I am a developmental psychologist and my work focuses on improving children’s wellbeing. My research has included projects exploring the impact of screen time on physical and psychological development, why children may be at risk of being bitten by a dog and children’s developing creative abilities.

Current projects I am involved with include:

1. Exploring how children use technology and investigating how their digital resilience can be supported at home and school.
2. Exploring how humour and playfulness are used in educational contexts with the aim of supporting teachers to facilitate children’s learning while nurturing their psychological wellbeing.

I am Director of Staffordshire University’s Psychology Children’s Lab and known for my methodological expertise in designing both qualitative and quantitative research involving infants, children, and young people. This includes traditional approaches such as using standardized tests and validating self-report measures as well as more creative methods such as play-based observational tasks, analysing children’s drawings, paired interviews and using PhotoVoice.

Alongside my research as a developmental psychologist, I engage in pedagogic research, specifically focusing on university students experiences and engagement with assessment feedback. I am a member of SCoLPP and currently involved in projects exploring perceived barriers that students experience to engaging with assessment feedback.

I rejoined Staffordshire University as a Lecturer in Developmental Psychology in September 2014 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in May 2019. Prior to this I spent time working at Keele University, the Open University and in the NHS as an assistant psychologist. My roots are at Staffordshire University though as this is where I studied my Undergraduate degree and then a PhD in Psychology.