Dr Anita Soni

Dr Anita Soni

School of Education
Academic and professional tutor

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0)121 414 3603
Email
a.soni@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
School of Education
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston, Birmingham
B15 2TT

Anita is interested in working with children and their families in their early years of life, between birth and 7 years. She is enthusiastic about developing the skills of the Children’s Workforce, especially those working in Children’s Centres, and early childhood/years provision in the maintained, voluntary and independent sectors. This includes teachers, managers, teaching assistants, Family Support Workers, early years practitioners and childminders. She has used a range of approaches to enable this including training, group supervision and consultation. Anita’s particular interests are early childhood, Children’s Centres, the Key Person approach, personal, social and emotional development and supervision, video interactive guidance (VIG) and video enhanced reflective practice (VERP).

Qualifications

  • Professional Doctorate in Educational Psychology, University of Birmingham, 2010
  • Member of British Psychological Society (BPS) and Health Professional Council (HPC)
  • MSc in Educational Psychology, University of Birmingham, 2002
  • BSc in Psychology, Open University, 2000
  • MA in Education, University of Central England, 1999 
  • PGCE, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, 1991
  • BA in History and Social Policy, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, 1990

Biography

Anita Soni qualified with a BA (Hons) in History and Social policy and immediately trained as a teacher with a specialism in early years at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne. After teaching in Sunderland for 3 years, Anita moved to Birmingham, and taught at three primary schools before applying to become an Educational Psychologist (EP) on the current Masters in Educational Psychology programme.

After qualifying as an EP, Anita worked within the Educational Psychology Service in Worcestershire Children’s Services, continuing to have an interest in work with children aged 0-5. In 2008 Anita became a Senior EP and worked for the Early Years Childcare Service, and Extended Services to Schools and Children’s Centres. She supervised trainee EPs on placement in Worcestershire, and took on a role as a Core Tutor for Year 1 students, before joining the Academic and Professional Tutor Team in 2010.

Teaching

Anita teaches on the Doctorate in Applied Educational and Child Psychology programme.

If you are interested in postgraduate research, please visit our dedicated postgraduate webpages.

Research

2015 - 2018 Improving the curriculum and teaching methods to influence policy and increase the quality of ECDE provision for children with disabilities in Malawi 

Research interests include;

  • Use of video interactive guidance (VIG) and video enhanced reflective practice (VERP)
  • The use of group supervision
  • EP role in Children’s Centres and early childhood provision
  • Children’s participation rights

Other activities

  • Director of Early Years Solutions Ltd 
  • Member of the Executive for TACTYC - Association for the Professional Development of Early Years Educators
  • Chair for Friends of Signpost Inclusion

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Chibbra, P & Soni, A 2024, 'How multiple identities shape Pakistani mothers’ experiences of working with EPs', Educational and Child Psychology.

Mansfield, E & Soni, A 2024, '‘I have it, so I understand it, I feel it’: The secondary school experiences of adolescent females With ADHD in England', Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, pp. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.12660

Soni, A 2024, 'Reflections from developing an inclusive set of workshops for parents of children with disabilities in Kenya and applying this to an English context', Educational Psychology Research and Practice (EPRAP), vol. 10, no. 1.

Halton, L & Soni, A 2023, 'Exploration of supervisees’ experiences of a transcultural supervision activity', Educational and Child Psychology, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 69-83. https://doi.org/10.53841/bpsecp.2023.40.4.69

Soni, A & Callicott, K 2023, 'Exploring contracts and contracting within supervisor training', Educational and Child Psychology, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 44-55. https://doi.org/10.53841/bpsecp.2023.40.4.44

Soni, A, Fong, H & Janda, T 2022, 'An exploration of two supervisors’ engagement in a transcultural supervision exercise to support culturally responsive supervision with trainee educational psychologists (TEPs)', Educational Psychology in Practice, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 194-213. https://doi.org/10.1080/02667363.2022.2059450

Soni, A, Reyes Soto, M & Lynch, P 2022, 'A review of the factors affecting children with disabilities’ successful transition to early childhood care and primary education in sub-Saharan Africa', Journal of Early Childhood Research, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 59-79. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X211035428

Fong, H & Soni, A 2022, 'A systematic review on test anxiety in children and young people with learning difficulties', Support for Learning, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 21-43. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9604.12393

Soni, A 2022, 'Coordinating intervention: supporting children with disabilities in Malawi' International Teacher magazine. <https://consiliumeducation.com/itm/2022/02/07/coordinating-intervention/>

Soni, A, Moss, A, Townsend, H, Webb, F, James, K & Davis, A 2022, 'Creative uses of video – bringing family and school staff together to problem solve and celebrate', Attuned Interactions, vol. 9, pp. 1-5. <https://attunedinteraction.wixsite.com/mysite/copy-of-small-things-make-a-big-dif>

Soni, A 2022, 'Transdisciplinary intervention: Supporting children with disabilities in Malawi' International Teacher magazine. <https://consiliumeducation.com/itm/2022/05/27/disciplinary-intervention/>

Hickinbotham, L & Soni, A 2021, 'A systematic literature review exploring the views and experiences of children and young people of the label Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH)', Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 135-150. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2021.1894743

Soni, A, Fong, H & Janda, T 2021, 'Culturally responsive supervision: a reflective account on the value of acknowledging and working with difference within supervision', Educational and Child Psychology, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 24-34.

Chapter

Dunsmuir, S, Soni, A & Wright, S 2024, School and Educational Psychology Training: Cultural Considerations, Issues and Future Directions. in C Hatzichristou, BK Nastasi & SR Jimerson (eds), Handbook of School Psychology in a Global Context: Transnational Approaches to Support Children, Families and School Communities. 1 edn, Springer, pp. 379-395. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-69541-4_22

Editorial

Barrow, W, Birchwood, J, Callicott, K, Soni, A & Watson, T 2023, 'Editorial', Educational and Child Psychology, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 5-6. https://doi.org/10.53841/bpsecp.2023.40.4.5

View all publications in research portal

Expertise

early childhood, supervision, nursery/early years