I gained my BA (Hons) in Psychology and Management at The University of Bradford and went on to complete my MSc in Developmental Disorders of Learning and Cognition at the University of York. I went on to do my PhD investigating the Parallels Between Word and Action Learning in 3 and 4 year olds at the University of Hull, supervised by Dr Kevin Riggs.
Following my PhD I went on to work as a Dissertation Supervisor a Research Project Coordinator for a large scale numerical project run by Dr Silke Goebel in the Department of Psychology at the University of York. I then moved over the Department of Education, University of York, where I was Postdoctoral Research Fellow for the Better Start Bradford Language and Communication Stream in the Psychology and Education Research Centre (PERC). I am also the Research and Evaluation Lead for the North Yorkshire Coast Research Schools.
I am currently an Associate Lecturer on the Psychology in Education (PiE) programmes and I am also a Trial Manager on the ParentChild+ Evaluation Team.
My research area is in the field of early language development, particularly in how children learn the meanings of words. I also have a keen interest in the effects of deprivation on early language development and how the home learning environment can support early development.
My expertise is in the evaluation of language and numerical based interventions, particularly focused in the early years and primary education settings. I am also interested in behavioural based interventions within secondary schools.