today is the FINAL DAY! 🚨
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will pooley @willpooley.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
absolutely wild to see people out here saying that it is responsibility of peer reviewers to check for hallucinated references. it is hard enough to persuade people to read articles and provide reviews. expecting them to spend hours cross reffing literature is unreal.
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History of Education Society UK @histedsocuk.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
🥇 Congratulations to our journal's co-editor Heather Ellis on a richly deserved award!
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
So pleased that our 'School Dinners' Exhibition at @foodmuseumuk.bsky.social has won *Best Temporary or Touring Exhibition of the Year at the 2026 Museums + Heritage Awards*🏆 @esrcschoolmeals.bsky.social project is the core academic partner for 'School Dinners' 🍽 #histed @sheffielduni.bsky.social
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Sharon Hodgson MP @sharonhodgsonmp.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
It was lovely to take a School Food APPG delegation to the Food Museum, Suffolk today with local MP Peter Prinsley. We visited the School Dinners exhibition, which I opened recently. A great chance to engage across the sector as free school meals expand to 500,000 kids and breakfast clubs roll out.
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ESRC School Meals 🍽 @esrcschoolmeals.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Thrilled to see @britishacademy.bsky.social has published the Policy Histories Seminar report from our project-The UK School Meals Service: Past, Present and Future? First comprehensive history of #schoolmeals #histed @sheffielduni.bsky.social @histedsocuk.bsky.social @ioe.bsky.social
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Was lovely to talk about our @esrcschoolmeals.bsky.social research tonight. Great discussion, thanks so much for the invitation and all the questions #histed #schoolmeals @histedsocuk.bsky.social @sheffielduni.bsky.social
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Thrilled to see @britishacademy.bsky.social has published the Policy Histories Seminar report from our @esrcschoolmeals.bsky.social project- The UK School Meals Service: Past, Present and Future? First comprehensive history of school meals #histed @sheffielduni.bsky.social @histedsocuk.bsky.social
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Looking forward to it!
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History of Education Society UK @histedsocuk.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Another from our latest edition of the Journal. Stephanie Olsen looks into drawing out the 'specificities' of children's worlds in order to gain an emotional and experiential understanding in various history of education contexts Read in full 👇 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
Towards an Emotional and Experiential History of Modern Education: Children’s Essays on the Cinema Around the First World War
This article probes the potential of emotional and experiential histories of education. London children’s school essays on their experiences in the First World War, their stories, their dreams and ...
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History of Education Society UK @histedsocuk.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
More on our latest edition of History of Education: Judith Harford and Tom O'Donoghue delve into the role the Catholic Church had in the 'organisational culture of schools' and how this led to a regulation of sexuality in the early decades of the Irish state 👇 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
“An Ireland of Brave, Manly Boys, an Ireland of Pure, Modest Girls1”: The Education System and the Regulation of Sexuality in Ireland, 1922–1968
This article examines how the Catholic Church, working hand in glove with the Irish State, used the education system in order to regulate Irish sexuality in the early decades of Irish independence....
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
📢New piece out now in @theconversation.com #Schoolmeals stigma, pleasure, memory, class & why they still matter so much in 2026. Reflections on our @esrcschoolmeals.bsky.social research in light of UK govt review of school food standards #histed @sheffielduni.bsky.social doi.org/10.64628/AB....
doi.org
School dinners are changing: the strong emotions and memories around these meals reflect their social, economical and cultural importance
When people remember school dinners they remember how they made them feel as much as what they ate.
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History of Education Society UK @histedsocuk.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Historians of education should focus on emotions and senses, as is the emphasis of our latest journal edition. 'To write the history of education in this way is not to abandon structural analysis but to deepen it.' Read in full here!
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Stephanie Olsen @stephanieolsen.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Thanks @heatherlwellis.bsky.social for including my article based on my keynote! Check out the whole SI here.
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Happy to share the new SI of History of Education(55:3) “Senses, Emotions and Experiences in #histed” From the 2023 @histedsocuk.bsky.social conference in Sheffield, OA articles explore how education feels through bodies, memory, belonging & resistance. Guest-ed by me 😊 doi.org/10.1080/0046...
doi.org
Senses, Emotions and Experiences in the History of Education
Published in History of Education: Journal of the History of Education Society (Vol. 55, No. 3, 2026)
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Nice to talk about our @esrcschoolmeals.bsky.social research at the @sheffielduni.bsky.social School of Education Voices seminar this lunchtime along with colleagues from our Policy Research Cluster #histed sites.google.com/sheffield.ac...
sites.google.com
School of Education Voices
Welcome to the School of Education Voices seminar series
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Great to chat to colleagues about all things #schoolmeals at the first ever Faculty of Social Sciences Research Showcase today at @sheffielduni.bsky.social. And to find so many unexpected connections between colleagues' research and our own @esrcschoolmeals.bsky.social project! ✨️🍎 #histed
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Great to talk to BBC Radio York, Lincolnshire & Sheffield tdy about govt plans to reduce deep-fried, high-sugar foods in school meals & our @esrcschoolmeals.bsky.social research on school meal history from WW2 to 1980s marketisation #histed 🍽️ @sheffielduni.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
Paulette Edwards - 10/04/2026 - BBC Sounds
Guests, great music, updates and your stories for your mid-morning with Paulette.
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Delighted that the School Dinners exhibition we collaborated with @foodmuseumuk.bsky.social on has been shortlisted for the Museums + Heritage Awards 2026 Temporary or Touring Exhibition of the Year 🥛🍎🍽 awards.museumsandheritage.com/2026-shortli... #ISMD2026 #histed @esrcschoolmeals.bsky.social
awards.museumsandheritage.com
2026 Shortlist - Museums + Heritage Awards
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Two great new articles on university history in History of Education 1. Tomas Vancisin & @aileenfyfe.bsky.social: St Andrews records reveal how universities were embedded in British imperial networks. doi.org/10.1080/0046...
doi.org
Visualising Historical University Records to Explore the Colonial Connections of the Students and Alumni of the University of St Andrews, 1700–1897
This paper uses the historical student records of the University of St Andrews to demonstrate how an exploration of the student community can contribute to our understanding of the ways UK universi...
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History of Education Society UK @histedsocuk.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
🎥 We’re interested in different ways of disseminating research. So, we’re trying our hand at short-form video content to summarise the core arguments of amazing projects. 🥘 Up first, here’s our journal’s co-editor @heatherlwellis.bsky.social talking about the @esrcschoolmeals.bsky.social project:
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Sam Rutherford (he/him) @echomikeromeo.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Super exciting to see this in the flesh! This was such a side project for me but I got so much from it and loved having the opportunity to do it!
The first page of my chapter in this edited volume, Chapter 8: ContestationsTwo photos from the chapter, of young women in the 1920s wearing white lab coats and working in a “scientific laundry”
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Tomás Irish @tomasirish.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Delighted be part of this excellent volume. Thanks to @heatherlwellis.bsky.social and @capandgown.bsky.social for overseeing the project to completion!
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
So...it finally arrived 🥳 A Cultural History of Higher Learning in the Age of Industry Edited with @capandgown.bsky.social and published with @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social With contributions from @tomasirish.bsky.social, @stuartjones.bsky.social, @echomikeromeo.bsky.social and others #histed
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Royal Historical Society @royalhistsoc.org · 16/02/2026
On Weds we'll be with historians at Sheffield Hallam University & University of Sheffield for the next RHS visit with academics and history practitioners in the city. Our visit ends with a guest lecture by Prof David Stack (Reading) to which all are welcome www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/history-an... 1/2
eventbrite.co.uk
History and Well-Being: a Historian's Perspective
A public lecture as part of the Royal Historical Society's visit to historians at Sheffield Hallam University and University of Sheffield
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Stephanie Olsen @stephanieolsen.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Thank you Yoonmi Lee, I am happy that scholars are benefitting from our double SI in History of Education, the product of much wonderful collaboration between multiple authors and editors.
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Stephanie Olsen @stephanieolsen.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Thanks @heatherlwellis.bsky.social for bringing this to my attention and to you and Mark for being such excellent co-editors.
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Some nice comments on our double SI @stephanieolsen.bsky.social and Mark Freeman! 'the recent special issue of History of Education (2023), which represents a significant initiative to redefine and expand the field by challenging its traditionally Eurocentric focus.' #histed doi.org/10.4000/1489i
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Royal Historical Society @royalhistsoc.org · 02/02/2026
What changes were made to REF2029 as part of last December's 'unpausing'; and what are the likely implications - positive and negative - for History and the wider humanities? New on the RHS blog: bit.ly/3ZIfe0P #Skystorians @artsandhums.bsky.social
Opening screen of Royal Historical Society blog post: 'With December’s restart, what next for REF2029 and for History?'

