Academic Team
James Archer
CEO
James Archer has worked in education for over 20 years and has extensive experience working with children and young people. James was a primary school educator and science advisor before gaining his Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCHE) and becoming a Senior Lecturer in Primary Education at Canterbury Christ Church University. James became the Primary Science, Mathematics Manager and School Research Coordinator at Bradford College and then served as the director of the International Montessori Institute at Leeds Beckett University. This is now a world-leading research centre on early years and Montessori education. James gained his Doctor of Ministry (Theology) in 2018 from York St John University. He is now the Chief Executive Officer for The Institute for Children, Youth and Mission and oversees CYM’s strategic direction and partnerships with churches and other organisations across the UK.
James is the author and contributor to several books, including:
- Primary Science for Trainee Teachers London: Sage, (2014)
- Inspiring Primary Learners: Insights and Inspiration across the Curriculum (2021)
Current Teaching/Responsibilities
Chief Executive Officer for The Institute for Children, Youth and Mission.
Leading the CYM academic team and national strategic oversight.
Research Interest
James is currently completing a professional doctorate exploring the role of the Montessori method in supporting agency and liberation for children in faith-based settings.
Contact Details
Email: james.archer@cym.ac.uk
Address: CYM, 16 Commerce Square, Nottingham, NG1 1HS
Phone: 0115 777 0102
Robin Smith
Course Director
Robin is an educator in community-based Practical Theology and has over 13 years of community youth work experience in various contexts. He is the Academic Studies Manager and Principal Lecturer at The Institute for Children, Youth and Mission. Robin completed his degree at London Bible College and his MA in Youth and Community Work and Applied Theology (The Centre for Youth Ministry) from the University of Gloucester, Cheltenham. Robin has qualified teacher status in Secondary Religious Education from Leeds Trinity University and has tutored several ministry training courses over the past 15 years, including the Oasis College of Higher Education London and Nazarene Theological College, Manchester. Robin is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy Distinction Advance HE: York and is currently completing his doctoral studies exploring the intersection of faith-based work and a broader application of spirituality in society.
Current Teaching/Responsibilities
Robin oversees CYM courses and supports students in their learning and discipleship journeys.
Research Interest
Robin is currently completing a Professional Doctoral in Education.
Contact Details
Email: robin.smith@cym.ac.uk
Address: CYM, 16 Commerce Square, Nottingham, NG1 1HS
Phone: 0115 777 0102
Rachel Turner
Senior Lecturer
Rachel Turner has worked within family, youth and children’s ministry for over 18 years. After serving full-time in multiple churches, she then went on to found Parenting for Faith in partnership with BRF. Through her and her team’s work, they have created multiple online courses, resources and podcasts to enable parents and carers to disciple their children and for church leaders to create a parenting for faith culture within their communities. She is an international speaker and the author of ten books. In her work, she has consulted and partnered with national denominations and regional networks to enable growth in intergenerational church, robust family ministry, and church culture change. With a BA in Cultural Anthropology and MScEcon in Critical Security Studies, she has guest lectured with Cliff College, Moorlands College and St. Padarn’s.
Rachel is the author and contributor to several books including:
- Parenting Children for a Life of Faith (2010)
- It Takes a Church to Raise a Parent (2018)
- Parenting as a Church Leader (2020)
- Healthy Faith and the Coronavirus Crisis (2020)
Current Teaching/Responsibilities
Lecturing on leadership, intergenerational theory and practice, and household faith.
Research Interest
Rachel is interested in researching culture change within churches from an anthropological perspective, unique parenting contexts, and discipleship as culturally embedded patterns.
