Dr Ben Jeffes (DEdPsy Gdip PGCE BAHons)
I am an Educational Psychologist providing independent advice on the educational needs of children. I gained my doctorate in Child, Educational and Adolescent Psychology from the Institute of Education, London in 2013 having previously been awarded a Graduate Diploma in Psychology from the University of East London and a PGCE in Primary Education from the Institute of Education. Prior to my psychology training I worked as a primary school teacher both in Central London and in Essex.
I have been working as an Educational Psychologist for 10 years. I completed my training placements in Enfield, Essex and Barking & Dagenham, then spent 3 years working for Hertfordshire County Council and was made a Senior Educational Psychologist in 2015. I currently work in private practice and as an Associate Educational Psychologist for the London Borough of Harrow and for Hertfordshire County Council. This includes work with nursery-age children all the way up to university students with a wide range of social, behavioural and learning needs. I provide assessments and reports for Special Educational Needs tribunals, attend tribunal hearings and have acted as a Special Educational Needs expert for Hertfordshire. I have also been an honorary member of the Institute of Education, UCL tutoring team for their Professional Doctorate in Child, Educational and Adolescent Psychology. Alongside my Local Authority work I do educational assessments for solicitors in SEN tribunals and medico-legal cases. I also do consultation work for private schools including Fairley House (one of London's leading schools for children with Specific Learning Difficulties) and Ellern Mede (a private children's hospital in North London).
My doctoral thesis was on the subject of supporting children with severe reading difficulties and this is a particular area of interest for me. I have completed accredited training on supporting children who have attachment difficulties and associated emotional and behavioural concerns. My work in this area has involved delivering extensive training to school staff to help them develop a nurturing approach in their schools in order to create a supportive, safe environment for these children.
I work primarily in North London, Hertfordshire, Cambridge, Bedfordshire, Essex and the surrounding counties.
Memberships
I am registered with the Health Care Professions Council and am a member of the Association of Educational Psychologists.
Publications
Ben Jeffes (2019) The Primary Behaviour Cookbook & Secondary Behaviour Cookbook, Educational Psychology in Practice, DOI: 10.1080/02667363.2019.1625241
Ben Jeffes (2018) Crayons and iPads, Educational Psychology in Practice, DOI: 10.1080/02667363.2018.1439322
Ben Jeffes (2017) Uniquely human: a different way of seeing autism, Educational Psychology in Practice, 33:1, 105-105, DOI: 10.1080/02667363.2017.1283907
Ben Jeffes (2016) Raising the reading skills of secondary-age students with severe and persistent reading difficulties: evaluation of the efficacy and implementation of a phonics-based intervention programme, Educational Psychology in Practice, 32:1, 73-84, DOI: 10.1080/02667363.2015.1111198
Guest on Podcast “The Allusionist” discussing how young children acquire and develop a sense of self-identify, 2016. Available on iTunes and Soundcloud
Ben Jeffes (2014) Word journeys: assessment-guided phonics, spelling and vocabulary instruction (2nd edition), Educational Psychology in Practice,30:3, 327-328, DOI: 10.1080/02667363.2014.927137
Presented research findings at the Division of Educational and Child Psychologists Conference, Oxford, 2014
Ben Jeffes & Caroline Edmonds (2009) Does having a drink help you think? 6–7-Year-old children show improvements in cognitive performance from baseline to test after having a drink of water, Appetite, 53:3, 469-472, DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2009.10.002