Full abstract: On 10 December 2025, Research England announced the ‘unpausing’ of REF2029 and, with it, completion of a three-month review of the terms and principles of the next assessment exercise.

The messaging that accompanied December’s announcement was clear: a more pragmatic, less burdensome REF template is ‘back on track’, with attention soon to move to the work of criteria setting by subject panels.

However, December marked more than resumption after a temporary halt. The updates announced are extensive and include significant changes to the structure and content of REF2029.

Here, we summarise and review the key headlines. This post also considers the implications of these changes, with reference to History and the wider humanities. These include positives, notably changes to the portability of books and to impact case studies.

But there are also concerns, most notably in relation to the new-look environment element and changes to the form and weighting of its assessment. These put at risk the central REF principle of ‘rewarding excellence wherever it is found’.
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Royal Historical Society @royalhistsoc.org · 31/01/2026
Early career historians, studying for an MA or PhD in #history or a cognate subject, are invited to join the Royal Historical Society as Postgraduate Members bit.ly/4kknnCb Applications are welcome at any time: next closing dates: 9 March and 11 May 2026 #Skystorians 1/2
bit.ly
Apply for Postgraduate Membership - RHS
Closing dates for next applications: Mondays 9 March and 11 May 2026   The Society's Postgraduate Membership is for those studying History, or a cognate subject, at a higher level (from Masters to PhD...
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Dr Heather Ellis @heatherlwellis.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Excited to see the first in a series of articles (& future virtual special issue) of @hisjournalha.bsky.social coming out of the 'Communities of Knowledge-Making' workshop I organised w. Martha Vandrei at @brlsi.bsky.social in June 2024. Congratulations Julia! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
‘Mere Amateurs’? Elementary Teachers and the Making of Scientific Authority in the British Child Study Movement
This article offers new perspectives on the relationship between elementary teaching, scientific expertise and the professionalization of the human sciences. Previous scholarship has demonstrated the...
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IHR Life Cycles seminar @ihrlifecycles.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
We enjoyed two seminars from the School Meals team. There was a lot of it to discuss and we only really touched on it. It is interesting to read how the project is continuing and great to see how it is having an impact. 😀
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Royal Historical Society @royalhistsoc.org · 22/01/2026
Very good to see Heather's research on the history of school meals provision being widely shared today. An excellent example of the value and application of historical research in contemporary policymaking. @heatherlwellis.bsky.social was a superb guest lecturer at a recent RHS visit #Skystorians
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