[2][3] She later gained a Master of Arts (MA) degree from the UCL Institute of Education, and a PhD from the University of York in 1999 with a thesis on "a socio-political analysis of the personal growth ideology of English teaching".

In 1991, Bousted became a lecturer at the University of York, her alma mater, and was appointed its director of initial teacher training in 1995.

[9] Bousted and Courtney were succeeded by Daniel Kebede as the sole general secretary of the NEU in September 2023.

[10] On 14 September 2016, Bousted was elected President of the Trades Union Congress, replacing Liz Snape of Unison.

[14] In late 2024, Bousted was nominated for a Labour Party life peerage by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

[15][16] She was created Baroness Bousted, of Bleasdale in the County of Lancashire, on 27 January 2025,[17] and was introduced to the House of Lords on 6 February.