About Us
Valuing Minds is a Hertfordshire-based Educational Psychology consultancy providing services for 0 – 25 year olds, their parents or carers and their school or college in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and North London primarily.
We believe in putting children and young people at the heart of everything we do: whether that is conducting an assessment of a young person, contributing to the review of an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) or enabling a school management team to work more effectively together, so that the children in that school benefit from a clear strategy and an improved educational experience.
What’s on our mind?
Everything we do is focussed on our core values:
Integrity – we will tell it as it is. We won’t use jargon or language you don’t understand. You might not want to hear what we have to say but we will always act with integrity and respect.
Professional – every member of our team has the appropriate professional qualifications (and often many more!). We make every effort to build relationships to get the best results and our work will be done with precision and care.
Supportive – we care about everyone we work with – young people, their families, support staff, teachers, leaders and other teams. We aim to listen to, and hear, what everyone has to say and ensure they are empathised with and understood.
Understanding – we challenge ourselves to be curious about what we do – so we can really understand your circumstances and understand what’s going on.
Learning – we believe in lifelong learning, development and growth – for everyone. This includes the young people we work with, their families, those who support them, education providers, those involved in other professional capacities and ourselves.
All our work starts with a free consultation and follows the Valuing Minds process of:
We’ll find out what’s on your mind, your concerns, issues, needs and how you think we might be able to help. If we can’t help, we’ll signpost you to someone we believe can.
Following our assessments and conversations we’ll create a hypothesis and interpretation of all the information we have. This allows us to formulate a plan to implement.
We support those involved in the implementation of the plan created in the formulation step. These recommendations may include actions to be taken, training needs or similar.
This is where we look at how things are going and what will happen next. This might be naming desired outcomes or looking forward to the next steps the young person might take.
Our Team
The qualified psychologists working with Valuing Minds, whether employed by us or our associates, are all members of the British Psychological Society and/or Association of Educational Psychologists and are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council. Assistant psychologists have relevant qualifications and experience and work under the supervision of qualified members of the team.
This means you can be confident that they have demonstrated the level or knowledge and expertise required to practise as an educational psychologist in the UK. We work together as a team to ensure that we embody our values and processes into everything we do.
Everyone who works with us has been through the Disclosure and Barring Service (previously known as a CRB check). We have links with other professionals, for example, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists etc. and can involve them as and when appropriate.
We are always happy to be approached by other professionals to see if we can assist in creating the best possible outcomes for a young person.
Nicola Weisfeld, BSc, PGCE, MSc, AFBPsS
Chartered Educational Psychologist
Director
Nicky has had a career spanning both education and business, previously working as a primary school teacher, a Local Authority Educational Psychologist and as a Business Psychologist, supporting both public and private sector organisations. She regularly becomes involved in individual casework and assessments, and special needs tribunals, as well as whole-school initiatives, in-service training for teachers and school senior leadership projects and mentoring. She is also a part-time lecturer on a Batchelor of Education degree course.
She is registered as an Educational Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (Reg number PYL19003), is an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (Reg Number 15301), a member of the Association of Educational Psychologists and a member of the Association of Child Psychologists in Private Practice.
She lives in Hertfordshire with her husbandand 2 cats, one of which has special needs (he has an extra toe on his front paws). When not working, she can be found on the golf course, volunteering with GirlGuiding, reading, cooking, involved in craft activities or taking her turn driving the village bus. She enjoys skiing and sailing, when conditions are right.
Dr. Abby Vines BSc (Hons) MSc DEdChPsych
Chartered Educational Psychologist
Educational Psychologist
Abby grew up in Grimsby, completing her first degree in Leeds. Abby moved to London to complete the Teach First graduate program and become a primary school teacher for six years. She completed her Doctoral training at Southampton University qualifying as a Child and Educational Psychologist in 2024. She has worked in a variety of settings since and has a wealth of experience supporting young people and their families.
Abby is extremely passionate about the mental health and happiness of young people. She is dedicated to ensuring they are empowered and have the best start to life possible in inclusive and appropriate settings.
