Prof Neil HumphreyAcademic

Biography

Professor Neil Humphrey holds the Chair in Psychology of Education at the University of Manchester's Manchester Institute of Education, where he has been based since 2002. He served as Research Co-ordinator (2013–16), Head of the Manchester Institute of Education (2016–20), and became Associate Dean (Research) for the Faculty of Humanities in 2021. His research focuses on what mental health means, why it matters, and what works to support it in children and young people, with funding from NIHR, the Education Endowment Foundation, and The National Lottery Community Fund. He is academic lead for the #BeeWell programme, a Greater Manchester-wide initiative surveying secondary-school pupils on wellbeing and driving locally-targeted responses to inequality. He is the author of Social and Emotional Learning: A Critical Appraisal (Sage, 2013) and has argued publicly that hyper-local, place-based interventions are at least as important as national initiatives in reducing children's wellbeing inequalities.

References

1. 1.Meet the team – #BeeWell, University of Manchester — Current title (Sarah Fielden Chair in Psychology of Education), role as #BeeWell team member, research focus, and funders
2. 2.Neil Humphrey – Research Explorer, The University of Manchester — Career timeline: lectureship 2002, senior lecturer 2007, professor 2010, Research Director 2013–16, Head of MIE 2016–20, Associate Dean (Research) 2021; PhD from Liverpool John Moores
3. 3.Research – #BeeWell programme — Confirms Humphrey as academic lead for #BeeWell, based at University of Manchester
4. 4.Greater Manchester-wide #BeeWell to launch in autumn after £1.2m funding raised – University of Manchester — Humphrey's role as #BeeWell lead; £1.2m fundraising and Greater Manchester-wide rollout
5. 5.Social and Emotional Learning: A Critical Appraisal – SAGE Publications

Expertise

Cited on

• Mental health

Stated areas of expertise

• Children and young people's mental health
• Social and emotional learning
• School-based mental health interventions
• Wellbeing measurement and data
• Special educational needs
• Health inequalities in young people

Notable achievements

• Academic lead for the #BeeWell programme, which raised £1.2m and expanded to all secondary schools across Greater Manchester, surveying more than 60,000 young people on their wellbeing. Source ↗
• Promoted to Professor of Psychology of Education at the University of Manchester in 2010 and appointed Associate Dean (Research) for the Faculty of Humanities in 2021. Source ↗
• Published Social and Emotional Learning: A Critical Appraisal (Sage, 2013), described by peers as a landmark contribution to SEL science. Source ↗
• Research cited over 18,000 times according to Google Scholar, covering social and emotional learning, mental health, and special educational needs. Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “We know schools face huge pressures in managing behaviour, but our evidence suggests isolation is not the solution. We need investment in positive behaviour support, restorative approaches and better mental health provision – strategies that keep children connected to their learning and their school community.”

  lead professor of #BeeWell · Mental health · 27 Aug 2026 · One in 12 secondary pupils put in isolation rooms at least once a week, study finds ↗

• “Our findings tell us that young people's choices around social media and gaming may be shaped by how they're feeling but not necessarily the other way around. Rather than blaming technology itself, we need to pay attention to what young people are doing online, who they're connecting with and how supported they feel in their daily lives.”

  co-author, University of Manchester · Mental health · 27 Aug 2026 · Social media time does not increase teenagers’ mental health problems – study ↗

Source references

1. One in 12 secondary pupils put in isolation rooms at least once a week, study findstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. Social media time does not increase teenagers’ mental health problems – studytheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/persons/neil.humphrey
• Staff pagehttps://beewellprogramme.org/about/our-team/our-people-prof-neil-humphrey/
• Websitehttps://theconversation.com/profiles/neil-humphrey-2565768

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