Helen Manley

My research focuses on the role of primary school teachers in supporting and managing anxiety in children. I am investigating whether the way in which teachers manage their classrooms day-to-day can have positive effects on anxiety. My project aims to develop and assess the feasibility of a classroom management training intervention designed to help teachers respond to, and ultimately reduce, anxiety in primary school-aged children. 

My DPhil is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration Oxford and Thames Valley at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. 

Biography

I received a BA (Hons) in Modern Languages from the University of Oxford in 2001 before working in Communications for an international organisation supporting children at risk for 7 years. After completing a PGCE in 2009, I began working as a primary school teacher in Oxford where I have spent the last 11 years teaching across the primary age range. In 2017, I was awarded an MA in Education from Oxford Brookes University. My final dissertation focused on the effectiveness of school-based counselling interventions in reducing anxiety in primary school children. I am currently a DPhil student in the Department of Psychiatry, supervised by Professor Cathy Creswell and Dr Tessa Reardon.