Educational Psychology

Our Educational Psychology Service (EPS) supports early years’ settings, schools, academies and colleges to meet the needs of all children and young people, including those with a wide range of special educational needs.

Our team have unique areas of expertise giving you access to a full range of high quality support. We use our knowledge and experience of child development, psychological theory and research to support teachers and other professionals to overcome barriers to learning, and to enhance the social, emotional and mental health of children and young people. We also help education professionals find creative solutions in the most difficult situations.

We place psychology at the core of what we do, providing a skill set to complement and extend that of your school. Our service delivery allows us to respond flexibly to your needs to give you a co-ordinated response that links with teams across education, health and social care in South Gloucestershire.

All maintained schools and academies are offered the following:

  • a whole school consultation meeting with their link Educational Psychologist (EP) during the Autumn term to strategically support decision making and priority setting for EP involvement
  • support in the event of a critical incident, where the school community is overwhelmed by sudden, unexpected events, like the death of a child or staff member
  • completion of psychological advice for an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment
  • where agreed through discussion with the EP and EHCP team, involvement with children who have EHC Plans. This may include when educational arrangements are no longer meeting the child’s needs and the placement is breaking down, the child has complex needs, or there is a risk of permanent exclusion
    • involvement with children who are at SEN support, including those for whom an EHC needs assessment has been started, where there is a risk of permanent exclusion and where there has been previous educational psychology involvement.
  • systemic work in schools to develop the capacity of staff to meet the needs of children with SEND. Examples include working with senior leadership teams to identify areas for whole school development and staff coaching
  • training staff in areas that enhance the learning and emotional well-being of children and young people. Areas include, autism, challenging behaviour and attachment and developmental trauma
  • delivering group interventions for areas like anxiety management
  • delivering therapeutic approaches, like CBT or solution focused brief therapy
  • consultation sessions, including direct assessment work, or using a problem-solving framework at individual, group, or whole school level
  • problem solving around children at risk of exclusion i.e. using the PATH approach
  • supervision and mentoring for staff supporting children with the most complex needs
  • supporting parents/carers with surgeries or training.

Why choose us?

  • Our EPs are qualified to masters or doctoral level in Educational Psychology, registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and have DBS certification
  • Our team have knowledge and understanding of your school setting through the established link EP arrangement, enabling your EP to work closely with key members of staff to focus on priority areas in your school
  • You have access to a wide range of psychological expertise, knowledge and skills across our team, including specialist expertise around SEND, allowing the team to provide training in relevant areas
  • Our service actively contributes to SEND strategy and policy development. This includes the SEND clusters, mental health support teams, local autism groups, early years developments, the EHCP team’s quality assurance process, as well as links to a variety of other LA working groups
  • We have long standing links within the local community and work closely with early years’ settings, primary and secondary schools and academies, as well as specialist educational settings and Post 16 providers
  • We keep up to date and fully understand all legislation, guidance and research evidence in relation to SEND, behaviour and mental health and wellbeing. This gives you confidence that the right processes are followed and that children and young people are supported in the best way possible within their settings
  • We have an ongoing commitment to providing quality placements for trainee Educational Psychologists throughout their doctoral training. Our work is supported by links to universities providing training in Educational Psychology, along with professional bodies including HCPC, The British Psychological Society, The Division of Educational and Child Psychology and The Association of Educational Psychologists.

Testimonials

Alison King
SENCo Barley Close Community Primary School

I have worked with the EP service for several years and have always found the experience to be positive, helpful and a good source of support for my SENCO role in school. In my experience the EPs I have worked with are friendly, approachable, and practical. They offer a wealth of practical ideas with evidence-based research to draw on, with a flexible, problem-solving approach. Their work is crucial for ensuring quality provision for our SEND and vulnerable children and I would not hesitate to recommend this joint working approach to other SENCOs or schools.

Kathy Burden
Headteacher St. Marys Catholic Primary School

Our EP has worked with St Mary’s for a number of years. I feel she has a real understanding of the needs and challenges facing both children referred to the EP service and their parents. She has been able to offer expert advice and problem-solving solutions to tricky situations and to advise on statutory requirements. Through discussion with our EP I was able to reflect on progress made and on-going challenges against the backdrop of children returning to school after the lockdowns.