Dr Daniel Cumber 

Dan is an HCPC registered Educational, Child and Community Psychologist (Doctor of Applied Educational and Child Psychology), who applies psychology to support the wellbeing and progress of children and young people aged 0-25 years. Dan works by empowering children and young people, their families and key adults in schools and the community to work towards meaningful and lasting change and improve outcomes for CYP with and without Special, Educational, Needs and Disabilities (SEND). This means that he aims to work together with you to give children and young people the skills they need to flourish in life and increase their independence in a realistic, evidence-based and proactive manner.

As an EP Dan will work with you to facilitate positive change for children and young people, encompassing all those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), especially those in need of support including those in society’s more marginalised groups. Dan aims to empower all those involved in change processes through the application of psychology at the level of the individual, group/community and organisation (School/Local Authority).

A bit about working with me...

As an ethical, reflective and person-centred practitioner, I apply psychological skills and knowledge to negotiate appropriate involvement which will best meet the needs of the child or young person at the centre of the request. Empowerment and building capacity in ecological systems at home and school to proactively and positively respond to children's needs will be at the heart of the work. This means that the work will aim to ensure that all voices in the process will be heard and acted on, especially those from marginalised groups. Any work with me will be designed to achieve meaningful positive outcomes for the child or young person at its centre

In line with restorative and relational practice, I commit to working collaboratively ‘WITH’ all stakeholders as opposed to doing 'TO’ them. All my work will endeavour to be conducted with equal power attributions, empowerment collaboration and support between people involved in the change process, known as ‘equal change partners’. This could be the children/young people, parents/carers/ teaching assistants/teachers, Sencos and/or senior leaders or any other key adult in a child’s life.

My key professional values are respect and dignity, equity, transparency, responsibility and integrity and I am committed to promoting inclusive, socially just and positive processes and outcomes for children and young people. This work allows me to use the power of psychology to empower those in the change process to help themselves, build capacity to respond to needs in systems (schools and home) and balance the focus of work on preventative approaches as well as working in reactive situations.

As a professional, I am aligned with social justice which is defined as follows:

Social justice is both a process and a goal that requires action. Educational psychologists work to ensure the protection of the educational rights, opportunities, and well-being of all children, especially those whose voices have been muted, identities obscured, or needs ignored. Social justice requires promoting non-discriminatory (anti-oppressive) practices and the empowerment of families and communities. Educational psychologists work towards social justice through culturally-responsive professional practice and advocacy to create schools, communities, and systems that ensure equity and fairness for all

(Adapted from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), 2020).