Whilst updating my granddaughter’s EHCP the occupational therapist involved suggested that we contact Dr. Lara Beaumont to carry out an educational psychology assessment and write a report for us. We are so glad that she did. From first contact, Lara responded quickly to any questions and an assessment date was booked. This went ahead exactly as planned. Lara liaised with all departments at my granddaughter’s school and carried out observations and assessments. My granddaughter commented on what a lovely lady she was and how they had got on well. I feel that by putting my granddaughter at ease Lara was able to get an accurate assessment of my granddaughter. Within a few days of the visit a draft educational psychology report was sent to me for my opinions. It was extremely thorough and contained a large amount of information and a detailed breakdown of my granddaughter’s strengths, needs and suggested provisions to help her in the future. Despite being quite technical in parts it was written in a way That allowed a lay-person such as myself to clearly understand the contents. This all occurred during the run up to allocating a secondary school placement for my granddaughter and I firmly believe that the contents of Lara’s report was instrumental in persuading the Local Authority to allocate the school that we had named as our first choice.

Lara recently completed an educational assessment for our son, Wilfred. He told us that ‘she really listened to me and I was able to tell her all about the things I find difficult at school and how I want things to be different. She was really easy to talk to’. As Wilfred’s parents, we were so impressed by how thorough Lara’s assessment was and the detailed report that followed. All her recommendations were clear and backed-up by evidence. Her report covered all our son’s needs in real depth, bringing together various other professional assessments as well as her own perspective and insight into Wilfred’s presentation, strengths, and difficulties. We were confident that she really understood Wilfred and what provision would be needed in order for him to thrive in education. She dealt responsively and compassionately with our family at a horribly stressful time, when we were facing the prospect of a tribunal and very worried about our son’s transition to high school. We’re certain that Lara’s report made a huge difference to the local authority’s decision to agree funding for a placement at a specialist independent school, which has meant that we avoided the tribunal and has also given us real hope for Wilfred’s future. We cannot express how grateful we are for her support, the quality of her work, her empathy, and her knowledge and skill. We have already recommended her to several parents we know who are facing similar challenges with their children’s education and will heartily recommend her again in the future.

‘Lara was introduced to us by a friend who had said that her EP assessment and report was very good and accurate. I have to say, we were not disappointed. From the first point of contact, Lara was professional but very easy to talk to. She was very understanding of our situation and what we were hoping for our son in the future. (We were looking for an updated EP assessment for post 16). She spent time with him in his FE setting and her report was detailed, highlighting all his needs and how the educational setting would need to meet these. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Lara’

“Lara has been a vital part of our journey, showing understanding, knowledge and compassion throughout. She has made us feel heard and validated and I can’t thank her enough. Her thorough report has made the world of difference to our situation.”

The prospect of facing a tribunal hearing for our son’s needs to be met has been overwhelming, Dr Lara Beaumont has a reassuringly high level of knowledge around the challenges we are facing, which really helped us plan a way forward. Lara was very engaging when she met with our son, enabling him to participate in assessments that had not previously been possible. She brought together information from her own assessments and from other professionals into one detailed report that makes it very clear what his needs are and what is required to meet those needs. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her to anyone needing support to get their child’s needs met.

Lara was recommended by a friend at a difficult time for us as a family. It was a time when we felt that many that we were dealing with did not fully understand our child’s situation and difficulties and we needed someone to assess them to identify their experiences, feelings and needs fully. Lara is amazing and dealt with our child sensitively and with empathy. It was an emotional and validating encounter for me too as it finally felt like we had found someone who understood. She provided a detailed and comprehensive Educational Psychology report which outlined all needs and had clear recommendations which we were then able to share with relevant bodies. Beyond the EP assessment and report, Lara has been so supportive, provided advice and attended meetings with our advocate, the school and local authority. I know that Lara is going to continue to be a vital source of professional support and advice over the coming months and would not hesitate to recommend her.

Dr Lara Beaumont has been a crucial support to the process of applying for an EHCP for our son. Throughout the duration of her assessment, she listened carefully to our story and was flexible and sensitive to our son’s difficulties, engaging with people. Her final report was extensive, detailed and thoughtfully presented, drawing together the important points from an extremely vast quantity of information. She comes highly recommended!

Dr Lara Beaumont has carried out the EP assessement for our child with complex needs. Throughout the process, she has been very supportive, involved, and neuro-affirming. She was very thorough, reading through all the existing documents (reports, assessments, letters), conducting additional investigations, travelling to observe our child in a social group (he is home-educated), interviewing the carers, and reaching out to his former school to triangulate all the evidence. She also made our child comfortable despite his sensory challenges and attention difficulties and could easily see through his behaviours such as mimicking adult behaviour or playing alongside others. The report she has delivered is excellent: well structured, clear, thorough. It is gives a professional and accurate representation of our child, his strengths and weaknesses, highlighting the provisions needed in a clear and solidly documented form. It is a document that helps us and will continue to help us regularly in the years to come. We confidently highly recommend her services

Lara is amazing – we found her last minute after a previous EP had not provided what we were looking for and Lara was amazing jumping in and making every effort to understand our child and his needs before meeting him. She then did a very thorough job with the assessment and report, also getting involved in the process we were in after this.She was great throughout, very professional and caring and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her.