Specialist Spotlight: Person Centred Learning – Listening and Working with Learners and Their Families (Secondary/FE)

Meet your trainer

Holly Beavon

Educational Psychologist

As I sat here writing this, reflecting on the journey I took to practice as an Educational Psychologist, one thing that comes to mind are the reasons why I wanted to become an EP and how my interests evolved. From an early age, I was interested in the ‘why,’ ‘why do certain people behave in the way that they do?.’ This interest evolved further when I discovered that there were several interpretations from a single event from a range of people. However, in certain groups and contexts certain voices/perspectives were marginalised, discredited and at times not even considered. Based on this experience I was eager to think around how we can provide platforms to hear from the perspectives of those that can often be marginalised such as children and young people. I recognise the importance of hearing children and young people’s lived experiences and what is important to them. A further interest I have is the use of language and how this shapes individuals’ identities and their understanding of themselves.

Based on these interests, and my learning of psychology at University, I was eager to apply psychology in practice. I completed the Doctor of Educational Psychology in 2020 – 2023. I then went on to work as an Educational Psychologist in 2023 at Nottinghamshire Educational Psychology Service. I continue to learn, and each day is different, but I love that I have been able to build my interests into my work, and this is what makes each day enjoyable and interesting!