Neil Hall

Neil Hall

School of Education
Associate Professor, Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (SEBD)
Head of Part Time Postgraduate Programmes in the School of Education

Contact details

Address
School of Education
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston, Birmingham
B15 2TT, United Kingdom

Neil Hall is an Associate Professor in Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (SEBD) in the Department of Disability Inclusion and Special Needs and is the Programme Lead for postgraduate qualifications in SEBD.

Qualifications

  • BEd (Hons) (Sussex) Education and Geography
  • MA (Lancaster) Educational Research (Psychology & Social Science Research Methods)
  • MLitt (Aberdeen) Educational Psychology
  • PG Dip (Lancaster) Health Research (Mental Health)
  • AFBPsS (Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society)
  • CPsychol (Chartered Educational Psychologist; Chartered Forensic Psychologist) (BPS)
  • CSci (Chartered Scientist) (Science Council)
  • Statement of Competence in Educational Testing (BPS)

Biography

Neil has been the Head of a Child and Family Psychology Service within a Social Services Department; he has been the Head of and Consultant Psychologist in a Child & Family Clinical Psychology Service in the NHS and he has worked in an Adult Mental Health Clinical Psychology Specialty in an Adult Psychiatry hospital; previously, he has worked as a Consultant Psychologist in a Risk Assessment Project of the NSPCC.

Neil also qualified as a forensic psychologist and he regularly undertook Court work in regard to children who have been or are at risk of being maltreated; of those who have been charged with various criminal matters; and of parents with learning disabilities, substance misuse and or mental health problems.  He has written hundreds of reports and given evidence in more than 100 trials in the Magistrates, County and High Courts; he has also presented evidence to Adoption Panels and Special Needs Tribunals.   As a part of his continuing professional development, he undertook further postgraduate study as an Expert Witness in Family Work for the Courts.

Prior to his current post, Neil taught on various postgraduate programmes in special education and on initial and post qualification doctoral training courses in educational psychology in the School of Education at the University of Birmingham.  Neil is a Chartered Psychologist registered with the British Psychological Society (BPS).

He is currently a PhD candidate in Educational Research at Lancaster University. 

Teaching

Neil is the programme lead for SEBD courses at undergraduate (Advanced Certificate and Bachelor of Philosophy) and postgraduate (Postgraduate Certificate; Postgraduate Diploma; Master of Education) level, via distance education.  He also teaches a campus based SEBD postgraduate module for the MA programme in Education. 

Neil developed and was the module lead for a third-year undergraduate module 'Educational Psychology' for the BA (Honours) Education programme and he developed a Masters’ course in Mental Health and Education. He also contributes inputs to PGCE training, special education needs and disability courses and the doctoral programme in educational psychology and offers various inputs on mental health to the early years, primary and secondary teacher training programmes.

Postgraduate supervision

Neil has been a co-supervisor for a range of PhD and EdD students who have successfully completed their doctoral degrees on SEBD and SEND topics - these include: the attachment friendly classroom; SEBD and outdoor education; SEBD provision in Kenya; neglected children; and, specifically, in relation to Saudi Arabia:  teachers’ perceptions of using ICT with students with learning disabilities; obstacles facing the implementation of including children with SEN in primary schools; attitudes towards including learners with SEN; training teachers in relation to ADHD. 

He has also supervised research for various MPhil, MSc, MEd, MA, BPhil and BA dissertation students on topics including the mental health of higher education students with dyslexia; teachers’ strategies for enhancing ADHD pupils’ attention skills; and Learning Support Zones for pupils with SEBD. 

Neil is currently co-supervising EdD/PhD students researching: the quality of non-maintained special school provision; inclusive pedagogy in Bahrain and England;  teachers with a disability; and trauma-informed teaching of Shakespeare.

Research

Research interests

  • Learning and teaching in higher education
  • Student mental health in higher education
  • Child and family forensic psychology and mental health – risk assessment; parent-child interactions; contact
  • Teachers’ models of mental health and psychological well-being;

Neil has previously been awarded a Research Fellowship by the NHS Health Action Zone Programme to develop an assessment and treatment programme for parents with mental health problems where child-care might be a cause for concern. 

He has also been awarded Social Science Research Council scholarships for PGT and PGR study at Lancaster University.

Publications

Recent publications

Book

Hall, N & Stone, K 2011, Assessing Children at Risk (In preparation). Palgrave Macmillan.

Article

MacLeod, A, Sandland, B, Hall, N & chown, N 2023, 'Accommodation through personalisation: ensuring the autistic student has an equal opportunity for success in the PhD viva voce', Journal of Further and Higher Education, vol. 47, no. 10, pp. 1404-1419. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2023.2250740

Sandland, B, MacLeod, A & Hall, N 2023, 'Neurodiverse students within higher education: initial thoughts from a collaborative project', Good Autism Practice, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 13-22. <https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bild/gap/2023/00000024/00000002/art00004#>

Sandland, B, MacLeod, A & Hall, N 2023, 'Neurodiverse students within higher education - initial thoughts from a collaborative project', Education in Practice, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 26-37. <https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/hefi/documents/public/journal/v4-i1/neurodiverse-students-within-he.pdf>

Delbauve, M, Hall, N, Hall, S, Stolberg, T & Wilson, K 2017, 'Collaborative conversations: developing a new way to view and approach peer-observation', Education in Practice, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 19-21. <https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/teaching-academy/documents/public/EiP-June-2017/Delbauve-et-al-Collaborative-Conversations.pdf>

[No Value], NV, Douglas, G, Hodges, E, McLinden, M & Hall, N 2004, 'Current conceptions of literacy - insights from work with children and older learners with sensory needs', Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 82-90. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-3802.2004.00022.x

Chapter

Upton, G, Varma, V & Hall, N 1996, Physical and sexual abuse. in Stresses in Teachers of Children with Special Educational Needs.

Other contribution

Hall, N 1997, Child Protection: Comprehensive Assessment Schedule and Guidelines: Co-author of guidance and training materials, Birmingham Social Services Department..

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