Abby is registered with the Health Care Professions Council (registration number PYL044447).
Abby now lives in Surrey with her husband and Whippet Winston. When she is not working Abby can be found at the gym, chasing her dog around, baking, sewing and watching movies.
Dr. Yasmin Lazarus BSc (Hons) MSc DEdChPsych
Chartered Educational Psychologist
Educational Psychologist
Yasmin completed her Doctoral training at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, qualifying as a Child, Community and Educational Psychologist in 2022. She has worked in a variety of settings (including Local Authority) and has a passion for inclusion and breaking down barriers for those with additional needs, drawing on both personal and professional experiences of this.
Yasmin is registered with the Health Care Professions Council (registration number PYL041208) and a member of the Association of Educational Psychologists.
Yasmin lives with her husband in Hertfordshire. When Yasmin is not working, you will likely find her halfway up a climbing wall, volunteering with various paraclimbing (climbing for those with disabilities) organisations, volunteering with Girlguiding, or cuddled up with her beloved cat.
Diniyah Rehman, BSc, MSc, MSc, MBPsS.
Assistant Psychologist
Diniyah has specialised in Developmental and Educational Psychology after having completed a conversion Master’s in Psychology. She is a trained ADOS and ADI-R assessor. In a former life, she worked as a ratings analyst for an insurance ratings provider in the City, before taking a career break to raise a family.
She currently resides in Buckinghamshire with her husband, two teenagers, a 10-year-old and two well fed rabbits. She is passionate about health and fitness and sees this as an important part of a holistic approach to mental and emotional wellbeing. When time allows, she enjoys reading novels and watching box sets.
Melissa Skana BSc.
Assistant Psychologist
Melissa holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology and wants to pursue her career in Educational Psychology. She is interested in understanding the difficulties of learning and development, with a passion for enhancing educational experiences for those with additional needs. Her experience includes working with children and young people within an educational setting as a SEN Teaching Assistant, and a home setting as an autism support worker. In Melissa’s free time, she likes to call herself a baker. She also enjoys travelling to new places and you will most likely see her reading a book whenever she gets the chance!
Talia Rabinowitz BSc.
Assistant Psychologist
Talia holds an undergraduate degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of Oxford and is a graduate member of the British Psychological Society. She has a wide range of academic and practical experience in cognitive and developmental psychology. Her most recent role was as a learning support assistant at a specialist school for young people with autism and complex needs. Alongside her work at Valuing Minds, Talia is working on a research paper exploring early executive function differences in children with ADHD. She is particularly interested in identifying and amplifying the strengths of neurodivergent people. In her free time, Talia enjoys cooking, hiking and travelling.
Naomi Sims BSc (Hons) MRCSLT
Speech and Language Therapist
Naomi Sims is a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist. She has worked for the NHS, for a local council as a Speech, Language and Communication Needs Advisor and she has a small Private Practice. Naomi has worked with a variety of educational settings. She is a trained ADOS assessor.
Naomi is passionate about early intervention and ensuring that each child is appropriately supported to reach their potential.
Naomi lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and two adult children (who come and go). When she is not working, you will find her gardening, walking, ballet dancing, playing bridge or catching up with friends.
Sallie Aylott
Office Manager
Sallie has an HR and Marketing career spanning over 20 years, much of which was based in the corporate world in London. She held a senior position at J.P. Morgan with responsibility for developing, marketing and managing their EMEA graduate and MBA recruitment and training programme. She progressed to a Generalist position supporting key business functions in all HR-related issues: organisational development, employer relations, recruitment and retention and compensation and benefits.
Since then Sallie has worked with numerous SMEs and businesses providing business, marketing and operational support.
She lives in Cambridgeshire with her husband and fourteen-year-old twins along with their Fox Red Lab. When not in her office she can be found playing tennis, keeping fit, gardening and tinkering on her piano.
Are you an experienced Educational Psychologist?
We are always looking for Educational Psychologists who share our values to join our team. Please take a look at our vacancies page or get in touch.
Melissa Skana