Dr Helen Smith

I am a Chartered Educational Psychologist with a wide range of experience working in Local Authority Educational Psychology Services across the East Midlands and West Midlands.

I have a Doctorate of Applied Educational Psychology from the University of Nottingham. Prior to training as an Educational Psychologist, I worked as an Assistant Psychologist in a CAMHS funded project providing therapeutic support and early intervention work with children, young people and their families.   

For the first ten years of my career, I was a primary school teacher and senior leader, working in schools across Leicestershire.

I am a Chartered Member of the British Psychological Society and a registered member of the Health and Care Professions Council.

I offer a range of assessment, intervention, advice and consultation to support children, young people, their families and schools. During recent months, this has included:

• Using dynamic assessment approaches to understand barriers to learning for individual children and young people, and to identify useful next steps to support their learning progress.

• Using Cognitive Behavioural approaches with children and young people, and the adults around them, to understand anxiety and to promote helpful thinking, behaviours and habits.

• Using a SCERTS framework with staff to develop their understanding of a child in their Autism Specific Unit, and to collaboratively plan additional support strategies to promote his social and emotional development.

• Providing advice and support to school staff during monthly multi professional Inclusion Forums, with case discussions spanning the full range of special educational need.

I am experienced in working with schools and families to understand children’s strengths and needs in their social communication and interaction development. This includes contributing to multi-agency discussions as part of the Leicester City, Leicestershire and Rutland ASD pathway.

I have knowledge and skills in a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods which I have used to support schools in identifying and meeting their strategic development needs.  

I have experience of creating and delivering a wide range of training packages for educational settings, and have coordinated the ELSA programme for a Local Authority.  Training I have recently delivered includes:

• ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant training).

• Understanding and Supporting Children with Attentional Difficulties, including ADHD.

• Literacy Difficulties and ‘Dyslexia’: Understanding what it means and how we can support.

• Selective Mutism and Reluctant Speakers.

I also support in the delivery of doctoral training activities for Trainee Educational Psychologists at the University of Nottingham.