Contact Details
Email: rachel.turner@cym.ac.uk
Address: CYM, 16 Commerce Square, Nottingham, NG1 1HS
Phone: 0115 777 0102
Dr. Graham Bright
Senior Lecturer
Graham has been involved in youth and community work for over 30 years and is a qualified counsellor (MA). He has taught various programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, including Childhood and Youth Studies, Early Childhood Studies, Counselling, Education Studies, and Sociology. After gaining his Certificate in Education (FE) and a Diploma in Counselling from Darlington College, Graham got his MSc in Youth Work and Community Development (with Distinction) (Social Sciences and Law) from Teeside University Middlesborough. Graham was a lecturer in (Heath and Social Care) at Darlington College and a Senior Lecturer (Education and Theology) at York St John University. Graham completed his PhD (Department of Sociology) at Durham University in 2021, examining youth workers' histories, motivations, and practices.
Graham is the author and contributor to several books and journals, including:
- From Neoliberalism to Neopopulism: How Grassroots Faith Communities are Resisting Division and Crossing Borders (2021)
- Journal- Radical Community Work
- Child and Young Person-Centred Approaches: The Handbook of Counselling Children and Young People (2018)
Current Teaching/Responsibilities
Graham currently teaches across various modules on undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Practical Theology at the Institute for Children, Youth, and Mission.
Research Interest
Graham's Ph.D. focussed on Searching for Meaning: Learning from Youth Workers' Lives, Formation, and Profession in Austere Times- a Critical Narrative Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis.
Contact Details
Email: graham.bright@cym.ac.uk
Address: CYM, 16 Commerce Square, Nottingham, NG1 1HS
Phone: 0115 777 0102
Nigel Roberts
Lecturer
Nigel has worked in youth work and education for 38 years. He led several local centres for Youth for Christ before joining head office as Education Advisor. Nigel continues in this role as he tutors students at the Institute for Children, Youth, and Mission, where he has created and contributed to many of the CYM chaplaincy courses and developed working standards for Chaplains with children and young people. Nigel is a qualified drama teacher and was a community chaplain in a secondary school for 17 years. Nigel also works for the Saltley Trust, developing chaplaincy initiatives in Further Education across the West Midlands. He has a passion for drama and its place in youth work and ministry and led the professional theatre company Red River Theatre for 15 years, winning several awards and performing around the country and in front of the United Nations.
Nigel has contributed to several books and journals, including:
- Core Standards of Christian with Children and Young People, CYM, (2019) Nigel Roberts & Rev. Dr. Sally Nash & Dr. Paul Nash
- Drama and Faith: Using the Arts to Communicate the Christian Faith, Grove, (2022)
Research Interest
His research interests focus on the theology of chaplaincy and models of chaplaincy, particularly in education. He is also interested in spiritual development in schools and colleges and how it is taught and evaluated. He continues to research the use of drama in youth work.
Contact Details
Email: nigel.roberts@cym.ac.uk
Address: CYM, 16 Commerce Square, Nottingham, NG1 1HS
Phone: 0115 777 0102
Dave Horsfall
Associate Tutor
Dave leads the CYM module CYU402 Practical Theology and Biblical Studies. Dave also lectures at St Hild Theological College, teaching Introduction to New Testament, and previously taught a Level 5 Christology Module. Dave is the Director of Leeds School of Theology, which delivers informal theological education to Christians in local churches. Dave was also in senior church leadership for seven years with Mosaic Church Leeds. In 2017 he completed a PGDip in Theology, Mission, and Ministry with Durham University and then an MA in 2020. Dave is a Ph.D. Theology Student at Durham University, focusing on New Testament studies.
Current Teaching/Responsibilities
Dave teaches and tutors Practical Theology and Biblical Studies at the Institute for Children, Youth, and Mission.
Research Interest
Dave's research interests are New Testament studies and Biblical studies in general. He is currently working on a thesis looking at Mark's Gospel as an apocalyptic narrative and how this affects the way the familial pericopes in Mark are best understood.
Contact Details
Email: dave.horsfall@cym.ac.uk
Address: CYM, 16 Commerce Square, Nottingham, NG1 1HS
Phone: 0115 777 0102
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