CV/Professional Experience

About Me:

I am a neurodivergent, growth-minded Educational Psychologist whose practice is grounded in solution-focused, relational and collaborative working. I intentionally immerse myself in the contexts I work within, recognising that meaningful and sustainable change emerges from deep understanding, shared formulation and psychologically safe relationships. I bring a proactive and reflective approach, drawing on strong systems thinking to support individuals, groups, and organisations in moving forward in complex and dynamic situations. My work is underpinned by curiosity, creativity and adaptability, enabling me to respond flexibly to need while maintaining a clear psychological purpose. As a neurodivergent professional, my self-awareness and relational style inform how I work with others, allowing me to attune to difference, amplify under-heard voices and support inclusive, compassionate practice. I am committed to ongoing learning, reflection and development, and to working alongside others to create realistic, evidence-informed approaches that lead to positive and lasting outcomes for children and young people.

Skills and Areas of Interest:

Relational and interpersonal practice: Strong relational skills, with the ability to adapt communication to different contexts, ages and audiences. I work in ways that promote psychological safety, accessibility and meaningful engagement, ensuring that all voices are heard, valued and captured within decision-making processes.

Solution-focused and creative practice: A solution-focused practitioner with a clear goal of facilitating positive change. I draw on a range of approaches and creative strategies to support individuals, groups, and systems in moving forward in realistic and achievable ways.

Assessment, consultation and formulation: Skilled in using a range of assessment approaches and consultation models, ensuring that hypotheses and psychological formulations are evidence-based and triangulated through multiple sources of information.

Youth justice and early intervention: Doctoral research focused on youth justice and the self-efficacy of Educational Psychologists and other professionals working with children and young people who offend. I am currently developing and delivering a pilot exploring a specialist EP role within Youth Offending Teams and partnership work with external agencies, including the police, as part of early help and prevention initiatives.

Specialist provision and complex needs: Competent in working within specialist educational environments, independently managing a portfolio of four specialist schools. This includes experience supporting autistic pupils, SEMH and mental health needs, communication and interaction profiles, and children and young people with more complex learning difficulties.

Systems, vulnerability and inclusion: A strong interest in how education systems and provisions can work collaboratively to support vulnerable children and young people with complex and intersecting needs. I am particularly committed to centring the voice of the child or young person, developing shared understanding across services, and supporting solution-focused, realistic planning to promote consistency and inclusion across settings.

Experience:

I completed my Doctorate in Educational, Child and Community Psychology at the University of Exeter in August 2025 and commenced my qualified role as an Educational Psychologist within a local authority in September 2025, following two years of doctoral placement within the same service. I also completed a placement within a second local authority, which provided valuable exposure to differing systems, models of practice and contextual approaches to educational psychology service delivery. I bring over twelve years of experience working directly with children and young people across a wide range of roles and settings, supporting individuals aged approximately two to twenty-four. My professional background includes working as a Head of Year and Designated Safeguarding Lead in a mainstream secondary school, as well as experience as an Educational Specialist within a Youth Offending Team, where I contributed to early intervention work with children and young people at risk of offending. These roles, alongside my doctoral and postdoctoral practice, have developed my ability to work confidently within emotionally sensitive, high-risk, and complex situations with purpose, calm, and psychological containment. I am trained to an advanced level in child protection and safeguarding.

Alongside my statutory role, I have founded and continue to run a private practice supporting children and young people with special educational needs through tutoring, mentoring and psychological support for over a decade. This work enables sustained, relational engagement with young people and their families, informing my applied understanding of adaptive teaching, evidence-based interventions such as precision teaching, and the realities of implementing these approaches within educational settings. This strengthens my ability to provide credible, practical and realistic recommendations to schools and to train staff with confidence. Earlier in my career, I worked for several years as a judo coach, supporting children and young people in developing self-regulation, confidence, and resilience through structured, relational, and values-led practice. I have also worked as an agency teaching assistant across a range of schools and local authorities, ensuring a strong grounding in diverse school contexts, cultures and ways of working prior to undertaking doctoral training.

In my current local authority role, I independently manage a portfolio of approximately fourteen schools, alongside additional provisions and children educated at home as part of statutory EHC needs assessment processes. I am the Educational Psychologist for a range of specialist provisions, including settings that support autistic pupils, those with SEMH and mental health needs, children and young people with communication and interaction profiles, and those with complex learning difficulties. This is my third year working closely with specialist provisions. I am confident in supporting post-16 pathways and preparation for adulthood planning, working with young people, their families, and services to facilitate effective transition and future planning. My work with schools extends beyond individual casework to systemic development and capacity building. I support schools in developing and refining their SEND systems and processes, including SEND support pathways, record-keeping, provision mapping, staff allocation, and aligning interventions to identified needs. I work collaboratively with senior leadership teams to strengthen inclusive practices, prioritise needs, and ensure that systems are sustainable, evidence-informed, and responsive to context.

I deliver training and consultation at whole-school and group levels, including Mediated Learning Support Assistant (MeLSA) training, solution circles, staff supervision and targeted consultation. I am trained in Video Interaction Guidance (VIG), dynamic assessment, consultation models, and a range of play-based and standardised assessment approaches. My practice is grounded in evidence-based psychology and prioritises a graduated approach to support, with regular review points and openness to adapting approaches where initial strategies are not effective. I value creativity and flexibility in problem-solving, recognising that meaningful change often requires revisiting hypotheses and working differently as understanding develops. I have a specialist interest in vulnerability and exclusion, and currently lead the High Risk (Permanent Exclusion) Panel for the local area, supporting multi-agency understanding, planning, and decision-making for children and young people at risk of permanent exclusion. I work closely with education, social care, youth justice, attendance services, and wider partners to promote a shared understanding, consistency, and early intervention. I am experienced in supporting schools and services following critical incidents and have received additional training in critical incident response. I am working alongside senior leadership teams to develop and embed clear, psychologically informed critical incident processes, supporting staff wellbeing and organisational resilience. I routinely work collaboratively with services including CAMHS, forensic CAMHS, social care, EHCP teams and Prevent.

Across all aspects of my work, I prioritise collaborative, multi-agency practice, ensuring that the voice of the child or young person is central to planning and decision-making. I support schools in implementing strategies that are realistic, contextually appropriate, and genuinely impactful, with the clear aim of facilitating positive, sustainable change for children, young people, and the systems around them.